Some student records from the early decades of the twentieth century are held in the collection, dating through about 1940. These include student files from the midtown school and the Fieldston campus. This record group does not include student records from the Normal School (last graduating class was in 1941), which are found in Record Group 2. These student records are all closed to general access until 2040. New-York Historical Society generally holds no student records for graduating classes from 1940 and later, though a very few random files from the early 1940s appear to have been interfiled with the earlier files. The files include grades, qualitative evaluations, permission slips, correspondence, notes on college acceptances, etc. The files include some documents from years after the student left ECFS such as requests for transcripts, clippings (regarding marriages and the like), and other individual alumni matters.
There are three sets of records: files for graduating classes up to 1936, files for graduating classes of 1937-1939, and index cards of records for students. Each set of files are in alphabetical order by student surname. The index cards were originally labeled as "withdrawn students through 1936," but there are cards for students through 1940 (and a very few from the early 1940s) and there are cards for students who graduated from tthe schools.
The index card files are clearly incomplete as seen by the obvious gaps in the alphabetical sequence. It is not known how complete the other two sets of files are.
To request permission to access any student historical records, contact Ethical Culture Fieldston School's Chief Operating Officer (COO). No access will be permitted without the explicit, written permission of the COO.
