Walk the hallways of Manhattan Country School on the Upper West Side and find students deeply engaged in student-centered learning with hands-on projects that have application in the real world.
At the school’s second location in Roxbury, N.Y., on a 200-acre working farm, hands-on learning takes a new form as students study ecology, earth science and agricultural sciences while gardening, cooking, creating textiles and caring for livestock.
This kind of holistic schooling environment, where children are at the center, fosters a lifetime love of learning. Rich in history and seen as a global leader in progressive education, Manhattan Country School is distinct among New York City private schools in fostering an academic environment where students are given the tools to explore the world around them and to nurture their curiosity.
In the classroom, Manhattan Country School is a place of rich, complex academic and social-emotional curricula. Students in Pre-K to 8th grade are challenged to think more deeply, solve complex problems and engage with diverse perspectives. Students learn to be active in their communities, with conversations centered in a commitment to social justice, empowering all students to challenge systems of inequity.
“I know my son is getting the best possible education at MCS, in a small-classroom environment where the teachers are both caring and exceptional,” said parent Jully Hong. “We are so grateful to have found this community where children can form deep friendships and enjoy time away from the city learning in nature.”
Elements of the school’s approach can be seen in a child development program, which connects students across grades. First grade students who are learning to read are partnered with older students in a reading buddy program. Meanwhile seventh grade students are working on a child development study of the school’s pre-K students.
At the Manhattan Country School Farm in the Catskills, students are engaged in a water quality curriculum, where students examine invertebrates in stream water to gauge the overall health of the stream. This winter, students will raise trout in their New York City classroom and then release them in Spring at the Farm.
Founded by two pioneering education leaders, Gus and Marty Trowbridge, Manhattan Country School reflects the vision of the Civil Rights Movement, teaching students in a community with no racial majority and broad economic diversity. Today as throughout its history, Manhattan Country School is a special community where the whole child is nurtured and students feel safe to bring their authentic selves into the classroom while being prepared for the top independent, public and boarding schools in New York City and beyond.
To learn more about Manhattan Country School’s ongoing admissions, please reach out for more information.
So happy to see MCS being celebrated! It’s not just the best community and education for my kids (which it is), it’s also the community I want for myself. MCS parents are the coolest in the city! And the day after the election, the only place I wanted to be was the MCS lobby with the other parents. Besides, where else are your kids going to raise trout in their classroom??