Welcome to the High School

High School faculty serve as advisors for approximately 10 students; and this group and advisor stay together until graduation. Advisory groups meet twice a week formally, and often check in throughout the week more informally. Frequent communication is the key to promoting students’ personal and academic growth. The advisor is the first and main point of contact between parents and the school.

Every week, the high school community gathers together for an assembly. Students and faculty meet to discuss relevant current events and to share projects and presentations. Many assemblies are student-led and highlight how our community is always learning from one another. In addition to hearing from students and faculty, many assemblies involve presentations and panel discussions from experts in their respective fields.

Assemblies from this past year include:

• School Rock Bands 
• Affinity and Identity Assemblies
• Annual Lip Sync Battle between grades and teachers
• Student Film Presentations
• Voting and Elections
• In-School Coffeehouse: student performances
• Writing Classes Work Share

LREI has a long tradition of fostering volunteer service in the community, involvement with issues of economic and social justice, and service learning as a central component of the core curriculum. Students are asked to participate in “events, not hours” by completing six experiences with an organization over the course of each school year. The purpose is to help students connect to the multiplicity of ways that New Yorkers are serving their community, and to eventually find ways that they feel personally connected to and passion about. The Engage for Change Student Leadership team coordinates opportunities for students with social service and philanthropic organizations throughout the school year, including our ongoing partnerships with God’s Love We Deliver, and Community of Hope.

Approximately 16 seniors are selected to be peer leaders, training to prepare to support the incoming 9th grade class. Peer Leaders are available for mentorship, guidance and support to all freshmen. They work individually as needed and formally with small groups every two weeks. Groups discuss a range of topics including decision-making, peer pressure and a variety of social issues. Peer Leaders also attend the ninth grade orientation trip in September.

The Student Government is comprised of two representatives from each grade and an Executive Board: LREI HS Student Government Executive Board:

• Director of Student Life 
• Senior Director of Programming 
• Director of Community
• Director of Communication
• Junior Director of Programming
• Director of Social Justice  
• Junior Executive

All officers are elected by the student body during the spring trimester. Members of the Student Government exemplify the spirit of LREI and act with commitment, responsibility, and vision. Student Government meets regularly with members of faculty and administration to address student interests and needs. Student Government officials also lead twice weekly morning meetings for the high school.

Ninth Grade Trip

Every fall, ninth grade advisors and the grade-level dean take the freshman class, along with their Peer Leaders, to upstate New York for a three-day orientation. The grade bonds together through outdoor activities, including rope course challenges, evening campfires and a talent show.

Tenth Grade Trip

Students explore the question of "What Does It Mean To Be American?" through an investigation centered in Philadelphia, the 'birthplace of America.'  With activities focusing on the rich history and untold stories of America's founding, the vibrant arts and cultural scene of Philadelphia, and the need to consider sustainable policies to protect our cities, students examine the past, present, and future of this country and determine for themselves what it means to be an American at this turning point in history.

Eleventh Grade Trip

Eleventh graders begin their school year in the Junior Trip Lab–a design space where students articulate issues in the U.S. they feel are pressing, and then find their way to “place” where they will research these issues within communities who are working to address them. They eventually pitch these locations to school leadership, and once a location is selected, identify community leaders and stakeholders with whom they want to speak to and learn from. In April, juniors travel for a week-long research study, and then return to present a synthesis of their research findings and implications to the LREI community.

X-Block is a period at the end of each school day, and are cross-grade, whole high school activities. In addition to long-standing programs, students and teachers are invited to propose and lead clubs and committees meet by trimester. Most X-blocks are elective by trimester, and all students may choose their preferred X-Block offerings. Some examples of X-Blocks include:

• Robotics
• The Jazz Ensemble
• EI Singers
• Engage for Change - our student run community service board
• Urban Agriculture - rooftop gardening
• IE: The Literary Magazine
• LREI Yearbook

Math, Science, and English teachers work with juniors and seniors who share a passion for the subject to prepare them to work with 9th and 10th graders. 

Peer tutoring is offered in morning and afternoon sessions across the week, and is open to all students. A teacher is always present, and rotates around the room to offer help and encouragement as well.

We believe in the peer tutoring model; it is one way we creat low-stakes, accessible help for all LREI students. Students helping students builds capacity in both the tutor and the student with questions, forges friendships, and destigmatizes the act of asking for help.

High school students are eligible to participate in a variety of team sports at LREI. The LREI Knights compete in the Independent Schools Athletics League of Metropolitan New York (ISAL). While schedules for individual teams vary depending on the sport, practices are generally held four days a week after school at LREI’s Thompson Street Athletic Center (a few blocks away on Thompson Street), or at affiliated facilities nearby. Home games and competitions are also held at the Thompson Street Athletic Center or Pier 40.

To learn more about individual teams, visit our Athletics page.

Performing Arts is also an integral part of high school at LREI. All high school students are encouraged to participate in the performing arts: whether by auditioning for a part in a play or musical, or by working on crew; by joining the jazz ensemble or the chorus; or by forming a band through the instrumental music program. 

Learn more about our robust Performing Arts program on our Performing Arts page.

LREI’s College Guidance program prides itself on its individualized process, team counseling approach, and college seminar program. Research and experience demonstrates that students are happiest with their college choice when they have spent time discovering their interests, exploring a variety of possibilities and taking responsibility for the direction of their application process. This is a process of self-reflection and self-discovery through which students assess their strengths and preferences in order to make informed, well-deliberated choices.

Unlike traditional counseling offices, students are not assigned to a particular counselor – both counselors are present for individual meetings, family meetings, and any other follow-up appointments with students. In conjunction with co-teaching the College Seminar, this structure allows the College Guidance staff to work closely with each student – so that at any time, there is always someone in the office that knows a student’s story and where they are in the college process. 

In addition to the advising process, LREI helps students develop an individualized testing plan for the SAT and ACT standardized tests beginning with practice ACT and SAT exams in the 10th grade. Starting in the 11th grade, LREI hosts college admissions representatives from universities across the country and beyond to meet with our students in small groups to widen their perspectives and ask meaningful questions about college programs. College Seminar, a hallmark of LREI’s college counseling program, meets once a week beginning in 11th grade and continues through 12th grade when students submit their final college applications.

• Class of 2025 College Lists
• Class of 2024 College Lists
• Class of 2023 College Lists
• Class of 2022 College Lists
• Class of 2021 College Lists
• Class of 2020 College Lists