Robert Louis Stevenson School

It is structured as an independent college-preparatory school accredited by NYSAIS with a CARF-accredited therapeutic program woven into its daily operations. The distinction is structural rather than cosmetic: every faculty member trains in evidence-based therapeutic approaches, a doctoral-level clinical team provides on-demand interventions throughout the school day, and the full staff — academic and clinical — meets each morning to coordinate support. Students follow a traditional liberal-arts curriculum while receiving integrated emotional and behavioral care.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy principles inform advising sessions that occur three times daily, therapeutic social groups, and one-on-one clinical interventions. Teachers embed emotional-regulation strategies into academic instruction rather than treating therapy as a separate pull-out service. The school describes its posture as expecting difficulties and planning for them, meaning behavioral setbacks are treated as curricular data points rather than disciplinary events.

The school serves adolescents in grades 8–12 who are challenged by anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders that have interfered with their ability to function in traditional independent-school settings. Stevenson positions itself as a re-entry pathway — students often arrive after struggling elsewhere, and the initial work focuses on rebuilding comfort and confidence before pushing toward college-level analytical work.

Stevenson does not publicly disclose an endowment figure or asset base. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, its operating model relies on tuition revenue, philanthropic contributions to the Robert Louis Stevenson School foundation, and auxiliary income. The organization's principal asset is its campus property at 24 West 74th Street, owned as a commercial real estate holding rather than held in a traditional investment portfolio.

A Board of Trustees provides fiduciary oversight, chaired by Pablo Calamera, an alum parent. Board officers include Treasurer Jonathan Bernstein and Secretary Harvey Newman. Trustee Paul Wexler brings healthcare real-estate expertise through his role at Wexler Healthcare Properties. Former Chair Howard Spivak previously led the board. Day-to-day operations are directed by Head of School Chris Ongaro, EdD.

The school is accredited by NYSAIS, the New York State Association of Independent Schools, a status it has held since 1979. Its therapeutic program is accredited by CARF International, an independent healthcare accreditor. Stevenson is also a member of ISAAGNY, the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York, which coordinates admissions among top Manhattan private schools.

The school publishes an annual college-destination list for graduating seniors. Stevenson frames college placement as a central outcome of its program, and its 2025 graduates placed into a range of institutions. The path to those acceptances is engineered through personalized academic goals, faculty advising, and executive-function support embedded in the therapeutic model.