Editor’s note: To read a long-form story with profiles of all 15 2014-2015 Blackboard Awards honorees, click HERE!
COLUMBIA GRAMMAR AND PREPARATORY SCHOOL
PRINCIPAL: DR. RICHARD SOGHOIAN
PK-12
5 West 93rd Street
cgps.org
AWARD: OUTSTANDING PRINCIPAL
Describe your school’s core educational philosophy.
Our outstanding core of teachers forms the foundation of our pedagogical success. From pre-Kindergarten all the way through the high school years, our talented, kind, and energetic faculty reflect our belief that personality and patience are equally valuable as intellectual strengths in educating the whole child. Immersed in the nurturing and vibrant environment of CGPS, our students excel academically, socially, and emotionally to become confident and creative life-long learners. We are also strongly committed to supporting various differences by recognizing and appreciating learning styles, interests, abilities, and personal strengths.
Tell us about a few of the school’s achievements or distinguishing programs.
Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School has grown in dramatic ways over the last three decades, with many notable achievements along the way. We have tripled our enrollment to become, along with Dalton, the largest school in Manhattan. Our physical plant has grown from 36,000 substandard square feet to over 200,000 new or fully-renovated square feet. We are able to provide over $6.2 million in financial aid on a yearly basis, and we have the highest starting teacher salaries among all schools, public or private. We have a physical plant valued to $300 million today with no debt whatsoever! And lastly, we have had the only and oldest program within the larger school program for bright, learning-disabled children—the Learning Resource Center. None of these children, without this program, would have been able to complete a highly rigorous college preparatory program and move on to college after graduation. We have on average 65 out of 1,300 students in the Learning Resource Center each year.
What’s new?
We have just had yet another capital project approved by NYC, giving us 17,000 additional square feet of space. This building will house our new middle school.
What do you love about your school?
First and foremost, I have deeply enjoyed being part of CGPS’s growth and renewal over the past three-and-a-half decades. We were able to celebrate this past year our 250th year of continuous existence as a college preparatory school in New York City… We can all take pride in the fact that we are now one of the most successful and sought-after schools in NYC. And, as any head of a K-12 school can attest, watching children grow and develop from Kindergarten to graduation and then off to college is a uniquely rewarding and fulfilling experience.
