At a Glance
A midtown progressive school where every classroom is essentially a one-to-one tutorial.
Best suited for
Self-directed teens who have not thrived in conventional schools — including students who need flexible scheduling, those considering a gap or post-graduate year, or learners who want a curriculum designed around them rather than the other way around.
What stands out
- Branded "The Tutoring School," Beekman builds its entire model around one-to-one instruction and custom-designed classes for each student.
- A 6:1 student-teacher ratio — and an average class size of seven — gives every student teacher time that larger schools simply cannot offer.
- A College Support Program and Post-Graduate Year option give students a runway to strengthen applications, retake coursework, or explore interests before enrolling.
- Rolling admissions mean families do not have to wait for a September cutoff — students can enroll when the fit makes sense.
- Flexible scheduling lets students keep external commitments (arts, athletics, therapy, professional pursuits) without the school penalizing them.
Things to consider
- Tuition of $51,500 for 2024-25 sits at the higher end of NYC secondary pricing, even before any additional fees.
- With only 57 students, there is zero anonymity — a feature for some teens and a dealbreaker for others.
- There is no traditional campus, interscholastic athletics program, or large-scale extracurricular structure; students seeking the classic American high school experience should look elsewhere.
- Rolling admissions help, but with so few seats, openings are competitive and hard to predict.
- The corporate midtown setting lacks the green space or neighborhood feel many families associate with secondary school.
Identity
Beekman is a nonsectarian, coed secondary school with a progressive orientation that emphasizes experiential learning and individualized instruction. The model centers on cooperative learning, problem-solving, critical reasoning, and creative abilities rather than a traditional college-prep conveyor belt. There is no religious overlay and no house system — just a small, deliberately unconventional program built around the student.
Community
With only 57 students across grades 9–12, Beekman is smaller than many homeroom classes at conventional high schools. The student body is racially mixed — about 56% white, 17.5% Asian, 14% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 5.3% multiracial — yielding a diversity index of 0.77. Parents consistently describe the community as tight, with teachers who know every student by name.
Neighborhood
East Midtown-Turtle Bay is a corporate-and-residential pocket with a notably affluent and educated population: median household income around $166,000, a 6.1% poverty rate, and roughly 84% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. The area reads more as a weekday office district than a residential neighborhood, though prewar residential blocks sit in the mix. Getting around is straightforward thanks to three subway lines within a few blocks.
Lexington Av/53 St (E, F) and 51 St (6) are both about a 4-minute walk, and 5 Av/53 St (E, F) is roughly 9 minutes on foot.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Overwhelmingly positive. Parents praise small class sizes (average 7 students), dedicated and caring teachers, personalized attention, flexible programs, and transformative academic experiences. Multiple reviews mention teachers as 'excellent and caring' and the school as a 'hidden gem' that helped students thrive academically and gain college readiness.
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is BEEKMAN SCHOOL a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for BEEKMAN SCHOOL yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades 9 to 12 in East Midtown-Turtle Bay.
- What grades does BEEKMAN SCHOOL serve?
- BEEKMAN SCHOOL serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into BEEKMAN SCHOOL?
- BEEKMAN SCHOOL runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is BEEKMAN SCHOOL public, charter, or private?
- BEEKMAN SCHOOL is a private school.
- What neighborhood is BEEKMAN SCHOOL in?
- BEEKMAN SCHOOL is in East Midtown-Turtle Bay, Manhattan.