Daycroft School

The Daycroft School was a co-educational private boarding school founded in 1928. Initially located at a private home in Darien, Connecticut, it relocated to Stamford in 1935, and in 1963, to the neighboring town of Greenwich, Connecticut. Relocating again in Greenwich, it eventually occupied the Rosemary Hall campus from 1971 until Daycroft's closing in 1991. Smart founded the school for the children of local Christian Scientists.

Daycroft School
Location
Greenwich
,
Connecticut
06831

United States
Coordinates41°2′15″N 73°38′12″W
Information
TypeUniversity-preparatory school
MottoPerceive then demonstrate
Established1928
StatusClosed
HeadmasterRobert Clark
Faculty38
Enrollment130
MascotTigers
Websitedaycroftschool.org

School history

Daycroft was founded by Sarah Pyle Smart as a private school for the children of area Christian Scientists so they could be educated in an environment akin to their home life, where the teachings of Christian Science were "an integral part" of life.[1][2] To that end, the faculty were all members of The Mother Church. Admission to the school was restricted to the children of parents who were students of Christian Science.[1] The school had no official tie with the Christian Science Church. In later years, admission was extended to those had a close relative who was a member of The Mother Church or one of its branch churches.

The school was a member of the Secondary Education Board[3] and offered pre-school through high school, in general subjects and college preparatory education.[2] The school offered partial scholarships and was incorporated in 1939 as a non-profit institution.[1]

The school's initial home was in Darien, Connecticut, where the Smarts lived. In 1935, a portion of an estate was purchased on Noroton Hill, near the Stamford Cove and became the new home for the school.[1][4] The 46-acre Stamford campus was sold to Clairol in 1963,[1][5] when the school moved to the Rock Ridge area of Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1971, the school moved to the former Rosemary Hall campus, also in Rock Ridge.[6] In 1998, the campus was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its architectural significance.[7] Its chapel was designed in the Middle English Gothic style by Theodore E. Blake of Carrère & Hastings.[6]

Polio outbreak

In 1972, the Daycroft school was one of the last sites of a polio outbreak in the United States. Due to their Christian Science belief, very few students at the school were immunized for polio. The outbreak prompted an emergency quarantine and mass immunization, which successfully prevented polio from spreading to the rest of the state. Ultimately, at least 11 school children (9 boys and 2 girls) were stricken by the paralytic form of the disease. [8]

Notable alumni and staff

References
  1. The Handbook Of Private Schools An Annual Descriptive Survey Of Independent Education Boston, Massachusetts: Porter Sargent, 39th Edition (1958), pp. 143-144. Retrieved July 8, 2013
  2. Handbook, p. 807. Retrieved July 8, 2013
  3. Handbook, p. lxviii Retrieved July 8, 2013
  4. Cricket Johnson, "Daycroft School History" Archived 2009-01-05 at the Wayback Machine The Daycroft School Foundation Incorporated (2001). Retrieved July 8, 2013
  5. Gregg D. Mecca, "Made in Stamford" The Stamford Historical Society Inc., Stamford, Connecticut (November 30, 1984). Retrieved July 8, 2013
  6. Susan Nova, "School's history lives in Greenwich". The Advocate (April 30, 1999), pp. R1 and R4
  7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. Weinstein, L. (1973). "Poliomyelitis — A Persistent Problem". New England Journal of Medicine. 288 (7): 370–372. doi:10.1056/NEJM197302152880714. PMID 4682950.
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