School History
Thornton & Donovan
As displayed on the school seal, our school was founded in 1901. We were at the New Rochelle School and Kindergarten on Main Street. Miss Emily Scott Thornton was the first Headmistress. She and Cleophe Donovan, the music teacher in those days, made an impact. Miss Thornton, a graduate of what has since become the University of Nottingham, was succeeded by Mrs. Genevieve Berns, an English teacher. Under her tenure, the Upper School grew, and we graduated the first senior class. The school also moved to the current Main Building at 100 Overlook Circle (formerly the Andrew Crawford estate).
Sapere Aude (Dare to be Wise)
Also displayed on our school seal is the motto Sapere Aude or Dare to Be Wise. Students are encouraged to take their knowledge with them on the road. This has been a priority of Headmaster Douglas E. Fleming, Jr., who succeeded Mrs. Berns in 1968. The school family's first international trip was 1970 to France and England.
Exchange Programs
In the 1980s, T-D formed one of many international relationships with the Evelyn Rogers School in Guatemala. Over the years, Thornton-Donovan has also made many sister school relationships across the globe, including programs in Argentina, Italy, and Japan. Each year, our students distinguish themselves as ambassadors for our school and nation.
Travel Study
In the 1990s, travel became the cornerstone of thematic education, where each year's destination becomes the theme. 1994 took us to Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and England (W.I.S.E.). Thematic education provides an opportunity to approach all kinds of knowledge as interconnected. International experience can prepare students for negotiating unfamiliar situations and learning diplomacy personally.
Lumen Martin Winter
With all that traveling, we are proud of our New Rochelle connections. Artist Lumen Martin Winter lived next door at 144 Overlook Circle and was a school friend. Our yearbook was renamed Aspirations in 1985 after Winter's passing; the name comes from a painting of his done for T-D's bicentennial celebration in 1976 that long overlooked the central staircase. In 2001, we acquired Winter's house. Now renamed the Fleming-Winter House, that house's garage is our Art Studio, continuing a tradition of being used as such by Winter. Various pieces of Winter's continue to be displayed throughout the school.
The Campus Today
During Mrs. Berns's tenure, we moved from Main Street to Overlook Circle, always in New Rochelle. After the Fleming-Winter House, Thornton-Donovan also acquired the "White House" at 56 Overlook Circle, which has since housed various music, digital, and technological classrooms. This forms a 5-acre campus that is homey and has been home to so many.
Some rooms even have stories to tell. Long a kindergarten room, the former Chapel of the building was rededicated as the Queen's Chapel in 2010 and named in honor of Annemarie Licini, who has dedicated decades to Thornton-Donovan School and the summer camp.
Thematic Education
Thornton-Donovan School’s Thematic Education has made travel study its most outstanding and unique characteristic. Each year’s theme allowed students to dance to a different corner of the globe and live the experiences taught and learned during a regular school year. Students are encouraged to try each year’s thematic courses to explore an area of interest. Recent years include thematic classes, including Marine Biology (Science, 2023 - Israel/Jordan), The Divine Comedy (Literature, 2022 - Italy), and Empires of the Steppes (History, 2018 - Mongolia).
Fully Recognized
Thornton-Donovan is proud to be Cognia accredited and has been recognized by the Johns Hopkins University Center for its support of students with high academic potential. We are in the 95th percentile of the most diverse private schools in America and also in the top 20% of K-12 Schools in the country.
Independent
Being an Independent School with a personal approach to education, the curriculum is very flexible. In addition to reading, writing, math, and sciences, from middle school on, courses can be selected based on interest and ability, not grade level.
Perhaps this year, we will include a thematic class about Venetian glass, in which younger students may be challenged with primary source materials on the subject together with their high school classmates.
This applies to the regular curriculum as well. A 6th grader may find herself doing calculus with an 11th grader if she is capable. If he has the talent and the desire, an 8th grader may play an instrument alongside a senior. This mixing of the grades allows for dynamic class discussion, mentoring of younger students, and a feeling of freedom and opportunity for our youngsters.
College Prep
Thornton-Donovan is a college-preparatory school. This is evident when you walk into the Starlight Room, home to a collection of pennants from colleges and universities where our alumni have matriculated. Alumni have gone to a long list of four-year colleges and universities.
The Starlight Room is also notable for its ceiling, which was painted by Alton S. Tobey and features an array of constellations.
Non-Sectarian
As a non-sectarian school, Thornton-Donovan is not affiliated with any religion. That does not mean that we lack an understanding of the place that the spiritual held and holds in civilizations worldwide. We celebrated a Year of Abraham, Martin, and John in 1996 as part of our Thematic Education and replicate that on a miniature scale each year in our Upper School with “Glory Days,” a week of explorations of local religious sites from churches, synagogues, and mosques to temples of any variety.
