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Pre-K through 12th Grade Two campuses in the heart of Greenwich Village

Welcome to LREI Since its founding over 100 years ago, LREI has operated from the belief that children learn best through experience and meaningful work. We engage students in a lifelong practice of examining complex problems critically and collaboratively in order to generate a range of ideas and solutions. Through a rigorous academic program, led by skilled and dedicated faculty, students are supported in applying their learning creatively, stretching beyond the familiar and comfortable. Why? Students are moving from school towards a world that is increasingly unpredictable. LREI students are prepared learners who are ready not only for what’s next, but for what’s possible.

“This is an incredibly vibrant place to go to school, where our students’ energy and our faculty’s expertise meet the world through meaningful work. This is a truly life-changing educational experience.” — Phil Kassen, LREI Director

LREI athletics complements the academic program through three seasons of competitive interscholastic competition for seventh through twelfth grade across 27 teams, as well as intramural sports for fifth and sixth grades.

Campus Map Christopher St AV E

West 4th St

A C E B D F M

Greenwich Village Six th Ave

SEV

West Village

LOWER & MIDDLE SCHOOL 272 Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10014

Houston St 1

40 Charlton Street New York, NY 10014

AV E SIXTH

HIGH SCHOOL

HOUSTON STREET BALLFIELD (Recess Location)

CHARLTON ST

Spring St C E

Our private school buses also stop in 16 neighborhoods across Brooklyn and Queens.

145 Thompson Street New York, NY 10012

THOMPSON STREET ATHLETIC CENTER

SOHO OM

LREI is a short walk from the A, C, E, B, D, F, M, R, W, 1, and 6 trains, plus crosstown and avenue bus lines and the PATH train.

B D F M 6

Getting Here

Broadway-Lafayette St Bleecker St

Prince St R W

Every day, in every grade, our students work collaboratively to solve complex problems. They learn to communicate effectively and to build shared understanding across differences. They ask deep questions and take bold risks, knowing they’re safe and supported as part of our closeknit, caring community.

A Message from the Director I began my career at LREI as a part-time science teacher in the fall of 1985. I planned to stay for a year, figuring that was enough time to decide what I really wanted to do with my life. Turns out, it was. What I didn’t expect was that “Little Red” would become my community, a place where I would spend four decades learning, growing, and serving teachers and families. What an honor. So, what inspired me to stay at LREI? What inspires me each day and, for that matter, what do other members of the LREI community find so inspiring, so transformative? I am inspired by the respect that is afforded each member of the community. We respect the “smarts” and knowledge that each of our students arrives with each day. Your child will be known here. Their questions and their input will guide our work in the classroom, and they will

learn to be equally generous with their schoolmates, respecting the dignity and input of each person. I am inspired by our teachers’ expertise and dedication, seen each day as they create classrooms and experiences that capture the interests and passions of all students. And I am impressed by the hard work I see from each student as they learn new skills, apply them in novel situations, stick with knotty problems, and persevere. Now that’s rigor: application, commitment, investigation, and stick-to-it-iveness. Deeper learning, longer lasting, larger purpose. I am inspired by the hopefulness I find here—the belief that our actions should have a positive impact. Our students take what they learn in school out into the world, merging their school lives and their “outside” lives. Learning how to apply what you learn is both essential practice and, at

its heart, the first hopeful step towards active citizenship. In a time of immense change, students must develop the skills to understand the world around them and the habits of mind to apply those skills in new and varied ways—ways we cannot yet imagine. This requires the expertise and experience that is at the heart of everything we do at LREI. We’re excited for you to experience the richness and depth of our program and community. Just don’t be surprised if you never want to leave. Warmly,

Phil Kassen Director of LREI

L R E I BY T H E N U M B E R S

580

Students in grades pre-k through 12th

6:1

Student/faculty ratio

Campus buildings in Greenwich Village

Minimum number of hours LREI students spend doing fieldwork annually

103

Zip codes in our student population across all five boroughs & NJ

34%

Students of color

142

Faculty & staff

Public transit stops within a 10-minute walk of LREI

Neighborhoods in Brooklyn & Queens served by our private bus route

100%

Technology, books, field trips, domestic travel, lunch, athletics gear, & more covered by our all-inclusive tuition

Extracurricular activities & clubs offered across the divisions

100%

Students take arts, music, & performance classes

From the start, LREI students learned by doing, exploring New York City's streets, waterfront, and neighborhoods as their classroom, and bringing back what they discovered to shape their own questions and ideas. Irwin envisioned classrooms as "laboratories where children could experiment with life."

Concerts & productions per school year

60%

As LREI continues to evolve and grow, we hold fast to the mission that has defined teaching and learning at our school for more than a century:

Middle & high school students participate in team sports

Number of athletic teams, including baseball, tennis, volleyball, & fencing

A leader in progressive education since 1921, LREI teaches children to be independent thinkers who work together to solve complex problems. Students graduate from our diverse community as active participants in our democratic society, with the creativity, integrity, and courage to bring meaningful change to the world.

Advanced electives offered annually to eleventh & twelfth graders

11 years

$49,632

72%

Average financial aid award

LREI was founded in 1921 by educational pioneer Elisabeth Irwin. LREI paved the way for a groundbreaking approach to education that's as relevant today as it was when it launched: learning grounded in meaningful experience, not rote memorization; a belief that children construct knowledge and deserve to be met where they are, and challenged to go further; and a conviction that school should build engaged, empathetic citizens who have the tools to make a difference.

A century later, the world Irwin anticipated has truly arrived: one that rewards curiosity and critical thinking, that requires students to adapt, collaborate, and make sense of constant change.

29%

Families receiving financial aid

History and Principles

Average tenure of an LREI teacher

Seniors accepted into highly selective colleges & universities

Our teachers know when to coach and challenge—and, just as important, when to let students take the lead.

Fieldwork in Action

At LREI, students from pre-k through twelfth grade are active participants during field trips; they are engaged researchers conducting fieldwork. As a cornerstone of experiential learning, fieldwork challenges students to pose questions, gather data, and return to the classroom to examine, interpret, and synthesize what they have learned in the world around them. Our founder, Elisabeth Irwin, introduced the concept of “fieldwork” to American education. She envisioned a community of learners who understood that meaningful learning requires stepping beyond the school building, making sense of and forging connections with the wider world. More than 100 years later, her vision continues to shape an approach to learning that uses the world as a laboratory for deep engagement with the ecosystems, cultures, and communities that surround us.

A Fieldwork Timeline In pre-k, students begin fieldwork by visiting each other’s homes to construct knowledge and understanding of the central social concepts of “family” and “home.” In second grade, students travel on more than 30 fieldwork excursions to take a deeper look at the needs and resources of New York City, building foundational inquiry and critical investigation skills. Overnight farm trips, which begin in third and fourth grade, allow students to explore life beyond the city and build the skills of agency and autonomy. Every middle school student ventures outside of the city for a week in the fall, embarking on fieldwork tied to their Humanities studies. During the seventh grade trip to Deerfield, Massachusetts, students use the physical and

natural world as their lens into encounters between colonial and Indigenous peoples. Throughout fifth through eighth grade, middle schoolers conduct fieldwork locally; New York City functions as their lab, where they investigate and compile data for projects in science, math, and other subjects. By eighth grade, they’re diving into international world language trips to Morocco, Peru, China, and beyond. In high school, students use the city as their “research lab” for nearly every academic course. Student filmmakers create non-fiction shorts about the people, places, and things that make their neighborhoods distinct; student scientists collaborate with NYU professors and graduate researchers to learn in their labs; and students studying literature, architecture, and history

traverse the matrix of museums in search of deeper knowledge. By junior year, fieldwork culminates in student-designed, place-based research trips across the U.S., where students choose essential issues to explore. In partnership with local communities, students weigh perspectives, analyze approaches, and notice the solutions communities are imagining for the systemic challenges they face. What begins as curiosity becomes a lifetime of capability, confidence, and contribution. Fourteen years of learning, questioning, and creating lead students toward a life of purpose beyond LREI.

“Out of the classroom and into the world.” —Elisabeth Irwin, LREI Founder

How to Apply Applications open a year prior to your intended entry point. Application requirements differ by grade, but in general include an online application submitted via Ravenna, a student interview and campus visit, and academic transcripts. You can learn more, submit an inquiry, and begin the application process at lrei.org/admissions.

“Being a lifelong learner is a skill and you need to teach it specifically, as you do math or reading. At LREI, we’re teaching for a lifetime. Through deep learning experiences, our students develop the ability to approach a novel problem, ask questions that lead to a meaningful inquiry, and think critically and analytically about solutions. By the time they graduate, they are ready to independently take these skills into our increasingly complex world.” —Allison Isbell, LREI Assistant Director

Through rigorous coursework and the city’s most unique field trips, LREI students find real meaning and impact in their learning. They engage with organizations across the country and put their skills to practical use, practicing to have an impact on the complexities of our world.

Tuition & Financial Aid Our annual tuition is set by LREI’s Board of Trustees. For details on tuition by grade, see lrei.org/admissions/tuition. Unusual for NYC private schools, LREI’s tuition is all-inclusive. This means it includes all technology, books, field trips, domestic overnight travel, parents association dues, athletics equipment and uniforms, lower school early drop off, after school care for pre-k and kindergarten students, all snacks and lunch, breakfast in high school, and more. This all-inclusive model prevents families from encountering hidden costs of their students’ educational program, which can cost thousands of dollars on top of tuition fees at many other independent schools in NYC. We are committed to ensuring that every student has access to the full educational experience, regardless of financial circumstances. Our financial aid budget is one of the largest among peer schools in New York City, supporting our mission to build an inclusive community that represents a diversity of cultures, experiences, and economic backgrounds.

LREI – Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School Lower & Middle School 272 Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10014

lrei.org

High School 40 Charlton Street New York, NY 10014

Thompson Street Athletic Center 145 Thompson Street New York, NY 10012