Buckley Country Day School

• The school's mission is grounded in the belief expressed by B. Lord Buckley that Opening The Eyes And Awakening The Mind is the essence of education.
• Guided by that mission for over a century, Buckley has purposely focused on developing a rigorous curriculum and teaching skills required for the students' future, while remaining committed to a liberal arts education dedicated to nurturing the whole child and fostering joy in lifelong learning. Our core values of Integrity, Kindness, Personal and Social Responsibility, and Mutual Respect are purposely woven into all aspects of teaching and learning at Buckley.
• Buckley educates students as young as two years old in our Pre-Nursery program and continues through 8th grade, when graduates prepared for entry into the most selective secondary schools in the country.

Our History
Founded in 1923, Buckley Country Day School is a co-educational day school serving 325 children in grades Pre-Nursery through Eight. Buckley is located on a 28-acre campus in the Village of North Hills. The founders' vision was to create an independent school in the area, modeled after some of the schools that their children attended in New York City. The school was designed as a rigorous learning institution to prepare students for entry into selective secondary schools, and still is. The school's founders turned to B. Lord Buckley for advice; he was the founder and Headmaster of The Buckley School in New York City.

Our Curriculum
Our mission drives our curriculum. It is demanding and requires students to be fully engaged and willing to take risks. As they progress through the grades, our students are expected to take on an increasingly active role in their learning. Our curriculum has been intentionally designed and scaffolded for students to continuously hone essential skills and develop cognitive agility in order to apply their skillset to solve new problems. Buckley fosters a dynamic learning community where children are inspired and well prepared to excel as educated, ethical, and confident individuals. Our curriculum is meant to prepare our students to become socially responsible citizens and educated decision-makers. Thus, we seek to offer a comprehensive, inquiry-based curriculum informed by current research, student assessment, and best practices. Our programs and culture are rooted in a child-centered, value-based education within a diverse, inclusive, nurturing, and tradition-rich community. We use a broad repertoire of strategies in order to differentiate teaching and learning.

Our curriculum framework reflects what we believe to be essential skills for our students:

• Critical Thinking: The ability to think critically in order to understand an analyze new text and new information
• Communication: The ability to communicate one's thinking effectively
• Collaboration: The ability to consider and embrace multiple perspectives and divergent opinions
• Creativity: The ability to stretch one's thinking in order to create new knowledge
• Cultural Competence: The ability to employ a range of skills to engage in effective and mutually respectful interactions with people and places that are different from one's own
• Character: The ability to demonstrate character traits and social/emotional intelligence skills, among which are Empathy, Resilience, Self-Control, Curiosity, Agency, and Open-Mindedness.

Our Faculty
Buckley's size and low student-teacher ratio enable our exceptional faculty to maximize individual attention. Buckley teachers are carefully selected based on their credentials, their experience, their understanding of teaching and learning, their passion for their craft, and their ability to serve as positive role models for their students. The professional culture of the school is one of excellence, collaboration, and growth.

Our Community and Our Students
Buckley embraces diversity broadly and champions a culture of inclusivity where all children, teachers, staff, and families are made to feel safe and respected as they see themselves. Buckley's grade level configuration and size are designed intentionally. We believe that K-8 or PN-8 schools provide the best preparation for secondary school and beyond, a claim that has long been substantiated, as in the extensive Fordham Institute report concluding that "there is clear evidence that the K-8 model has a significant positive effect on academic achievement, openness to learning, and student behavior." Buckley is a school community where children can take their time to grow and at the same time be given early leadership opportunities. The process of reevaluating the best and most suitable secondary school options at the end of eighth grade, at a time when students are actually ready for the transition to high school, is a unique and special experience provided in K-8 schools. In a school where most children will spend more than a decade of their most formative years, students are naturally and deliberately encouraged to develop a profound sense of self-awareness and agency to "write their own story." Buckley seeks to attract, admit, and enroll capable, curious, and motivated students, creating a diverse community of families who embrace our core values. One of our major strengths is the ethic, religious, and socio-economic diversity of our student body. We firmly believe that the experience of all of our students is enriched by the multiple perspectives that a diverse student body brings into the classroom.

• Sample of notable school alumni/alumnae:
  • John McEnroe '74 - John McEnroe is a legendary American tennis player known for his extraordinary touch, fierce competitiveness, and unmistakable personality on the court. A seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and former world No. 1, he remains one of the sport’s most recognizable and influential figures.
  • Thelma Golden '80 - Thelma Golden is a prominent curator and museum leader who serves as Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem. Widely respected for championing artists of African descent and expanding conversations around contemporary art, she has played a major role in shaping the cultural landscape in New York and beyond.
  • Nicole Petallides '85 - Nicole Petallides is a financial journalist and television anchor known for her coverage of markets, business, and economic news. She has appeared on major financial networks including Fox Business and TD Ameritrade Network, bringing viewers real-time analysis and interviews with leading voices in finance and investing.
  • William Rawson '67 - Bill Rawson is an attorney and longtime leader in independent-school education who has served as Principal of Phillips Exeter Academy and as a member of its Board of Trustees. An Exeter alumnus himself, he has combined a career in law with decades of service to the school as an administrator, trustee, parent, and volunteer.
  • Nash Schott '61 - Nash Schott is a distinguished former Assistant U.S. Attorney who served in the Eastern District of Virginia for more than 25 years, building a career in federal litigation and criminal prosecution. During his tenure, he handled significant cases and led the office’s Major Drug Traffickers Prosecution Unit, earning recognition as an experienced and respected federal prosecutor.
  • Nia Thompson '26 - Nia Thompson is a young actor, singer, and voice artist who made her Broadway debut as Young Nala in Disney’s The Lion King. Her credits also include Godfather of Harlem, Ada Twist, Scientist, Rise Up, Sing Out, and The Equalizer, showcasing a growing career across stage, television, and voice performance.
  • Alexander Nastos '04 - Lexi Nastos is the co-founder and COO of Maison MRKT, a New York-based performance marketing agency specializing in fashion, beauty, fragrance, and luxury brands. A Cornell University graduate, he oversees the agency’s growth marketing and CRM teams and has helped build Maison MRKT into a leading digital partner for more than 100 premium brands.