Little Red School House

The Little Red School House was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 in Manhattan, New York as a joint public—private educational experiment. The school was an experiment designed to test the notion that the principles of progressive education, advocated since the turn of the century by John Dewey could be applied successfully in the crowded, ethnically diverse, public schools of the nation’s largest city. Nevertheless, this method of progressive education continues to be tried out mainly in small, private school settings. In 1932, the school became entirely privately funded with tuition ranging today from $22,000 to $26,000. The Little Red School House consists of a lower school, middle school, and a high school; Elizabeth Irwin High School. Famous alumni of the school include Robert De Niro, Angela Davis, Kathy Boudin, Mary Travers and Victor Navasky. As of now, the school's Head is Phillip Kassan. The High School Principal is Tony Fisher, but will be replaced next year. The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin Highschool are in two separate buildings. LREI believes in progressive education. High School Students have art everyday. (Art classes are: Dance, Drama, Music, Media, Photography, Studio, Graphic .)