In March of 2000 the Columbia University Board of Trustees unanimously approved moving forward to create a school for children under the sponsorship and direction of the University. The decision had prestigious precedents. At the beginning of the last century, Columbia sponsored the Lincoln School, the Speyer School, and the Horace Mann School--each having an important impact on this country's pre-collegiate schooling.
The School at Columbia University opened its doors on September 17, 2003 to 200 kindergarten through fourth graders. By the year 2006, The School had grown to be K-8 with approximately 500 students. Faculty and staff of The School come from as far as Singapore and Brazil, and from prestigious schools across New York City.
From its inception, The School aimed to create what head of school Annette Raphel calls, "the sort of diversity that is often sought but rarely attained." Now perhaps the most socially and economically diverse school in New York City, The School offers admission to children in school districts 3 and 5 through a random lottery, as well as to the children of employees of Columbia University.
