New York s' School : Pointing Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School

Welcome to LREI ( Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School ).  At LREI (Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School) we understand that students learn best when they are engaged. That’s why our 14-year progressive program is rooted in a fundamental love of learning and a connection to the real world. Our teachers, experts in their fields, encourage children to use their curiosity, compassion and imagination to think deeply and to participate in finding solutions to real problems. As our founder Elisabeth Irwin put it, we “take students out of the classroom and into the world.” Almost a century later, we’re committed to keeping her progressive ideals alive. We understand that the world around us — particularly our ever-vibrant home, New York City — is the best place to learn. You’ll find our students asking questions about green design at the High Line, filming a documentary on Coney Island’s boardwalk and volunteering at the local food pantry we’ve partnered with for years. Our goal is to nurture each student’s innate curiosity and to help them gain a sense of purpose and a lifelong desire to grow. In the early 1900s, Elisabeth Irwin, John Dewey and other progressive educators developed a new educational approach based on active learning instead of passive absorption of facts. “The complacent formalism of schools, its uncritical and therefore uncreative spirit, must be replaced by an honest hospitality to experimentation,” Irwin wrote. LREI's history Elisabeth Irwin founded the Little Red School in 1921 as an alternative public elementary school. Parents and students loved the new dynamic learning community. It was an exciting place to learn, with a palpable spirit of curiosity, creativity and challenge. However, during the Depression, the Board of Education could not afford to keep the school open. Parents pledged their own resources, establishing Little Red School House as an independent elementary school. In 1941, the program expanded to include a high school at 40 Charlton Street. For nearly 70 years, we have been a pre-K through twelfth grade school: LREI. LREI remains faithful to the spirit of its founder — testing new ideas, finding new variations on tried and true principles, and challenging our students to discuss what Elisabeth Irwin called “possible new truths.” Our students are active learners and thoughtful decision-makers. Our faculty remains involved in every aspect of our program, and works together with enthusiasm and astuteness to conceive of fresh responses to students’ needs. Lower School and Middle School By Subway: From West 4th Street station, walk two blocks south on Sixth Avenue to Bleecker Street. OR From “1” train at Houston Street station, walk one block east on Houston Street to Sixth Avenue and then one block north to Bleecker Street. High School By Subway: From “E” or “C” at Spring Street station, walk north on Sixth Avenue to Charlton Street, then turn left on Charlton Street. OR from “1” train at Houston Street station, walk south on Varick Street to Charlton Street and turn left. Contact us anytime  Julia Heaton Director of Admissions 212-477-5316, ext.305 Yale University - B.A. Columbia University - M.A. READ BIO Michele Blackwell Director of Financial Aid & Associate Director High School Admissions 212-477-5316, ext.307 University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School - B.S. READ BIO Carly Hirsch Lower School Admissions Associate 212-477-5316, ext.211 Syracuse University - B.A. New York University - M.A. New York University - C.S.W. READ BIO