Doane Stuart School


The Doane Stuart School is a private college preparatory school in Rensselaer, New York. The School is coeducational and interfaith, and it educates students from nursery school through grade 12.

History

The Doane Stuart School was founded in 1975 as the result of a merger between the Roman Catholic Kenwood Academy and the Episcopal St. Agnes School. This unique merger is the only known merger of a Roman Catholic school and an Episcopal school in the United States. The name "Doane Stuart" was chosen to honor the first Episcopal Bishop of Albany, the Right Reverend William Croswell Doane, and Roman Catholic educator Janet Erskine Stuart. The first location chosen for Doane Stuart was the campus of the old Kenwood Academy in Albany, New York. Doane Stuart was established as an ecumenical Christian school, but later became an interfaith school. The school is co-educational and college preparatory, and educates students from nursery school through grade 12; during the 2017–2018 academic year it enrolled 217 students and had 32.4 teaching staff.
In March 2008, the Board of Trustees of Doane Stuart announced it had decided to end its affiliation with the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. At about the same time, the Convent of the Sacred Heart notified the school it would not renew its lease.
On May 20, 2008, Rensselaer, New York voters approved the proposed sale of the former Van Rensselaer High School to Doane Stuart. After a year-long renovation and restoration effort, Doane Stuart students began classes on September 16, 2009 at the School's new home. The School's current building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. As of April 2016, the School's 22,000 square foot "green roof" was reportedly the largest vegetative roof in the Capital District.

The Irish/American Exchange Program

The School hosts an Irish American Exchange program, begun in 2003, which brings together Protestant and Catholic students from Lagan College to spend a year at Doane Stuart and live with local families. These students attend classes and become an integral part of the community. According to the Albany Times Union, 22 exchange students from Lagan College have spent a school year studying at Doane Stuart, while approximately 100 Doane Stuart students have made one-week visits to Lagan College.