STUDIO SCHOOL

A family with younger children who wants a small, child-centered progressive elementary and values emotional development as the foundation for academic growth over the elementary years.

• Enrollment of just 66 students makes this one of the smallest elementary schools in Manhattan — every child is fully known by the adults in the building.
• A progressive philosophy that explicitly grounds academics in emotional security, treating character and feeling as prerequisites for learning rather than afterthoughts.
• The unusually wide tuition range ($4,000 to $58,500) signals substantial financial aid and a more economically diverse community than the address might suggest.
• The One World curriculum integrates sciences and social studies rather than teaching them in silos, and the Kitchen-Science Program turns the kitchen into a hands-on lab.

• The school ends at 5th grade, so families will need to navigate a middle school transition — plan ahead for that.
• At 66 students, social circles are extremely small and there is no anonymity; some kids thrive in that environment, others want more peer variety.
• The progressive, child-centered approach requires real family buy-in — this is not a fit for parents looking for traditional structure, formal academics, or grades-driven competition.
• Top-end tuition ($58,500) is significant, though the wide range indicates that financial aid is meaningfully available.
• Application deadlines (December 19 / January 13) are early; families need to be thinking about this well before the new year.