By Dr.Jean-Marc Juhel, Head of School
Buckley Country Day School
A personalized education that builds confident thinkers, engaged learners, and resilient kids
It all started with an idea: “If only there were a school.” Those words, attributed to Ruth Eden Grace, were the spark that a group of families needed to break ground for their own school on Long Island. And so it was that in 1923, a new school opened its doors in Kings Point to 23 children. Great Neck Preparatory School, as it was known then, was meant to provide the finest academic preparation for success in top-tier boarding schools. Whatever secondary schools Buckley families now choose, day or boarding, our school has remained true to that vision. Yet, it is also so much more.
Buckley Country Day School, housed in a historic Gold Coast mansion on a stunning campus in the Village of North Hills, now serves 325 children from pre-nursery through 8th grade. The school’s mission is grounded in the belief expressed by B. Lord Buckley that “Opening The Eyes And Awakening The Mind” is the essence of education. Guided by that mission, Buckley has purposely focused on developing a rigorous curriculum required for the students’ future, while remaining committed to a liberal arts education dedicated to nurturing the whole child and fostering joy in lifelong learning.
The breadth and depth of the learning unfolding daily in and outside the classroom are remarkable. Stepping into the Early Childhood classrooms, you might find children enthralled in a story, eagerly raising their hands to make their own contribution, or see a group of young children experiencing the wonder of reading a whole book on their own for the first time, or hear the sounds of Mandarin echoing in the hallways.
Moving to the Lower School, you might come across young students crafting an exciting memoir, learning about electricity while constructing a circuit, or applying mathematical skills to tackle complex word problems. Entering the Upper School, there might be students in advisory debating how to be leaders of character, translating Latin text, learning about Odysseus’s journey, preparing for a robotics competition, practicing a cello piece for the upcoming holiday concert, delivering a speech at a community assembly, applying logical reasoning to geometry proofs, checking on their portfolio performance in the financial literacy program, or warming up for their next baseball game.
Yet, with all that we celebrate, Buckley’s professional culture is defined by the drive to remain on a path of continuous improvement. Professional growth is imprinted in the way Buckley Country Day School approaches learning and teaching.
Whether it is through its long-standing partnership with Columbia University Teachers College Advancing Literacy Project, ongoing workshops on the integration of artificial intelligence to enhance learning, or teacher collaboration on curriculum design, assessment, and innovation, Buckley Country Day School is fully committed to scaffolding an engaging educational experience and making it relevant to today’s children and tomorrow’s adults.
To learn more about Buckley Country Day School, visit their website at Buckleycountryday.com to attend an upcoming open house, or schedule a private tour today by contacting Colleen Fortuna, Director of Admissions, at 516-472-2701.
Psst…Post-Midnight New Year Celebration to Kick Off America’s 250th in Times Square
