Ethical Culture Fieldston School history

The second project was the founding of the first free kindergarten in the United States, and in 1880 the Workingman’s School was chartered.

In 1895, the School was reorganized, becoming The Ethical Culture School.

While some contemporaries viewed the 1898 Spanish American War as an act to liberate the Cubans from Spanish rule, others perceived the United States victories in the Caribbean and the Philippines as the beginning of an expansionist empire.

In 1901, Camp Felicia, which offered children of the city’s slums a taste of country life, was founded by the Down-Town Ethical Society.

Adler was the founding chairman of the National Child Labor Committee in 1904.

In 1919, the Summer Play School was founded in partnership with the New York Federation for Child Study, providing summer activities and meals for underprivileged children at the Ethical Culture…

Well known as a lecturer and writer, Adler served as rector for the Ethical Culture School until his death in 1933.

In 1944, he founded the Encampment for Citizenship, a summer program for young adults with the purpose of encouraging political activism and volunteerism that sought to educate its participants about civic responsibility, participation in government, and tolerance of diversity.

In 1959, the Society’s Women’s Conference was a major participant in developing the Planned Parenthood Clinic on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

In 2004 the Ethical Culture Fieldston School celebrates 125 years as one of the nation's leading education institutions.

In 2007, a new middle school was opened on the same Riverdale campus, for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.