The New School

New School was founded by educators and families in 1988. Its predecessor was the Syracuse Institute for Enabling Education, an alternative elementary school in Syracuse from 1970-1986, started by Robert Newman, professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University. Both schools were influenced by the theories of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Rogers. The school began with 12 children and has remained a small ( around 30 students ), intimate, family like setting. Parents wanted to create a school in which curriculum design starts with observation of the individual child. Founding families also recognized the value of children's learning from and collaborating with peers ; the program is structured to engender mentoring, negotiating, exploring ideas and materials together and communicating constructively. Teachers and students are partners in school life ; teachers constantly mine children's thinking and ideas to develop the next steps in their learning cycle.