The Doane Stuart School
The Doane Stuart School is an independent, interfaith, non-profit private day school in Rensselaer, NY, serving PreK through Grade 12 families in the Capital Region on a 27-acre campus with a 7:1 student-teacher ratio and 100% college placement, supplemented by summer camps, early-childhood programs, and a homeschool partnership.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1975
- HeadquartersRensselaer, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Doane Stuart School does
The Doane Stuart School is an independent, interfaith, non-profit private day school located on a 27-acre campus at 199 Washington Avenue, Rensselaer, New York, serving families in New York's Capital Region. Founded in 1975 through the merger of Kenwood Academy of the Sacred Heart (Catholic, established 1852) and St. Agnes School (Episcopal, established 1870), the school currently operates a PreK and Grades 5-12 program and has announced a return to a full PreK through Grade 12 model beginning in the 2026-27 school year. Its academic offering is organized into three core divisions — PreK & Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School — unified by a Personalized Learning philosophy, a 7:1 student-teacher ratio, and 100% college placement. The Class of 2025 included 21 graduates who together earned more than $2 million in four-year scholarships and $4M in merit scholarships across 125+ admission offers. The product surface is layered with experiential programs including annual Expeditions Week (interdisciplinary project-based learning), a Senior Internship Week, athletics (70% participation), and arts & music. Ancillary revenue programs include Summer Days themed weekly camps for PreK through Grade 6 ($330/week), Tiny Thunderchickens caregiver-and-me classes for ages 2-3 ($80-$120/session), and the Learning Partners Program that integrates homeschool students in Grades 5-12 into part-time in-person classes.
The school operates a hybrid revenue model: recurring tuition is the primary stream, supplemented by transactional fees from summer and early-childhood programs, subscription-style fees from Learning Partners, and philanthropic support from alumni, parents, and external grants (e.g., a 2025 Sierra Club Hudson Mohawk Group grant for a sustainability initiative including an electric Ford Lightning truck and electric landscaping equipment). The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through a WordPress-based website with Lightspeed-powered registration for Summer Days and ParentSquare for parent communications; Google Meet supports virtual events. Strategic momentum in 2025-26 includes the 50th anniversary celebration (U.S. House of Representatives proclamation, NY State Assembly Citation), the 2025 Best Places to Work recognition by the Albany Business Review, the new international exchange partnership with Ennis Community College in County Clare, Ireland launching in 2026-27, and the announced Lower School expansion. The school is led by Head of School Marcy Cathey, with a 101-250 employee base, no parent company, and no disclosed founder equity or institutional investor ownership — making it an autonomous independent institution rather than a subsidiary or investee.
The Doane Stuart School firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Doane Stuart School
- Legal name
- The Doane Stuart School
- Website
- https://doanestuart.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1975
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The Doane Stuart School is an independent, interfaith, non-profit private day school in Rensselaer, NY, serving PreK through Grade 12 families in the Capital Region on a 27-acre campus with a 7:1 student-teacher ratio and 100% college placement, supplemented by summer camps, early-childhood programs, and a homeschool partnership.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Doane Stuart School industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private K-12 Education
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (611), Educational Services (61)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- General Preschools (Play-Based) (EDACABAA), K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA)
Keywords
Where The Doane Stuart School is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rensselaer
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
The Doane Stuart School business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Tuition & Fees: Recurring tuition paid by enrolled PreK through Grade 12 families (with a Tuition & Affordability / financial aid program). This is the core revenue stream of the private school.
- Summer Days Program Revenue: Per-week program fees for summer camps (Little Peeps PreK/K and Grades 1-6) plus optional Extended Day add-on. One-time/seasonal transactional revenue.
- Tiny Thunderchickens Program Revenue: Per-session caregiver-and-me class fees for ages 2-3 ($120 twice-weekly or $80 once-weekly, with sibling discounts). Recurring short-cycle program revenue.
- Philanthropy & Grants: Donations from alumni, parents, and friends ("Give" CTA) plus grants (e.g., Sierra Club Hudson Mohawk grant funded the sustainability initiative including an electric Ford Lightning truck and electric landscaping equipment).
- Learning Partners Program Fees: Course fees paid by homeschool families enrolling in part-time classes (Grades 5-12), varying by subject and schedule.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Summer Days Grades 1-6 weekly camp |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Little Peeps (PreK & Kindergarten) Summer Program |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Extended Day Add-on |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Tiny Thunderchickens Caregiver & Me (Ages 2-3) |
| Other | Annual | Learning Partners Program (Homeschool, Grades 5-12) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
The Doane Stuart School product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Doane Stuart School is an independent, interfaith, non-profit day school operating on a 27-acre campus in Rensselaer, NY, delivering PreK through Grade 12 college-preparatory education organized into Lower, Middle, and Upper School divisions with a 7:1 student-teacher ratio. Beyond the core academic program, the school sells ancillary offerings including Summer Days camps (Little Peeps PreK/K and Grades 1-6 themed weekly programs), Tiny Thunderchickens caregiver-and-me classes for ages 2-3, and a Learning Partners Program integrating homeschool students in Grades 5-12 into part-time in-person classes.
Product overview
The Doane Stuart School is a PreK–Grade 12 independent, interfaith day school (returning to a full PreK–12 model in 2026–27) located on a 27-acre campus at 199 Washington Ave., Rensselaer, NY 12144, serving the Capital Region for over 50 years. Its offering is structured as a unified academic platform organized into three core academic divisions — PreK & Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School — unified by a Personalized Learning approach and supplemented by College Counseling, Senior Internship, Athletics, and Arts & Music. Layered on top of the core academic platform are recurring annual programs including the interdisciplinary Expeditions Week and Summer Days enrichment programs (subdivided into Little Peeps for ages 3–5 and Grades 1–6 themed weekly camps such as Hogwarts on the Hudson, Lego Lab, Flight Lab, Woodworks & Wonders, Animators & Adventurers, and Science Academy), the Tiny Thunderchickens caregiver-and-me early childhood program (ages 2–3), and the Learning Partners Program, which integrates homeschool students in Grades 5–12 into in-person classes and enrichment. The school's digital service surface includes a Lightspeed-powered online Summer Days Registration store and a ParentSquare parent communication portal.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Tiny Thunderchickens: "Caregiver & Me" program designed for children ages 2 to 3 years old and their grown-ups, offering play, music, movement, and creative exploration classes at Doane Stuart.
- Learning Partners Program
- Summer Days @ Doane Stuart
Products and services
- PreK & Lower School Foundational academic division offering inquiry-based learning in literacy, mathematics, science, and the arts for PreK through Grade 4 students; part of the school's core college-preparatory curriculum.
- Middle School Intermediate academic division delivering rigorous college-preparatory coursework and the annual Expeditions Week interdisciplinary, project-based learning program for Middle School students.
- Upper School College-preparatory division serving Grades 9-12 with experiential learning led by the Director of Experiential Learning & Curriculum Development, achieving 100% college placement and generating significant merit scholarships.
- College Counseling College guidance and counseling services supporting Upper School students, producing strong outcomes including admission offers to NYU, Northeastern, University of Wisconsin-Madison, SUNY Albany, University at Buffalo, Penn State, and UConn.
- Senior Internship A week-long internship program for Upper School seniors providing real-world professional experience as part of the school's experiential learning curriculum.
- Summer Days - Little Peeps (PreK & Kindergarten) Enrichment summer program for children ages 3-5 running daily 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with a half-day option (9 a.m.-12 p.m.) and weekly themes spanning 8 weeks, designed to nurture social skills, resilience, self-regulation, and healthy development.
- Summer Days - Grades 1-6 Enrichment summer program for students in Grades 1-6 offering weekly themed camps including Hogwarts on the Hudson, Lego Lab, Flight Lab, Animators & Adventurers, and Science Academy, with Full Day, Half Day, and Extended Day options.
- Tiny Thunderchickens Caregiver-and-me program for children ages 2-3 and their grown-ups offering play, music, movement, and creative exploration classes taught by Lauren Bugbee, M.S.Ed., with twice-weekly or once-weekly options.
- Learning Partners Program Part-time, in-person learning opportunities for homeschool students in Grades 5-12, with the Upper School track allowing up to 3 individually selected in-person classes per semester and the Middle School Explorers track offering enrichment in Visual Arts, Band/Chorus, Technology, PE, and Foreign Language.
Companies that use The Doane Stuart School
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles4 records
The Doane Stuart School technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature4 records
The Doane Stuart School partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Doane Stuart School competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Emma Willard School: Independent boarding and day school in Troy, NY serving grades 9-12; located within 10 miles of Doane Stuart and competing for the same Capital Region college-prep families at the upper-school level.
- La Salle Institute: Catholic independent school in Troy, NY serving grades 6-12; another small, faith-affiliated Capital Region private school competing with Doane Stuart for tuition-paying families in the same geography.
- The Academy of the Holy Names: Catholic independent K-12 school in Albany, NY serving the same Capital Region tuition-paying families as Doane Stuart; comparable size, faith-rooted heritage, and PreK-12 structure make it the closest direct peer.
- The Albany Academies: Independent PreK-12 school in Albany (with separate boys' and girls' divisions), directly competing for Capital Region families and offering a similar small-class, college-preparatory profile as Doane Stuart.
Broad incumbents
- Avenues: The World School: Large, globally-focused independent PreK-12 school with campuses in NYC and beyond; shares Doane Stuart's interdisciplinary, project-based and personalized-learning philosophy but operates at a far larger scale and price point.
Regional players
- Greens Farms Academy: Independent PreK-12 day school in Greens Farms, CT with a similar personalized-learning and experiential-learning curriculum structure; comparable in scale and academic positioning to Doane Stuart.
- Hackley School: Independent PreK-12 day school in Tarrytown, NY; comparable in offering a full PreK-12 personalized curriculum in a single campus setting, but located in the downstate New York market rather than Doane Stuart's Capital Region.
- The Masters School: Independent day school in Dobbs Ferry, NY serving grades 5-12; comparable in college-preparatory focus and small-cohort feel to Doane Stuart's Middle and Upper School.
- Rye Country Day School: Independent PreK-12 day school in Rye, NY with a similar small-school, personalized-learning positioning; serves as a useful comparability benchmark for Doane Stuart's model, though in a different (more affluent) geography.
- Birch Wathen Lenox School: Small independent K-12 school in New York City; similar in scale and in offering a personalized, single-campus PreK-12 experience, providing a useful small-private-school benchmark.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Doane Stuart School social profiles
Digital presenceThe Doane Stuart School financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Doane Stuart School leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
The Doane Stuart School funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Doane Stuart School M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Doane Stuart School
What does The Doane Stuart School do?
The Doane Stuart School is an independent, interfaith, non-profit day school operating on a 27-acre campus in Rensselaer, NY, delivering PreK through Grade 12 college-preparatory education organized into Lower, Middle, and Upper School divisions with a 7:1 student-teacher ratio. Beyond the core academic program, the school sells ancillary offerings including Summer Days camps (Little Peeps PreK/K and Grades 1-6 themed weekly programs), Tiny Thunderchickens caregiver-and-me classes for ages 2-3, and a Learning Partners Program integrating homeschool students in Grades 5-12 into part-time in-person classes.
Is The Doane Stuart School a public or private company?
The Doane Stuart School is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Doane Stuart School founded?
The Doane Stuart School was founded in 1975. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is The Doane Stuart School based?
The Doane Stuart School is headquartered in Rensselaer, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Doane Stuart School make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Tuition & Fees are the primary driver. The others are summer Days Program Revenue, tiny Thunderchickens Program Revenue, philanthropy & Grants and learning Partners Program Fees.
Who are The Doane Stuart School's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Emma Willard School, La Salle Institute, The Academy of the Holy Names and The Albany Academies. Avenues: The World School is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Greens Farms Academy, Hackley School, The Masters School, Rye Country Day School and Birch Wathen Lenox School.
Does The Doane Stuart School have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Doane Stuart School.
What industry is The Doane Stuart School in?
The Doane Stuart School's product category is Private K-12 Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJABAA, Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools, with a secondary code of EDACABAA, General Preschools (Play-Based). Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.