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Kew-Forest History
In the Beginning…
Imagine a time when Kew Gardens was a fledgling residential area with only a few apartment buildings on its perimeter and a scattering of large, well-designed homes on hilly, tree-lined streets; when it was linked to Forest Hills along a “Toonerville Trolley” line, replete with hills and hollows strewn with wild flowers for the picking; when businessmen and local residents traveled through Queens via open trolley in the summer, and in closed conveyances with pot-bellied stoves once the weather turned cold.
Given its proximity to Manhattan, this lovely neighborhood soon became a haven of artists, actors, authors, musicians, scientists, business executives, and professionals–many of whom had children who needed to go to school.
...To make every child…a power for good.
At the time, the educational options for area residents were limited. There was P.S. 101, of course, but it only ran from kindergarten through third grade. It consisted of a four-room wooden schoolhouse heated in the winter with a round coal stove located in the middle of its main hall. In addition to being drafty, the building had inadequate plumbing and needed to be moved to a different part of the grounds each year. After third grade, pupils had to either travel afield for public schooling, or commute to Garden City, Long Island, or Manhattan to find a private school of good quality.
In view of these hard facts facing the parents in the Twin Communities, several concerned local citizens began to seek an alternative. After much discussion and planning, they engaged Louis Durant Marriott and Guy Hinman Catlin, both teachers at St. Paul’s School in Garden City, Long Island, to become co-headmasters of a new school that straddled the communities of Kew Gardens and Forest Hills. The group then purchased a two-acre block of land and instituted a local sale of bonds to finance the construction of three buildings, made from brick and stucco, with white trim and green roofs, to be beautifully and faithfully executed in the Georgian style.
There were 50 children in attendance on opening day. The very first students enrolled were David Millar, Jr. ‘24, who eventually became an advertising executive and journalist, and his sister Mildred, who became Mrs. Mildred Millar Graff, a famed horticulturist and park conservator.
Kew-Forest School Legacy
Many decades later, the underpinnings of academic and intellectual curiosity, community service, and global citizenship continue to serve as the three pillars that sustain The Kew-Forest School. As the communities surrounding the school have changed, so has Kew-Forest, but always with these three pillars in focus. It is this strong heritage that has enabled the school to adapt and flourish through societal, educational, and demographic changes.
Neighborhood Celebrities and Guests
Some of the neighborhood celebrities who sent their children to Kew-Forest in the early years included:
- Will Rogers – the internationally renowned humorist, vaudeville performer, actor, newspaper columnist, and pioneer aviator
- Dale Carnegie – whose classes on better speaking and book How to Win Friends and Influence People had a positive effect on those caught in the Great Depression
- Jerome Glasser – Vice President of Good Humor Corporation, who was the first person chosen as Vice President of the school’s Board of Trustees; best known among K-F students of the time for the delicious ice cream sold from one of his trucks parked in the school yard after lunch
- Vladimir Zworykin – Vice President of Radio Corporation of America (RCA), whose discovery of the Zworykin Rays made modern television possible
- John V. Hogan – an engineer and inventor who worked on FM radio waves and owned WQXR-FM and WQXR radio stations
Probably the most celebrated personality to live in Forest Hills Gardens was Helen Keller, deaf, dumb and blind, and a graduate of Radcliffe College. She took a very strong interest in the new school growing on the edge of town and visited it a number of times. Speaking to the children, she answered their questions by holding her hand on the throat, jaw, and lips of her teacher Annie Sullivan, who repeated the questions to her.
Distinguished Graduates
As the years have passed, the School has continued to produce notable graduates, successful in their respective fields:
- David Arabov ’08, Entrepreneur; former CEO & Co-Founder, Elite Daily
- Hank Azaria ’81, Emmy award-winning actor (The Simpsons), comedian, and producer
- Alessandra Galloni ’91, Global Managing Editor, Reuters
- Phyllis Grann ‘54, Former Senior Editor of Doubleday and CEO of Penguin Putnam
- James Gray ‘87 – Film director (Little Odessa, The Immigrant, The Yards, Armageddon Time) and screenwriter
- Bonnie Hammer ’67, Chairman, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group
- Casey Heeg ’69, Mission Architect, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Laurence Meyer ‘61, Economist and former U.S. Federal Reserve System governor
- Adam Molnar ’10, Entrepreneur; Co-founder of Neurable; Forbes 30 Under 30
- Dan Paulson ‘59, Producer (Passenger 57) and actor
- Catherine W. Skinner ’48, Senior Research Scientist (Geology & Geophysics), Yale
- Gideon Yago ‘96 – Writer and former correspondent for MTV News
- Yury Yakubchyk ’09, Entrepreneur; Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Caregiver of Sprout; Forbes 30 Under 30
Heads of School
