Academics
PROGRAMS / High SChool
After-School Programs & Clubs
Life at Grace’s high school is rich and full—not just in the classroom, but in everything that surrounds it. Students arrive at 46 Cooper Square and find a community that takes their interests, passions, and voices seriously, and that offers them real opportunities to lead, create, compete, and connect.
Clubs at Grace are student-run, student-generated, and faculty-supported—and there are currently more than 70 of them. Clubs meet each week, with the option to meet additionally whenever student leaders are available. Current offerings span the full range of student interests, including Improv, Debate & Rhetoric, Model UN, Philosophy Club, Writer’s Haven, Python Coding, and Investment Club. Student initiative is celebrated at Grace, and beginning in tenth grade, students may submit proposals for new clubs. All clubs are expected to organize a school-wide initiative that shares their mission with the broader community.
Affinity groups and alliance spaces are an integral part of high school life as well, providing dedicated communities where students can engage in conversations around identity, find belonging among peers who share their experiences, and learn about and support the experiences of others.
Grace’s high school student government was designed by students in the school’s inaugural year, a fitting origin story for a program arising from the conviction that student voice matters. The Student Committee elects officers each fall and works to identify the needs of the student body, organize community events, and practice the communication and leadership skills that will serve students well beyond Grace. It is one of many ways the high school asks students not just to participate in their community, but to take an active role in shaping it.
Peer Leadership is a selective, application-based two-year program in which juniors and seniors develop facilitation, communication, and leadership skills while working directly with younger students across Grace’s Lower School, Middle School, and ninth grade. Juniors take a yearlong leadership course while co-facilitating groups with students in the Lower and Middle School, building self-awareness, and practicing effective communication in real time. Seniors take on greater leadership and responsibility, engaging in a yearlong course while leading ninth grade advisory groups weekly and developing and executing programming for a division of their choosing. It is one of the most tangible and meaningful expressions of the school’s belief that leadership is learned by doing, and the connections it helps build among Grace’s divisions are a source of genuine strength for the whole community.
“What I find most inspiring isn’t just the range and diversity of our 70+ clubs, it’s what happens next: An idea one student cares about grows into something the whole community rallies around.”
Donald Okpalugo, Dean of Students
“Some of the best lessons our students learn happen outside the classroom — on a field, in a gym, on a bus ride home after a hard-fought game. At Grace, athletics is where kids learn resilience, friendship, and what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves. It’s not just part of our school culture — for so many families, it’s where that culture comes alive.”
Timothy Quinn, Director of Athletics
Grace has fielded competitive athletic teams for more than 50 years, and the program’s tradition of excellence—including 12 undefeated seasons—reflects a longstanding commitment to athletics as an essential part of a student’s development. At the high school level, students compete at both the Junior Varsity and Varsity levels across three seasons: fall, winter, and spring. The Varsity program emphasizes skill development, strategy, fitness, sportsmanship, and character, with coaches who are specialists in their fields. A Fitness Room in the high school building is available to students during their free periods, and coaches work closely with Grace’s Head Athletic Trainer to help athletes perform at their best and avoid injury. The Junior Varsity program prepares student athletes physically and mentally for Varsity competition, with the same emphasis on cooperation, skill, and character. All students are encouraged to try out for a team, and every season includes teams that do not require tryouts, ensuring that there is a place in Grace athletics for students at every level of experience.
For students who want to deepen their musical skills outside of the ensemble program, private music lessons are available through the Grace After School Program. Whether a student is preparing an audition portfolio, developing technique on a new instrument, or simply pursuing a love of music with greater focus, private lessons offer a valuable complement to the performing arts program.
