The Adirondack School of Northeastern New York is a small 7th through 12th-grade college-preparatory school with an emphasis on the arts. It is located in an intimate country setting on the banks of the Hudson River.

It’s a school that offers unique opportunities to both teachers and students to be creative and experiment. Adirondack School offers a stimulating and integrated curriculum blending critical thinking, artistic expression, and practical achievement. Its mission statement says, in part, “Adirondack students will work in an atmosphere of mutual respect, enhancing the development of their leadership and communication skill.”
The School was founded in 1996 by a group of parents who were looking for a school that placed an equal emphasis on the arts as well as the sciences as part of the regular curriculum.  The original group of students came out of the Waldorf program in Saratoga Springs.  At the time there was no high school program at Waldorf, so the parents were looking for something similar for their children.  When no alternative was found, they decided to start their own program, which is what became the Adirondack School. 
Pat Douglass, Executive Director of the School, is one of three founding members of the original six who founded the school.  Douglass had spent several years in the public school system, but became discouraged after many years of working in the public sector Her real love was the arts, and she really wanted to start with that emphasis. The opportunity to join the Adirondack School came along when one of the parents called and asked if she could help out.  “I thought, here’s my chance,” recalled Douglass, ands she joined as a founding member.  “The whole idea was to build on the whole idea of satellite school for the theater and the arts.  It hasn’t become that specifically, but we do have a strong theater and arts program because of my involvement,” she said. 

Early on it was decided that the school would be a welcoming community, not discriminating in employment or admissions against persons of any race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or religion, respecting the dignity and worth of all individuals. During the first year, the school met in the parish house of the Episcopal Church in Schuylerville, with the early intent to balance academic and arts based curricula. “There were six student and five teachers,” said Douglass. “It was like this big home school thing.” 

A school building in Thomson, a small hamlet on the banks of the Hudson in the nearby town of Greenwich, became available, and the founders made the purchase.  The current school building dates to 1915, and was known as the Schuyler Prep School for boys, which was a private school for the wealthy to discreetly send their sons to.  Later, the school became part of the public school system; know as the Battenkill School, it and was part of the Schuylerville Schools District, used for teaching kindergarten and first graders.  After the construction of the Schuylerville School Campus, the building became the home of the Schuylerville Academy.  Known as the “lock-down in the woods” it was where some unruly kids were sent to get straighten out.

Three years after the initial purchase of the school’s main building, the property across the street became available.  Formerly the farm estate of Governor Dix, the beautiful riverfront property with several buildings was added to the School campus. Not long after the addition of the riverside property, two of the riverfront buildings were converted into a science lab and a small theater, and in 2003 - 2005 a large tractor and vehicle structure was converted into a facility for the arts, with several classrooms, a darkroom and equipment for various arts and crafts. In 2006, the School expanded to include a sixth grade.

Adirondack School is also ideal for students who want to focus on the arts or music.   Whatever talents students might or might not have, they are required to take foundation courses in music and the visual arts, and electives are provided in chorus, theatre, mosaics, drawing and painting, jewelry making, metal sculpture, photography, ceramics and stained glass. “Art is a requirement here,” said Douglass, “We want to include right brain thinking.”  In many school districts, budget shortfalls often result in the cutting of arts programs.  At Adirondack, they feel that the arts are what stimulate creativity and discipline.  “That’s where you get all those” explains Douglass.  “The discipline of music, the discipline of theater. – that’s what helps you become a stronger individual,” she said.  “And so we teach to both the left and right brain. We have a very strong math and science program,” Douglass continued. “It’s a well rounded curriculum.”

Adirondack School has chosen not do the State Regents tests.  Douglass explained that there is too much emphasis on teaching to the test, and education is lost in the process.  “To go to college, admissions looks at SAT’s, ACT’s; our kids take all of those” said Douglass.  “Our kids have been accepted to colleges all over the country, and that’s something we’re very proud of”

Adirondack School provides a friendly learning environment with knowledgeable staff who are always willing to help. This school is a real 'community' in action. Students, teachers and parents work hard to ensure the school is not only a safe place for all, but provides an atmosphere that supports learning through creativity, environmental consciousness and respect for all who participate in the school life. The School operates on a shoestring, with teachers being paid little in money, but much in the joy they find as the students grow and develop into young adults. The School has no endowments and is chiefly maintained with tuition payments. Parents and friends of the School often provide volunteer help; and teachers and staff, because they enthusiastically believe in the School, devote much time to administrative and maintenance tasks, as well as teaching and tutoring students.  It’s a school where the education is designed to meet the students needs, develop their abilities, and prepare them for college or any other career they choose in life.  It is truly a team effort, one whose investment of time, energy and passion produces a learning environment like no other.

The Adirondack School is located at 5158 County Route 113, also known as River Rd., in the town of Greenwich, NY.  For more information, call 695-5294