A leader in progressive education since 1921, LREI teaches children to be independent thinkers who work together to solve complex problems. Students graduate from our diverse community as active participants in our democratic society, with the creativity, integrity, and courage to bring meaningful change to the world.
Education is of, by, and for experience
- John Dewey, 1938
A child’s emerging intelligence flickers at the very youngest age at LREI. When a 4-year-old makes an adjustment to their block structure, having observed the crash of blocks because of a lack of a sturdy base. And in Middle School more explicitly, when an eighth grader meaningfully connects their previous understanding of immigration to current U.S. policies on the southern border. And then, as an eleventh grader uses their skills of question-posing to guide them through sourcing and writing code that helps make sense of data from New York City water plants, and then propose potential implications and environmental impacts.
LREI’s principles draw from John Dewey’s Theory of Experience and a century of teaching and learning at LREI. While our work is guided by many practices, these 10 principles are foundational to how we teach, learn, and engage with students every day.
