Blue School

241 WATER ST

New York, NY 10038

23 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 26, 2022

Meh it’s okay… the teachers were not strict enough and I barely learned anything in 4th grade… needed a writing tutor. A few years ago I got in a fight with a kid and the teachers wanted me to call him my “friend” like this kid punched me in the face he isn’t my friend. One more thing back in 2nd and 3rd grade the lunch they served at the school was terrible, like the food was frozen, bland and I found a hair in my rice and beans. Still a few positives are: nice teacher, nice students, fun activities, especially p.e and I hope blue school takes this information in to consideration. Lol idk why I wrote this.
Submitted by parent on April 21, 2022

My daughter is in her first year at Blue School, in the PrePrimary program, and we can't wait for her to transition into the Primary program next year. Blue School has been a dream! As an educator myself, I feel confident that my daughter is getting a top-notch education that is child-centered and holistic. The school has fostered her love of learning and school. Her teachers have supported her in becoming more confident both as a learner and socially. Daily, my daughter comes home eager to share something new she has learned or experienced. Her learning often transfers into her play and conversation at home too. Her teachers are warm and friendly. There is an abundance of communication between home and school. We look forward to the weekly classroom reports with photos. We feel that the new leadership at Blue school is transparent. Noah has a clear vision for the future of Blue School and the changes ahead. Finally, we love the strong sense of community at the school. There are yearly traditions and opportunities for families to get involved. If you are looking for a school that fosters independence, creativity, and confidence, look no further!
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2021

Our child attends Blue School because we liked the community and because we know our child isn’t academically strong, in a traditional way. The school has been great for our child because of its focus on creativity. At the same time, we are worried about the school’s finances. Its middle school building has been foreclosed and the students have had to return to the lower school building. I worry that the school isn’t financially stable to weather the full brunt of the pandemic.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2021

Blue School continues to amaze us. Both my children are so grateful for their time at Blue and as parents we couldn't be happier. Not only was my high schooler prepared for the rigors of NYC high school academia but he is thriving in the new curriculum! Even more important to us, the people they have become/are becoming are so completely wonderful, thoughtful, engaging and compassionate. When having his 9th grade orientation with his advisor, she mentioned that she needed to run through the gamut of social and peer guidelines on behavior. She asked what school he was coming from. When he mentioned Blue School, she gasped and said, "Oh well we don't even need to go over it. Our experience with Blue School graduates has been a pleasure at every turn! Such wonderful, empathetic, and thoughtful people!". We were stunned and so pleased with her reaction to the news :) Our littlest is currently in the middle school at Blue School and loves every day so much. Having to stay home for a sniffle, as per Covid guidelines, is very difficult, to say the least. Her ability to think critically and completely about different issues is mind-blowing for an 11 year old! We enjoy deep conversations about everything from mushrooms to the origin of the Universe! It is clear that the mission of academic mastery and self and social development are pushing the boundaries at Blue!
Submitted by parent on December 06, 2020

My son has attended Blue School since the 2's program, and he absolutely loves it! He is now in first grade, and over the course of five years, I have seen him develop a strong sense of self, a curious and investigative mind, and confidence with new endeavors. This is thanks to a learning environment that emphasizes creativity, social emotional learning, and a holistic education. Teachers here also truly know their students and meet them where they are, whether that means providing extra challenges or giving more nurturing support. It is a gem of a school!
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2020

My son attended the Blue School for three years,. I love the smaller classroom settings. The Blue School is a loving and nurturing school.
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2020

Blue School has been an absolutely exceptional learning environment for our children: academically challenging, creatively rich, and grounded in strong social learning experiences. I can't say enough good things about this extraordinary community. Our kids are deeply known by the teachers and they feel confident as learners. Blue School's transition to distance learning during the COVID crisis was absolutely seamless in our experience and learning continued to be rich and engaging despite the change in platform. I can't say enough good things about this extraordinary community.
Submitted by other on July 16, 2020

My son is a graduate and attends a peer independent high school. His quote about Blue School is that there could have been no better place for him to learn and grow
Submitted by parent on July 16, 2020

I have nothing but good things to say about the school. As a new arrival to the city 7 years ago, I immediately found a family in the Blue School community. My son has made friends and even though we are no longer at the school, these friendships seem to hold strong.
Submitted by parent on July 16, 2020

My son is thriving at Blue School. It's still small and as kids get older a larger friends base would be great, but there's something to be said for a cozier Middle School experience. They have handled the switch the remote learning amazingly well, school proved to be smart and nimble, the strong relationships the kids have with faculty really helped. Small group and one-on-one check-ins during this difficult time. Nice families and good kids, issues are addressed openly. While I dread applying out for HS, I like the K – 8 model. Newer middle school is impressive, graduates have had great acceptances. It's the right place if you are looking for a holistic / critical thinking / in-depth / collaborative education.
Submitted by parent on July 13, 2020

Run, don't walk away..... I would not be in a position to recommend Blue School. Its clear that they don't have the systems in place to deal with anything but the most straightforward situations. Some of the teachers do not have the experience or maturity to be able to manage classrooms although there are also some wonderful teachers in the lower years - however, when paying nearly USD 50k per year there should be consistently good teachers throughout and that is not the case. Some of the teachers are unfortunately woefully under experienced and this is the same for the learning specialists. Blue School doesn't have the facilities that many other private schools have - including sports teams etc but that didn't bother us specifically but may as your child gets older and is more interested in sports. After school activities / clubs are exorbitantly expensive - even compared to other private schools. Its very much a 'everyone who participates wins culture' - there should be a way to maintain the culture of the school emphasizing individual creative learning and community but still being able to insert an element of constructive competition even on an individual basis with each child to encourage them to strive to move forward by at least demonstrating how the child has improved. However, children are constantly told everything is fine, tests are only for teachers to adapt their thinking / teaching styles and not a reflection on the child etc. This completely disincentivizes children and in the end the teaching styles don't adapt to meet the needs of individual children anyway regardless of the ad hoc assessments. School reports are not detailed - with all specials teachers just writing generic updates of their subjects and no individualized feedback. Lack of oversight of bullying in classrooms caused significant challenges. We have transitioned our child out and had feedback from both private and public schools that the grade level expectations have not been met in Blue School. The official line from the administration is that they are teaching to grade level but this is not the case. Also that the creative arc will make sense in the higher grades but I haven't seen evidence that well performing kids are where they are because of the school - many families need additional tutors etc because the levels are too low and the additional support doesn't exist.
Submitted by parent on July 06, 2020

My two children have been at Blue since the 2s and 4s and are now going into middle and high school respectively. As many siblings, they could not have been more different in their learning styles yet each was appreciated for their individual strengths and supported in those areas where they had greater challenges. Neither is afraid to take a risk, ask a clarifying question or advocate for themselves in order to learn more deeply. As such, I am confident about them leaving and navigating new environments and experiences. During their preschool years, the idea of “re-imagining education for a changing world” seemed a compelling mission and now that we are living in that future, I am ever more convinced that this was the right approach for our children and family. As we move through this most challenging time, we are grateful to be part of this thoughtful, nimble, proactive and interconnected community. Moving online from experiential, collaborative, hands-on learning was by no means easy but Blue school rose to the occasion, all hands on deck, to create an entirely new experience, carefully calibrated for each age-group. Again, kids were met where they were—supported in their struggles with an appropriate balance of time on-line and off-line—allowing for, and encouraging, social interaction as an antidote to physical distancing. With our current uncertainty about returning to New York, I’m relieved to know there will be an online option for the coming year.
Submitted by parent on November 11, 2019

Our experience at Blue School has been absolutely extraordinary. The curriculum is nuanced and rich, and teachers are passionate, creative and dedicated. Learning is child-centered and creative while maintaining fidelity to high standards of mastery in reading, writing, math, science, STEAM and the arts. It's been inspiring to see how many graduates of Blue School have gone on to incredible high school placements and we always love it when alumni come back and share their experiences in high school with their younger peers. Blue School's community is warm and welcoming, and I sense that my children are deeply known, both for their skills, passions and interests, and also for the areas in which they may need more support. I've been impressed by the school's commitment to inclusion and equity work, and feel proud to be a part of a community that is committed to using the power of education to work for social justice and change. The balance of academic mastery, creative growth and self- and social learning is lived out daily in the classrooms and the many special events that bring the community together. We feel incredibly lucky as a family to be a part of this very special school.
Submitted by student on March 17, 2018

This school is GREAT, I have been here since I was 4 and wish I could be here my whole life. I feel like this school respects what we like and uses that to help us have a good time. I have found this school to help me learn math very well and always helps us when we need help. I seem to have learned division very well before this school explained to me what division was I was very confused on how to do it. This school always helps us by giving us tips on how to do math. Writing at this school is very fun and helps us be so passionate about writing. PS Don't listen to bad comments, they are not true. I read them so trust me.
Submitted by parent on February 27, 2018

Run far, far away. The administration has a huge divide and faculty talent is neglected. Rather than refer to the staff’s last experiences, they are trying to reinvent the wheel too extremely where basic foundational concepts are completely overlooked. Ultimately the students fall behind compared to their private school peers. A hefty price tag to risk being part of the experiment and we know first hand ended up being a hard uphill battle to overcome from our experience there.
Submitted by parent on September 27, 2017

In my 7 years at the school, I have seen the mission of the school come into action. It is a school that attracts top notch educators, and creates an amazing environment for young people to learn and grow. Just stand on the sidewalk one morning and watch kids sprint into school. Kids love learning here and I feel lucky to be part of the community.
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2017

We have been at Blue School for a long time and are very happy with our choice for our two children. Over the years there have been so many excellent experiences and teachers-- both my children know how to approach academic work, they know how to think, how to ask questions, and how to be part of a supportive learning community. They know the end result is important, and that how you get there can be even more important. We feel lucky to be at a school that is growing and nurturing the students, staff and community in general.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2017

I have had an amazing experience at Blue School. It is a warm, engaging and joyful atmosphere where the teachers balance social-emotional growth and self-awareness with strong academics. There is a strong emphasis on community and citizenship. The leadership team is thoughtful and on the forefront of a movement in education. My kids have thrived and are learning how to collaborate, lead and think creatively to solve problems. I have found a community of like-minded parents who have become my village in NYC. I wish all schools were like Blue School. We would have a better society!
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2017

My child has been at the school for many years and has flourished there. Exuberance is the word that best defines the atmosphere there. There is a joy, passion and dedication to learning that is constantly on display among the students, faculty, staff, and parent community. The school's academic approach is progressive but rigorous. Creativity and social emotional awareness are integrated into every classroom. Most importantly, each student at Blue School is seen. Their curiosity is encouraged and cultivated. With the help and support of their teachers, they are enabled to find their own unique voice, and to use it. And this will serve them well, long after they leave the school.
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2017

We've been at the school for many years and apply out each year, but have not gotten in anywhere else. I am starting to grow concerned about what middle school will look like.