Saint David's School

Saint David's School is an independent Catholic boys' day school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Nine Catholic families founded it in 1951. Today it enrolls between 300 and 500 boys across pre-school, elementary, and middle school. The program ends at eighth grade, so faculty guide boys through their early years and into secondary school placement.

The academic program is classical in shape. Boys study French, Latin, and Spanish from a young age, which is unusual at the elementary level in New York. The school frames its method as a balance of rigorous study, moral reflection, and close analysis of ideas. Catholic identity runs through daily life, though faculty and families come from many backgrounds.

Teaching here looks different from a K-12 school. Because grades stop at eight, faculty are specialists in early childhood, lower school, or middle school work — not generalists stretched across a wider span. Class sections are small, and homeroom teachers, subject specialists, and coaches know each boy well. Faculty shape curriculum directly rather than inheriting it.

Compensation reflects the New York market. Net assets above $116 million and roughly $34 million in annual revenue support competitive salaries, strong health and retirement benefits, and tuition remission options common at peer NYC day schools. There is no housing component, since this is a day school.

Saint David's School hires teaching faculty in the humanities, sciences, mathematics, world languages, and the arts, plus athletics, learning support, admissions, advancement, and administrative staff. Most faculty searches close before the school year starts.