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Manhattan Country School is a private coeducational PreK-8 school with its main location in Manhattan and a farm in Roxbury, New York. Founded in 1966, it is distinctive because of its multicultural and progressive educational philosophy, the diversity of its student body, its sliding scale tuition system, its incorporation of farm experiences and the activism of its students.

Manhattan Country School
Established	1966
School type	Coed, Private
Affiliation	NYAIS, ISAAGNY
Grades	PreK-8
Head of School	Michèle Solá
Faculty
Students	190
Athletics	Soccer, basketball, track, softball
Athletic Conference	American International Private School League
Colors	Blue, White
Educational Philosophy	Progressive, Multicultural
Location	New York, NY and Roxbury, NY
Website	manhattancountryschool.org

Contents 1 History 2 Curriculum 3 Farm program 4 Tuition System 5 Student Body 6 Notable Alumni 7 Notable Attenders 8 References

Manhattan Country School has a distinctive sliding scale tuition system that was originally known as "Tuition Reform" and is now called the "Family Financial Commitment Plan." The system was designed to eliminate the distinction between "scholarship" and "full tuition" students by encouraging all families to pay for school using a sliding scale tuition based on family income. Families of sufficient means are asked to voluntarily contribute a comparable percentage of their incomes to the percentage asked of other families. The concepts behind the plan were originally developed by Frank Roosevelt and Hugh Southern in the context of intense debates during early years of MCS. That process is described in Frank Roosevelt and Thomas Vitullo-Martin, Tuition Reform for Private Schools: The Manhattan Country School Plan .

That scale is, in part, based on the "cost per child" which is the total budget divided by the number of students (with some adjustment for grade level). "Full tuition" is equal to the cost per child. The principle behind this is that families of means should not be subsidized by annual giving or the endowment; this is in contrast to many other schools which have a "gap" that represents the difference between tuition and the actual cost of educating a child.

Each year, families receive a Family Financial Worksheet which is used to calculate their contracted fee based on household income with an adjustment for assets. Currently the highest rate for tuition is 12 percent of this adjusted figure. Families whose calculated rate yield an among higher than the cost per child are asked to pledge an amount equal to the difference between the two amounts.

Manhattan Country School was founded with the goal of being a model racially integrated school. Today it remains well know is known for the diversity of its student body. There is no racial majority. According to the MCS website [1] 45% of the student body is white, 28% is African American, 19% is Hispanic/Latino and 8% is Asian American. About 22% of students define themselves as multiracial or biracial. MCS is considered the most racially and ethnically diverse independent school in New York and perhaps nationally.

Approximately 70 percent of MCS students pay less than the full "cost per child." This is among the highest percentages of students receiving financial aid at any independent school.

Enrollment typically consists of 190 students evenly divided between girls and boys.

Kelis Rogers

Adin Levy

Manhattan Country School Website

Bennett, Adrian Education in an Unequal and Diverse Society An anthropoligist studies MCS.

Augustus Trowbridge, Begin with a Dream: How a Public School with a Private Mission Changed the Politics of Race, Class, and Gender in American Education Memoir by the co-founder of MCS.

Frank Roosevelt and Thomas Vitullo-Martin, Tuition Reform for Private Schools: The Manhattan Country School Plan