The Harley School: Tuition, Programs and Community
Founded in 1917, The Harley School is an independent, college-preparatory day school in Rochester, New York, committed to nurturing the whole child. As a diverse and inclusive coeducational community, Harley is nonsectarian and dedicated to providing a balanced education that inspires academic excellence, joy in learning, and both intellectual and physical well-being. The school emphasizes respectful discourse, collaborative learning, and service to others. Financial aid, wrap care, and transportation are available.
A Tradition of Excellence and Innovation
Harley fosters a culture of academic excellence where exploration, risk-taking, and intellectual curiosity fuel innovation and lifelong learning. The school's motto, "Become What Thou Art," reflects its commitment to helping students discover and develop their unique potential. The school was founded by Harriet Bentley.
Tuition and Affordability
Harley’s tuition reflects the small class sizes, exceptional faculty, and individualized learning experiences that define the community. For the 2025-26 school year, tuition ranges from $19,400 to $33,250, and includes most day-to-day academic materials, snacks and lunch, student activities, and access to the full educational program for Nursery through Grade 12.
It is important to consider the hidden costs of private school, including fees, uniforms, and extras parents must budget for beyond tuition. However, 50% of Harley students are on some level of financial aid, demonstrating the school's commitment to making its education accessible to a diverse range of families.
The average private school tuition in Rochester, NY is $16,702 for elementary schools and $23,692 for high schools.
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Academic Programs and Unique Opportunities
Harley's academic program is designed to leverage and encourage the development of traits in a young person’s mind, including: critical thinking, an enduring drive toward genuine understanding, and the ability to risk “mistakes” to fuel growth.
At Harley, students engage in opportunities they won’t find elsewhere in Rochester, NY. In the Lower School, third graders build their entrepreneurial skills by growing, harvesting, marketing, and selling garlic in the on-campus microfarm in an annual tradition called Harlic Garlic. Middle School capstone projects allow students to collaborate with faculty mentors to explore independent research. The Upper School hospice program offers graduating seniors the chance to learn how to care for others who truly need their purposeful, non-judgmental attention. Harley is also home to the Horizons program, a six-week summer enrichment program for urban children of limited financial means in grades 1-8.
Classes are taught in the traditional fields of history, English, mathematics, science, and foreign languages. All students are required to take three years of a foreign language before graduating, with options for Spanish, French, and Latin. In May 2018, 98 Upper School students took 197 Advanced Placement examinations; 85% scored 3 or better.
The curriculum includes devoted faculty whose average tenure is 17 years, purpose, learning that nurtures curiosity and confidence, built-in social-emotional development, independent studies, and senior capstone opportunities, and intellectual exploration, wellness, and outdoor education, and Glass Studio, balance, and whole-community wellbeing, spaces for exploration and movement, community, learning, athletics, and interdisciplinary inquiry.
One annual tradition that ties Grade 3 students to the Microfarm is Harlic Garlic. Among a number of inventive, interactive projects, the Twoville Post Office, begun in 1982, is an annual student favorite. Two Upper Schoolers were inspired by The Wintergartan Marble Machine, which sends thousands of steel marbles around an enormously complex circuit to make music. Wolf Tank is much like “Shark Tank,” a popular TV show that gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of business people and investors.
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A Focus on Community and Well-being
The Harley School places a strong emphasis on community and well-being. The school fosters connections from the start. The average class size is 8 students.
The 25-acre campus includes a main building, the Fieldhouse athletic center, and The Commons. The grounds hold two soccer fields, baseball/softball fields, indoor/outdoor tennis courts, a playground for Lower School students, an aquatic center with an adjacent fitness room (established in 2019), and an outdoor area for Middle School students. The Commons, opened in 2014, is a 15,000-square-foot structure earning its status as a “living building” because it generates its own energy, heats and cools with renewable nontoxic resources, captures and utilizes water and carbon in its greenhouse, and operates efficiently using students as the “brains” or controls for managing its operations. Also housed in The Commons are the Briggs Center for Civic Engagement, Center for Mindfulness and Empathy Education (CMEE), a design lab and maker space, and the Middle School Science Center.
The Harley School maintains many traditions, such as its annual Candlelight Pan-Religious ceremony, and May Day, when school is dismissed early to allow students to interact outdoors. Other important traditions include the Halloween Parade, the Holiday Feast, the Scottish Exchange program, Lower School Pageant, the 2nd grade overnight, and the acorn ceremony.
Athletics
The athletics program at Harley partners with Allendale Columbia School to create a larger, more competitive athletic program. The combined Harley and Allendale-Columbia teams, frequently referred to as HAC, originally competed as the Harley Allendale-Columbia Braves. In 1997, students of both schools voted to change the team name from the Braves to the Wolves. HAC fields teams in 19 different varsity sports and have won Section Five championships in twelve of those 19 sports. The athletic program has been very successful in the Finger Lakes High School Athletic Association and normally competes in the West Division with like-size schools.
Reviews and Reputation
The Harley School is consistently recognized as a top-ranked school in Rochester. Niche.com, a widely respected school ranking platform, provides a comprehensive breakdown of the best schools in the Rochester area, and Harley consistently ranks among the top private institutions.
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One parent notes, “We’ve witnessed incredible growth in our child-in confidence, voice, and his ability to express himself and face challenges. This transformation is a direct result of the hard work, patience, and unwavering belief that Harley teachers pour into every student.” Another parent shares, “Choosing this school was the best decision for our children. They face academic challenges and enjoy the support of their teachers and friends. The teachers are attentive, especially regarding how students treat each other."
Kai DeJesus ’19, an Undergraduate Student at Harvard College and Political Outreach Lead (MA) for Brand New Congress, states, “I love Harley. The Harley community’s devotion to progress, especially evident in our mission of diversity and inclusion, gives us unique potential as a school that can be a place welcoming to all. And, honestly, I am incredibly grateful for this community." Luke H. shares, “There’s nothing I love more about Harley than our community. My teachers take time to talk with me or share things they think I’ll find interesting, and my classmates are always willing to help out if there is something I don’t understand."
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