AVAILABLE VISIT DATES: 

SCHOOL DESCRIPTION:The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 in Manhattan, New York City as the Little Red School House, and is regarded as one of the city’s first progressive schools. Created as a joint public-private educational experiment, the school tested principles of progressive education that had been advocated since the turn of the 20th century by John Dewey. Now a preK-12 independent school, LREI is still guided by the belief that students learn best when they are engaged deeply in work that matters. 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’re thrilled to host visitors in any of our divisions and will coordinate the focus of your visit when you contact us.

SCHOOL ADDRESS: Visit us in Manhattan at 272 Sixth Ave (preK-8) and at 40 Charlton Street (9-12). We’re accessible by the ABCD trains at West 4th Street and the 1 at Houston Street.

SCHOOL CONTACT: Allison Isbell, Assistant Director

SCHOOL CONTACT EMAIL: aisbell@lrei.org

SCHOOL CONTACT PHONE: 212-477-5316