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City and Country School

January 20, 2023

The City and Country School is a progressive independent pre-school and elementary school for children aged 2–14 that is located in the Greenwich Village section of New York City.

City and Country School
(C&C)
City and Country School 13th Street Entrance.
Address
146 West 13th Street
between 6th and 7th Ave

New York
,
NY

United States
Information
TypeIndependent, Coeducational
Established1914
FounderCaroline Pratt
HeadmasterScott Moran
Faculty44
Teaching staffapprox. 40
GradesN–8
Enrollmentapprox. 360
CampusUrban
Color(s)green and white
AccreditationNAIS, NYSAIS
AffiliationNAIS, NYSAIS, Interschool
Websitewww.cityandcountry.org

Founding

City and Country School was founded by Caroline Pratt in 1914.[1] Originally named the Play School, it occupied a three-room apartment at the corner of 4th and 12th Streets.[2] Soon after, Lucy Sprague Mitchell joined Pratt, and offered financial and teaching support that allowed for larger quarters on MacDougal Alley.[3]

Mitchell and colleague Harriet Johnson founded the Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE) with the purpose of documenting the developmental and learning processes of children in order to gain accurate information about the methods of progressive schools and the abilities and needs of children. The laboratory schools for BEE observation were a nursery school, overseen by Johnson, and the Play School (its name was changed to City and Country School in 1921).[2] As the school grew, City and Country moved to buildings purchased by Mitchell, which were later sold to the school when the BEE and C&C formally parted ways, on West 12th and 13th Streets, where it remains today, although the school’s main entrance was on 12th Street until 1984.[4]

History

"A goodly floor space, basic materials for play, and many children using them together"[5] were the elements of a new kind of democratic education for children that guided Caroline Pratt to begin the City and Country School in 1914. Experiences teaching in a small independent school and two settlement houses had left Pratt questioning the value of an education in which "none of these children made any use of what they had learned."[6] In contrast to her frustration was Pratt's observation of the meaningful world created by the young child of a friend while constructing a miniature railroad on the floor of his room. This child was not only enjoying himself, but he was also making sense of the world around him. Pratt discovered for herself the educational value of play.[7]

Her ideas about how children learn, combined with her own woodworking skills, led to Pratt's creation of basic wooden toys and blocks,[8] now known as unit blocks, which were designed to stimulate dramatic play. In the spring of 1913, using the materials she designed, in addition to clay, paper, tempera paint, and crayons, Pratt developed a half-day program for six five-year-olds at the Hartley Settlement House. This successful two-month trial flight convinced her that self-generated and self-directed play do inspire learning.[9]

Encouraged that children can and do learn by play, Pratt, with the assistance of Edna Smith and Helen Marot, colleagues in the Women's Trade Union League, rented a three-room apartment at the corner of West 4th and 12th Streets in Greenwich Village. Six five-year-olds, all from working-class families, attended. The following year, they expanded to larger quarters on West 13th Street. It was at this time that the school received its first recognition in the educational world in Schools of Tomorrow by John and Evelyn Dewey.[10]

It was during the early years on 13th Street that Lucy Sprague Mitchell became interested in the Play School and began a long association with City and Country. Mitchell offered not only financial support and a new home, but also her services and innovative ideas as a teacher. In 1915, the Play School moved to a former stable in MacDougal Alley at the rear of a house at 15 Washington Square North, which had been purchased by Lucy and Wesley Mitchell as a family residence.[11]

During this year Pratt, Mitchell, Marot, and six other women founded the Bureau of School Information. Forthwith, the name of the organization changed to the Bureau of Educational Experiments, which was to be managed cooperatively among a joint faculty for the support and dissemination of information about practical and experimental work in education, among which was Caroline Pratt's Play School.[12]

Through the BEE, the Play School became widely known as a progressive school, though Pratt preferred the term experimental. The name was changed to the City and Country School in 1921 after Pratt and Mitchell established a summer farm program at Hopewell Junction, New York. In addition, the school moved to buildings, purchased by Mitchell, on West 12th and 13th Streets, which the school occupies now.[13]

In 1928, Mitchell left the faculty of City and Country and sold the buildings to the school. She organized what was eventually to be called the Bank Street College of Education.[14] In 1935, City and Country, in conjunction with Bank Street, Little Red Schoolhouse, Walden, Hessian Hills School, and Manumit formed the Associated Experimental Schools to coordinate cooperative buying and fund raising. The organization was abandoned by the end of the 1930s.[15]

Caroline Pratt was Principal of City and Country until she retired in 1945. She continued on as Principal Emerita until her death in 1954.[2]: 138–139 

Among Pratt's many contributions to education were the use of unit blocks in homes and schools the world over.[16] Pratt and C&C also made a significant contribution to public-school education in New York City through the All-Day Neighborhood Schools Program, founded by Adele Franklin, which was modeled on the after-school program at City and Country.[2]: 122–123  For this, Pratt was honored in The Nation magazine’s 1939 Roll of Honor.[2]: 123–124 

Philosophy

The school explains its philosophy on its Web site.[17] Distinctives include responsibilities for each group, such as printing and administration, running a store, and helping younger children. Every child also spends 30 minutes of each day reading for pleasure in the library.[18]

Principals

  • Caroline Pratt (1914–1944) and Emerita (1947–1954)
  • Marion Carswell (1945)
  • Charlotte Pinco (1946)
  • Jean Murray (1948–77)
  • Cynthia Beer (1978–79)
  • Jane Llewellyn Smith, Director of Education (1980–82)
  • Helen Halverson (1983–85)
  • Ann & Margaret Halper (1986)
  • Janice Miller (1987–88)
  • Karen Longo (1988–89)
  • Kathleen Holtz (1989–99)
  • Kate Turley (1999–2017)[19]
  • Scott Moran (2017–2023)
  • Frank Patti (2023–present)

Notable staff

Notable alumni

Affiliations

References

  1. ^ "Caroline Pratt, educator, dead [obituary]". New York Times. June 7, 1954.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 0820467510.
  3. ^ Dickhuth, Anita (2011). Images of America: Greenwich Village. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738572734.
  4. ^ "City and Country School-History". City and Country School. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  5. ^ Pratt, Caroline (1948). I Learn From Children. New York: Perennial Library. p. 32. ISBN 0060972734.
  6. ^ Pratt, Caroline (1948). I Learn From Children. New York: Perennial Library. p. 89. ISBN 0060972734.
  7. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0820467510.
  8. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: The Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. p. 144. ISBN 0820467510.
  9. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. p. 59. ISBN 0820467510.
  10. ^ Dewey, John (1915). Schools of To-morrow. E.P. Dutton. pp. 116–119. play school.
  11. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 64–68. ISBN 0820467510.
  12. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 69–71. ISBN 0820467510.
  13. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0820467510.
  14. ^ "Bank Street College of Education". History. Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  15. ^ Hauser, Mary E. (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 117–118. ISBN 0820467510.
  16. ^ "Caroline Pratt". The Play and Playground Encyclopedia. Play and Playground Professionals, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  17. ^ . City and Country School. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07.
  18. ^ a b Nadelson, Reggie (June 15, 2014). "City and Country: The school where it all began for me". From Our Own Correspondent. BBC. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  19. ^ "City and Country School". Contact Us. City and Country School. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  20. ^ George K. Fraenkel, Pioneering Chemist, Dies at 87, New York Times, June 27, 2009
  21. ^ Danny Krivit 2013-01-26 at the Wayback Machine, StandardCulture.com
  22. ^ "Home". petermandel.net.

Further reading

  • Pratt, Caroline (1948). I Learn From Children. New York: Perennial Library/HarperCollins.
  • Hauser, Mary (2006). Learning from Children: the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

External links

  • Official Web Site
  • City and Country School Digital Archive
  • The Villager: City and Country Builds on its progressive tradition (November 15, 2012)
  • Reading for Pleasure at City and Country School: The Wall Street Journal Op Ed (January 6, 2013)

40°44′14″N 73°59′56″W / 40.73722°N 73.99889°W / 40.73722; -73.99889

January 20, 2023
city, country, school, progressive, independent, school, elementary, school, children, aged, that, located, greenwich, village, section, york, city, 13th, street, entrance, address146, west, 13th, streetbetween, avenew, york, nyunited, statesinformationtypeind. The City and Country School is a progressive independent pre school and elementary school for children aged 2 14 that is located in the Greenwich Village section of New York City City and Country School C amp C City and Country School 13th Street Entrance Address146 West 13th Streetbetween 6th and 7th AveNew York NYUnited StatesInformationTypeIndependent CoeducationalEstablished1914FounderCaroline PrattHeadmasterScott MoranFaculty44Teaching staffapprox 40GradesN 8Enrollmentapprox 360CampusUrbanColor s green and whiteAccreditationNAIS NYSAISAffiliationNAIS NYSAIS InterschoolWebsitewww cityandcountry org Contents 1 Founding 2 History 3 Philosophy 4 Principals 5 Notable staff 6 Notable alumni 7 Affiliations 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksFounding EditCity and Country School was founded by Caroline Pratt in 1914 1 Originally named the Play School it occupied a three room apartment at the corner of 4th and 12th Streets 2 Soon after Lucy Sprague Mitchell joined Pratt and offered financial and teaching support that allowed for larger quarters on MacDougal Alley 3 Mitchell and colleague Harriet Johnson founded the Bureau of Educational Experiments BEE with the purpose of documenting the developmental and learning processes of children in order to gain accurate information about the methods of progressive schools and the abilities and needs of children The laboratory schools for BEE observation were a nursery school overseen by Johnson and the Play School its name was changed to City and Country School in 1921 2 As the school grew City and Country moved to buildings purchased by Mitchell which were later sold to the school when the BEE and C amp C formally parted ways on West 12th and 13th Streets where it remains today although the school s main entrance was on 12th Street until 1984 4 History Edit A goodly floor space basic materials for play and many children using them together 5 were the elements of a new kind of democratic education for children that guided Caroline Pratt to begin the City and Country School in 1914 Experiences teaching in a small independent school and two settlement houses had left Pratt questioning the value of an education in which none of these children made any use of what they had learned 6 In contrast to her frustration was Pratt s observation of the meaningful world created by the young child of a friend while constructing a miniature railroad on the floor of his room This child was not only enjoying himself but he was also making sense of the world around him Pratt discovered for herself the educational value of play 7 Her ideas about how children learn combined with her own woodworking skills led to Pratt s creation of basic wooden toys and blocks 8 now known as unit blocks which were designed to stimulate dramatic play In the spring of 1913 using the materials she designed in addition to clay paper tempera paint and crayons Pratt developed a half day program for six five year olds at the Hartley Settlement House This successful two month trial flight convinced her that self generated and self directed play do inspire learning 9 Encouraged that children can and do learn by play Pratt with the assistance of Edna Smith and Helen Marot colleagues in the Women s Trade Union League rented a three room apartment at the corner of West 4th and 12th Streets in Greenwich Village Six five year olds all from working class families attended The following year they expanded to larger quarters on West 13th Street It was at this time that the school received its first recognition in the educational world in Schools of Tomorrow by John and Evelyn Dewey 10 It was during the early years on 13th Street that Lucy Sprague Mitchell became interested in the Play School and began a long association with City and Country Mitchell offered not only financial support and a new home but also her services and innovative ideas as a teacher In 1915 the Play School moved to a former stable in MacDougal Alley at the rear of a house at 15 Washington Square North which had been purchased by Lucy and Wesley Mitchell as a family residence 11 During this year Pratt Mitchell Marot and six other women founded the Bureau of School Information Forthwith the name of the organization changed to the Bureau of Educational Experiments which was to be managed cooperatively among a joint faculty for the support and dissemination of information about practical and experimental work in education among which was Caroline Pratt s Play School 12 Through the BEE the Play School became widely known as a progressive school though Pratt preferred the term experimental The name was changed to the City and Country School in 1921 after Pratt and Mitchell established a summer farm program at Hopewell Junction New York In addition the school moved to buildings purchased by Mitchell on West 12th and 13th Streets which the school occupies now 13 In 1928 Mitchell left the faculty of City and Country and sold the buildings to the school She organized what was eventually to be called the Bank Street College of Education 14 In 1935 City and Country in conjunction with Bank Street Little Red Schoolhouse Walden Hessian Hills School and Manumit formed the Associated Experimental Schools to coordinate cooperative buying and fund raising The organization was abandoned by the end of the 1930s 15 Caroline Pratt was Principal of City and Country until she retired in 1945 She continued on as Principal Emerita until her death in 1954 2 138 139 Among Pratt s many contributions to education were the use of unit blocks in homes and schools the world over 16 Pratt and C amp C also made a significant contribution to public school education in New York City through the All Day Neighborhood Schools Program founded by Adele Franklin which was modeled on the after school program at City and Country 2 122 123 For this Pratt was honored in The Nation magazine s 1939 Roll of Honor 2 123 124 Philosophy EditThe school explains its philosophy on its Web site 17 Distinctives include responsibilities for each group such as printing and administration running a store and helping younger children Every child also spends 30 minutes of each day reading for pleasure in the library 18 Principals EditCaroline Pratt 1914 1944 and Emerita 1947 1954 Marion Carswell 1945 Charlotte Pinco 1946 Jean Murray 1948 77 Cynthia Beer 1978 79 Jane Llewellyn Smith Director of Education 1980 82 Helen Halverson 1983 85 Ann amp Margaret Halper 1986 Janice Miller 1987 88 Karen Longo 1988 89 Kathleen Holtz 1989 99 Kate Turley 1999 2017 19 Scott Moran 2017 2023 Frank Patti 2023 present Notable staff EditThomas Hart Benton art teacher Lucy Sprague Mitchell founder Bank Street College of Education Pete Seeger folk singer music teacher 1949 Charles Pollock painter art teacher 1930 Jackson Pollock painter janitor 1934 William Zorach artist Fola La Follette women s suffrage and labor activist Morris Meister founder Bronx High School of Science first president Bronx Community College Scribner Ames artist and author of articles on progressive educationNotable alumni EditFelice Aull Associate Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience at New York University School of Medicine poet attended in 1950 and 1951 Matthew Broderick actor class of 1976 Ji Chaozhu former Under Secretary General of the United Nations class of 1944 Liberty Ellman jazz guitarist class of 1985 attended fall 1981 George K Fraenkel chemist class of 1934 20 failed verification Ruth Stiles Gannett children s book author class of 1937 Dahlov Ipcar painter illustrator and author class of 1931 Hilary Knight illustrator and co creator of Eloise class of 1940 Danny Krivit DJ class of 1971 21 failed verification importance Alice Kandell Photographer of Nepalese life class of 1952 Eric Van Lustbader author class of 1960 Peter Mandel children s book author 22 class of 1971 original research failed verification Reggie Nadelson novelist class of 1964 18 Vladimir Posner Russian journalist Charles A Reich legal and social scholar Nicolas Winding Refn movie director class of 1985 attended fall 1981 spring 1983 Jeremy Steig improvising flutist class of 1956Affiliations EditNational Association of Independent Schools NAIS New York State Association of Independent Schools NYSAIS Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York ISAAGNY the Guild of Independent Schools The Parents League Educational Records Bureau ERB Early Steps Prep for Prep A Better Chance ABC the Downtown Independent Schools Consortium DISC References Edit Caroline Pratt educator dead obituary New York Times June 7 1954 a b c d e Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang ISBN 0820467510 Dickhuth Anita 2011 Images of America Greenwich Village Charleston South Carolina Arcadia Publishing ISBN 9780738572734 City and Country School History City and Country School Retrieved June 7 2012 Pratt Caroline 1948 I Learn From Children New York Perennial Library p 32 ISBN 0060972734 Pratt Caroline 1948 I Learn From Children New York Perennial Library p 89 ISBN 0060972734 Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang pp 55 56 ISBN 0820467510 Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children The Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang p 144 ISBN 0820467510 Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang p 59 ISBN 0820467510 Dewey John 1915 Schools of To morrow E P Dutton pp 116 119 play school Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang pp 64 68 ISBN 0820467510 Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang pp 69 71 ISBN 0820467510 Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang pp 72 73 ISBN 0820467510 Bank Street College of Education History Bank Street College of Education Retrieved June 21 2012 Hauser Mary E 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang pp 117 118 ISBN 0820467510 Caroline Pratt The Play and Playground Encyclopedia Play and Playground Professionals LLC Retrieved June 25 2012 City and Country School Philosophy City and Country School Archived from the original on 2014 04 07 a b Nadelson Reggie June 15 2014 City and Country The school where it all began for me From Our Own Correspondent BBC Retrieved June 15 2014 City and Country School Contact Us City and Country School Retrieved June 25 2012 George K Fraenkel Pioneering Chemist Dies at 87 New York Times June 27 2009 Danny Krivit Archived 2013 01 26 at the Wayback Machine StandardCulture com Home petermandel net Further reading EditPratt Caroline 1948 I Learn From Children New York Perennial Library HarperCollins Hauser Mary 2006 Learning from Children the Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt New York Peter Lang Publishing Inc External links EditOfficial Web Site City and Country School Digital Archive The Villager City and Country Builds on its progressive tradition November 15 2012 Reading for Pleasure at City and Country School The Wall Street Journal Op Ed January 6 2013 40 44 14 N 73 59 56 W 40 73722 N 73 99889 W 40 73722 73 99889 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title City and Country School amp oldid 1133296473, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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