Student Life
Community
There is a strong sense of community at Buckley. The boys learn cooperation and teamwork in the classroom, on the stage, and on the playing fields, and they learn to respect and care for others as members of a compassionate and inclusive student and teacher—and parent—community.
Service. Community service is a priority at Buckley and an integral part of school life. Students are highly involved and committed. Led by the Student Council, Buckley boys support many worthwhile endeavors, with an emphasis on local organizations such as Clown Care which benefits children in hospitals, the New York Common Pantry which sponsors food and clothing drives, City Harvest which leads a Halloween drive and the Little Sisters of the Assumption (LSA) which helps families in East Harlem. In recent years, boys in the Upper School have gathered on a Saturday in December with faculty and families to buy and wrap gifts for needy children of the LSA, and boys have participated in a service overnight through YSOP (Youth Service Opportunities Project), volunteering at soup kitchens and homeless hospitality programs. The Student Council spearheaded a coat drive for families in Appalachia and a supplies drive for families in Puerto Rico, and teachers often organize service opportunities, such as a Saturday Class VIII outing to a shelter to prepare and serve food for homeless guests.
Diversity. Of all the tenets in our mission statement, we are perhaps most proud of our commitment to instilling a deep and genuine respect for others in all of our boys. Knowing that we aspire to be model citizens, neighbors, and human beings, we foster a diverse and inclusive faculty and engage in conversation regularly on how we can take young boys of promise and inspire them to become global, mindful, compassionate young men. These faculty-led conversations have resulted in meaningful work in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in recent years, and our boys have been the beneficiaries. Through ally and affinity groups, we guide them toward a deeper understanding of these important issues throughout their years at Buckley, and we are proud of our Upper School students who speak on these topics in front of audiences at Buckley and at independent school conferences.
Please click here to see our Equity Statement and a booklet about DEI efforts in our curriculum.
Please click here to see our Equity Statement and a booklet about DEI efforts in our curriculum.
Family. The Buckley family is not limited to students and teachers. Parent involvement is not only encouraged, it is essential to the success of our mission. The Parents Committee meets regularly and helps plan special family events, including the Family Skating Party, the Book Fair, the Spring Art Exhibition, and Grandparents Day. The Fathers Committee organizes annual events, such as the overnight camping trip in the fall, a dinner off-campus for Middle and Upper School families in the winter, and a baseball game outing every spring. Parents are constantly seen around Buckley, whether walking safety patrol, hanging art on the walls, dressing the boys in costumes for a class play, or volunteering at the Used Clothing Sale. We greatly appreciate and value this partnership.
