In a review of students’ academic performance, extracurricular activities, college preparation, the quality of faculty, and other features by Niche, an online publication that ranks schools, the Ross School has been named the number-one boarding school out of 31 institutions in New York State for 2025.
Ross announced the news on Oct. 9, with Tom Sturtevant, its head of school, calling it a proud moment for the school. It was also named the top private high school in Suffolk County and the sixth-best high school for arts studies in the state.
“This ranking is a testament to the joyful, caring, and academically engaging culture of our school community,” Mr. Sturtevant said in a statement. “At Ross, we create an environment where students from New York and from all over the world thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Our innovative curriculum and commitment to holistic education are what set us apart, and this achievement reflects our ongoing mission to educate the whole child for the whole world.”
Ross, which was established in 1991 by the documentary filmmaker and philanthropist Courtney Sale Ross, who named it in memory of her husband, Steven J. Ross, former co-chairman of Time Warner. It has since grown to span two campuses, an Upper School for grades seven through 12 with both boarding school and day school programs in East Hampton, and a nursery-through-sixth-grade Lower School in Bridgehampton. Enrollment is around 320 students, many of them coming from abroad.
Niche’s report card gave A and A+ grades to every aspect of the school experience except for sports, which received a B. The base high school tuition cost, according to Niche, is $50,550 per year, which rises to $86,200 for the boarding program. Thirty-five percent of its students receive financial aid. The student-teacher ratio is four to one, according to Niche.
A signature program at Ross is its “spiral curriculum,” which “promotes interdisciplinary thinking and real-world problem-solving” across grade levels. Its Field Academy program sends students abroad to study, sightsee, and complete community service projects.