From its founding in 1965, Saint Ann’s has sustained several commitments: a deliberate rejection of formal letter or number grades, curricular rigor and breadth, the quest to be a community constantly open to reinvention. In lieu of grades, teachers write detailed narrative narrative reports twice yearly. Saint Ann’s deliberately integrates and highlights the arts—including dance, music, theater, film, and the visual and recreational arts—as central elements of its curriculum.
Our Mission
Saint Ann’s exists to nurture the wonder of children. Unfettered by grades, teachers and students embark on journeys of discovery in which the arts are central. Through an ambitious curriculum and a culture of inquiry, we question the world. We invite each other to take risks, pursue knowledge for its own sake, and celebrate growth. We seek to create a community rooted in trust and equity. Here, every subject is an art and every child is an artist.
29% Of the student body on financial aid and/or receiving faculty/staff tuition remission
$14.3m Budget for financial aid and remission
Equity & Inclusion
We seek to create a collaborative environment in which all people are respected and valued, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious preference, or physical ability. Keeping the student experience at the center of our vision and decision-making, we seek to draw out authentic, exceptional work from our students.
Part of equipping our students with the skills and knowledge they need to explore and question the world includes understanding how individual and group identity constructs have shaped and continue to shape society. This has happened most saliently in the United States around the construct of race. Therefore, the work of creating a more equitable school focuses on race and racism, while incorporating many other aspects of identity that contribute to disparity, inequity, or injustice. This equity work builds upon and strengthens our original pedagogical philosophy: that education is, in the last analysis, a celebration of life and that life is wondrous, ephemeral, and for these reasons, sacred.
Academics
• We seek to inculcate a love of learning for its own sake and to empower each student with the capacity and confidence to make informed judgments about their course of study. The curriculum is dynamic and flexible, even as it reflects our persistent ideals as a community of learners.
• We do not give grades, therefore there is no GPA to report. Instead, we have narrative reports.
• High school students receive X’s denoting credit received on a traditional transcript.
• Instruction at Saint Ann’s is departmentalized from 4th through 12th grade, with a teaching faculty numbering 240, made up of scholars, researchers, mathematicians, musicians, artists, and writers.
• Saint Ann’s deliberately integrates and highlights the arts—including dance, music, theater, film, and the visual and recreational arts—as central elements of its curriculum
• We do not rank our students nor do we grant academic honors.
• We do not offer Honors or AP courses.
Graduation Requirements
years, including Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2
years, including one year of biology and one year of physical science
course, or the equivalent, or one interscholastic sport, per year
High School Course Catalog
To view the Saint Ann’s School course offerings, please scan the QR code.
Class of 2025 Standardized Test Scores
• 85 Seniors
• 33% Students of Color
• 3 Students from a community-based organization (Prep for Prep)
• Hailing from 27 different NYC area zip codes
• Applied to 136 different colleges/ universities; admitted to 111
• Matriculated to 36 different colleges/ universities
• 4 faculty children
• Average of 8–12 college applications per student
• 6 students will attend art conservatories (film, music, songwriting, visual art)
College Enrollment
10 or More Students
Amherst College
Brown University
Cornell University
Harvard University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Princeton University
Tufts University
University of Chicago
Vassar College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University
5 or More Students
Barnard College
Bennington College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Colorado College
Columbia University
Emory University
Middlebury College
New York University
Pomona College
Tulane University
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of St Andrews (UK))
4 Students
Duke University
Georgetown University
Kenyon College
Pitzer College
Stanford University
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
3 Students
Bates College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Rhode Island School of Design
Rice University
Swarthmore College
2 Students
Colby College
Connecticut College
Emerson College
Johns Hopkins University
Occidental College
Savannah College of Art & Design
Smith College
Graduates of the Classes of 2021–2025 have enrolled at the colleges and universities listed below
Trinity College, Dublin (IRE)
United States Military Academy, West Point
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Miami
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Rochester
Wellesley College
1 Student
American University
Boston College
Bryn Mawr College
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Dartmouth College
Deep Springs College
Durham University (UK)
Goldsmiths University (UK)
Grinnell College
Hendrix College
Howard University
IE University (SP)
Lafayette College
College of Art
McGill University (CAN)
Mount Holyoke College
New England Conservatory
Oberlin College-Oberlin
Conservatory of Music
Otis College of Art & Design
Parsons School of Design
Sarah Lawrence College
Scripps College
Skidmore College
SUNY, Binghamton University
SUNY, Purchase College
SUNY, University at Buffalo
Syracuse University
University of British Columbia (CAN)
University of California, Berkeley
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of New England, Biddeford
University of Toronto (CAN)
University of Virginia
Special Programs
Independent History Research — This program enables students to explore a historical topic in depth over the course of the school year with a faculty mentor. Students develop their research into a significant formal historical essay to be presented at the end of the school year in a symposium. This program is open to juniors and seniors who must submit a proposal, of which only 16 are accepted a year.
Independent Science Research — This is a cooperative endeavor between a student(s) and their chosen faculty mentor. Research work proceeds at a pace stipulated by the project as well as the ambition of the research team. After a year of exploration, students present a formal research paper at a symposium. Students must submit a research proposal; the program is limited to 14 projects.
Independent Math Research — Students work one-on-one with a mentor on a focused research project. Students must submit a research proposal to the department chair to be considered. Research is limited to 8 students.
Seminars — Our seminar program runs from 4:15–5:50 p.m. and each seminar meets once weekly. Teachers offer a variety of classes on passions of their choice (a typical year will range from American Sign Language to Nietzsche and Modern Thought to our Poetry Workshop). Students receive only year-end reports for year-long seminars.
Publications — While not offered for credit, Saint Ann’s produces several student publications every year: The Ram (our monthly newspaper), The Art Journal, The High School Literary Magazine, The Middle School Literary Magazine, and the Yearbook. Students hold leadership positions in each of these publications and are responsible for bringing them to fruition with the help of faculty advisors.
College Counseling Philosophy
Applying to college—like a Saint Ann’s education—represents much more than a means to an end. The college process is about the individual; every student has a different story to tell. We, the college counselors, celebrate the personal nature of this process, and we are committed to supporting each student who embarks upon it, as well as to providing practical information for parents/guardians and students. We equip students to understand college admissions within a larger system to see beyond Saint Ann’s and the NYC independent school pool to the rest of the country and the world. Race, class, gender, financial aid, geography, legacy, among other factors, impact the process in real ways and it is important to talk about these issues. Open, ongoing dialogue between counselors, students, and parents/guardians is often the key to a successful college application process. At the same time, it is the students who take the lead in navigating this important journey as it unfolds over the last year and a half of their career at Saint Ann’s. Our role—in addition to counseling, asking hard questions, and suggesting—is to provide helpful facts and strategic advice based upon our years of college counseling experience, our relationship with college admissions officers, and our knowledge of the many schools that attract the interest of our students. We also individually counsel students in deciding test-optional policies and what is best for their application process.
Kenyatte Reid (he/him) Head of School
Elizabeth Hannan (she/her) Director of College Counseling ehannan@saintannsny.org
Sarah Moon (she/her) Assoc. Director of College Counseling smoon@saintannsny.org
Louis Trujillo (he/him) Assoc. Director of College Counseling ltrujillo@saintannsny.org
Celia Frey (she/her) College Office Coordinator college@saintannsny.org
