St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s is an independent, Episcopal day school for girls and boys age 2 through grade 8 located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s was founded in 1950, born from the inspiring ideals that catalyzed the civil rights movement and based in the inclusive Episcopal tradition. Our founder, The Rev. Mother Ruth, envisioned a private school that would reflect the diversity of New York City, uniting children and families from all backgrounds to learn from one another and about one another.

The school endeavors to create and educate a community diverse in race, culture, and religious beliefs, preparing its students to make meaningful contributions to society.

Every Child is Sacred: Our faculty love their students, nurture their ambitions, and help girls and boys discover their best selves and unique gifts.

Making Traditional Education Relevant: Balancing tradition with innovation, we offer a 5:1 student-teacher ratio and a dynamic curriculum featuring second language of French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese (starting at age 3); science and greenhouse; technology; advanced math courses; and daily P.E. and outdoor recess.

Unity in Diversity: Our community is steeped in the inclusive Episcopal tradition, united by these essential virtues, and enriched by the many different backgrounds and identities of our families and faculty. Our focus on spiritual development and ethical formation through Chapel and religious knowledge classes reinforce these sacred elements of our program.

Founded in 1950 by The Rev. Mother Ruth and her sisters at the Community of the Holy Spirit, our founder envisioned a school that would reflect the rich diversity of New York City, uniting children and families from all backgrounds to learn from one another and about one another. As a biracial woman from Harlem growing up at the height of segregation, Mother Ruth knew first hand the importance of this mission. 

Seventy years later, St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s is a thriving community of families and highly trained educators committed to our founding ideals. Our early childhood, lower school, and middle school programs provide students with a traditional liberal arts education in a seven-story 80,000 square foot modern facility that includes 32 renovated classrooms, multiple science labs, a rooftop greenhouse, art studios, acoustically designed music rooms, outdoor play spaces, dining halls, indoor gym spaces and a large Chapel with a custom Reiger organ.

Why St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s

We invite you to explore our 80,000 square foot building with a guided one-on-one virtual tour with a member of the admission team. Explore our classrooms and learn more about how we create a healthy and age-appropriate space for all our students to learn and grow. 

Guided Virtual Tour

Highlights

Inclusive Episcopal tradition

Co-educational

Children age 2 - grade 8

Traditional liberal arts education

Play based early childhood program

For our faculty, teaching is not a job but a vocation – a divine calling that motivates us on a deeper, more meaningful level. Each and every faculty member is united in their vow to:

• Serve children during their most formative years of development
• Provide a joyful, loving learning environment rooted in the Judeo Christian Humanist tradition
• Continue to grow professionally and to deepen their knowledge of children and curriculum

Our Sacred Calling

In 1950, the Rev. Mother Ruth and her sisters in the Community of the Holy Spirit opened the doors to St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s. Her revolutionary vision for a school, and what we continue to be today, are formed by the ideals that St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s should:

• Reflect the rich diversity of New York City
• Unite children and families from all ethnic backgrounds and faith traditions, allowing them to learn from and about one another
• Provide a strong education for children rooted in respect for all cultures, taught by an extraordinary faculty

Our Strong Roots

Every child is sacred. Our faculty will love your child and help them to become all they are intended to be. Our students are sacred to us and as such:

• We honor their voices
• We nurture their ambitions
• We help them discover their best selves
• We approach education as a sacred enterprise, grounded in a shared reverence for the value of every member of our community

St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s is located alongside Columbia University in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
 
Morningside Heights is the academic center of New York City—our neighborhood alone has more institutions of higher education than any city in the United States. Set on a high plateau between the Hudson River and Riverside Park to the west and Morningside Park to the east, the area is defined by natural beauty and removed from the cacophony of commercial centers. This setting inspires a quiet and intentional pace that suits children and families so well. Children who attend St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s benefit from Morningside Heights’s cultural richness and strong community.
 
In turn, we are dedicated to this neighborhood and perform service to support many of its community organizations. Our students don’t just attend school in the neighborhood, they become ambassadors for its libraries, bookstores, parks, monuments and performance spaces. Our students learn to ride their bikes on the grounds of storied academic institutions and stand on line for ice cream with Nobel Prize winners.

Our New York City Classroom

Our Promise to Families

WELCOME WEDNESDAYS

Join us for a 30-minute introduction to the St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s early childhood program. Learn more about our play-based program that fosters confidence, friendship, and joy, led by trained educators who cherish these formative years. Our Episcopal tradition values community and a diversity of perspectives represented in the Morningside Heights, Harlem, and Upper West Side neighborhoods.

Early Childhood

(Beginners, Nursery, Junior Kindergarten)

Select Wednesdays in May

EVENTS

Join us for a 30-minute introduction to the St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s Lower School and Middle School in-person programs. Learn more about how we make traditional education relevant in today’s world. In our 80,000 square foot building, students engage in special subject classes such as science, greenhouse, woodshop, studio art, music, physical education, athletics, and world language as a complement to their studies in language arts, math, and social studies. Our Episcopal tradition values community and a diversity of perspectives represented in the Morningside Heights, Harlem, and Upper West Side neighborhoods.

Elementary School

(Grades 1-7)

Select Wednesdays in May

WELCOME WEDNESDAYS

"The two most important lessons we teach our students are to love learning and to love one another."

- Virginia Connor, Head of School

For our faculty, teaching is not a job but a vocation – a divine calling that motivates us on a deeper, more meaningful level. Each and every faculty member is united in their vow to:

• Serve children during their most formative years of development
• Provide a joyful, loving learning environment rooted in the Judeo Christian Humanist tradition
• Continue to grow professionally and to deepen their knowledge of children and curriculum

In 1950, the Rev. Mother Ruth and her sisters in the Community of the Holy Spirit opened the doors to St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s. Her revolutionary vision for a school, and what we continue to be today, are formed by the ideals that St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s should:

• Reflect the rich diversity of New York City
• Unite children and families from all ethnic backgrounds and faith traditions, allowing them to learn from and about one another
• Provide a strong education for children rooted in respect for all cultures, taught by an extraordinary faculty

Every child is sacred. Our faculty will love your child and help them to become all they are intended to be. Our students are sacred to us and as such:

• We honor their voices
• We nurture their ambitions
• We help them discover their best selves
• We approach education as a sacred enterprise, grounded in a shared reverence for the value of every member of our community

St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s is located alongside Columbia University in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
 
Morningside Heights is the academic center of New York City—our neighborhood alone has more institutions of higher education than any city in the United States. Set on a high plateau between the Hudson River and Riverside Park to the west and Morningside Park to the east, the area is defined by natural beauty and removed from the cacophony of commercial centers. This setting inspires a quiet and intentional pace that suits children and families so well. Children who attend St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s benefit from Morningside Heights’s cultural richness and strong community.
 
In turn, we are dedicated to this neighborhood and perform service to support many of its community organizations. Our students don’t just attend school in the neighborhood, they become ambassadors for its libraries, bookstores, parks, monuments and performance spaces. Our students learn to ride their bikes on the grounds of storied academic institutions and stand on line for ice cream with Nobel Prize winners.

"For us to find a place like this, a school, which opened its arms to us as a place for a great education and an environment in which people were accepted just as they are, is something I shall never forget. I believe that St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s still represents that core value."

- The Rev. Buddy Stallings, Alumni Parent

Our Sacred Calling

Our Strong Roots

Our Promise to Families

Our New York City Classroom

Who we are