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Hi!
Our family currently lives in Philadelphia. Our son is going into 3rd grade this fall and our daughter into 1st grade. We have great public schools here in the suburbs but we look for something different for our kids, something like Waldorf Schools, Sudbury School or other progressive schools, preferably charter or very low cost.
We want to move closer to NYC, to an area commutable by train, 1-2 hours of commute, as I do not plan to go every day to nyc and work from home mostly. So I guess it could be either Up State New York, CT, NJ...
any ideas ideas or suggestion will be most appreciated!
They are both lovely school but are both around 10k a year on the elementary level. The Blue Rock school only goes up to 8th grade. Secondary school at Green Meadow I think is around 15k a year. But again the website would let you know.
We're been here renting in Westchester for about a year. I would love to hear about progressive public schools but so far I haven't heard of any.
Progressive education is a broad philosophy that (to really boil it down to the most basic idea) emphasizes learning through doing--as opposed to the traditional approach of learning through listening. It is based on the work of John Dewey and has many modern offshoots--the Bank Street approach, the project approach, Waldorff schools, and others. What they all have in common is a focus on active learning and problem-solving. A lot of what we consider to be basic "mainstream" education today comes out of progressive education. But a progressive school will go further in providing opportunities for students to actively engage in their studies and develop critical thinking skills.
The only progressive schools I know of in Westchester are private and have tuition starting around 25K-30K.
On the other hand, as No Child Left Behind dies, the pendulum across the country is swinging back towards a progressive approach.
I had the same question as rubygreta. Westchester's elementary schools are generally regarded as superb. Is this to say that they are, in fact, regressive? Or does the apparent dearth of "progressive" schools (except the handful of expensive private schools) indicate that Westchester's schools are already well along on the progressive spectrum?
I had the same question as rubygreta. Westchester's elementary schools are generally regarded as superb. Is this to say that they are, in fact, regressive? Or does the apparent dearth of "progressive" schools (except the handful of expensive private schools) indicate that Westchester's schools are already well along on the progressive spectrum?
I’d say that most Westchester elementary schools follow what is called a “balanced approach,” which simply means that they use a mish-mash of approaches from various schools of thought. Without a doubt, plenty of what goes on in our schools is based on a progressive approach. But no, you could not call our schools progressive. The biggest difference isn’t so much philosophical as it is a product of political reality. The curriculum and instructional plan of Westchester’s elementary schools is in large part designed to teach the state standards and to prep kids for the state tests (which test the standards). Indeed the primary reason that Westchester’s elementary schools are “generally regarded as superb” is because students do well on state tests—which is the result the schools are largely set up to attain. In most Westchester elementary schools, teachers plan lessons designed to teach specific skills (which are directly tied to specific standards). In a progressive school, the teachers plan projects that engage children in critical thinking and problem solving—and the teachers then weave teaching specific skills (and standards) into those instructional experiences. That’s a simplification of both realities, but I think it gets to the major difference.
I think the lack of public progressive schools in Westchester is due to the fact that our schools are good and that therefore parents aren’t motivated to set up charter schools. While I am a proponent of progressive education, I’ve been very happy with the education my son has received so far and I think my local school is excellent. If I had stayed in Brooklyn, I might very well have tried to set up a progressive charter school in my district. But here I've had no reason to.
Hello! Are any of you commuting into Manhattan from Westchester? My office is on the west side in Chelsea between 11th Ave and the river. I'm looking at possible relocation and am interested in progressive schools, public or private.
I did find one school The Garden Road that has a holistic progressive curriculum. They are a preschool and elementary school that will go up to 2nd grade next year. They also have a great relationship with area home schoolers and often do collaborative projects (orchestra, theatre etc.) with that community. Check them out: The Garden Road School: About Our School
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