{{Short description|Former independent school in New York City, US}} {{distinguish|text=The Blue School, Wells in Somerset, England, or the Blue School (Blue School District) in Blue, Arizona, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox school | name = Blue School | native_name = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | logo = | motto = | established = 2006 | closed = 2023 | type = Independent, progressive, coeducational | status = | category_label = | category = | gender_label = | gender = | affiliation = | affiliations = | administrator = | assst_admin = | president = | chairman_label = | chairman = | rector = | principal = | asst principal = | campus_director = | dean = | founder = | chaplain = | officer_in_charge = | faculty = | teaching_staff = | enrollment = approx. 300 | grades_label = | grades = pK–8 | address = {{ubl|241 Water Street (Water St Campus)|156 William Street (William St Campus)}} | city = New York | state = New York | country = United States | coordinates = | district = | oversight = | accreditation = | campus = Urban | colors = Blue | colours = | athletics = | houses = | student_union = | nickname = | mascot = | free_label = | free_text = | rival = | yearbook = | newspaper = | free_label1 = | free_text1 = | free_label2 = | free_text2 = | free_label3 = | free_text3 = | test_name = | test_average = | national_ranking = | website = {{URL|https://www.blueschool.org}} | footnotes = | picture = | picture_caption = | picture2 = | picture_caption2 = }}
'''Blue School''' was a progressive independent school located in New York City's Lower Manhattan.
The school offered early-childhood classes for children as young as two years old, as well as kindergarten and elementary school classes that extend through sixth grade as of the 2015–16 school year. Middle school classes began in the 2015–16 school year and continued through eighth grade since 2017. Blue School shut down at the conclusion of the 2022–2023 school year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Page — Blue School - Independent Private School in Manhattan {{!}} Joyful Exploration And Innovative Learning |url=https://www.blueschool.org/announcement |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Blue School - Independent Private School in Manhattan |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Educational approach ==
Blue School developed an education model which combines elements of other approaches and unique elements of its own. It offered a "dynamically balanced education for seriously curious young people" age 2 through grade 8.
The school's advisory board included Lawrence Cohen, Ph.D., Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D., and Dan Siegel, M.D.
Cohen described the school as "more about creativity than control".<ref>James Croft, [https://www.academia.edu/201304/Variations_on_a_Blue_School_An_Analysis_of_the_Gestation_of_the_Blue_Man_Creativity_Center "Variations on a Blue School"], May 2, 2008, accessed November 8, 2010.</ref>
== History ==
Blue School was first established as an informal parent-run playgroup by the founders of the Blue Man Group and their wives when their children approached pre-school age.<ref>Larry Dobrow, [http://www.americanwaymag.com/blue-school-the-blue-man-group-blue-paint-matt-goldman "The ABCs of F-U-N"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219063920/http://www.americanwaymag.com/blue-school-the-blue-man-group-blue-paint-matt-goldman |date=December 19, 2010 }}, ''American Way Magazine'', November 1, 2009, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref>
In September 2007, the playgroup opened as "Blue Man Creativity Center".<ref>Adam Green, [https://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/09/24/070924ta_talk_green "Cool for School"], ''The New Yorker'', September 24, 2007, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref> In September 2018, over 300 students were enrolled in pre-primary, primary, and middle school programs for children ages 2 through 8th grade.<ref name="spivack">Spivack, Caroline. [https://patch.com/new-york/downtown-nyc/blue-school-doubles-capity-new-building-expansion "The Blue School Doubles Capacity With New Building Expansion"], ''Patch'', September 14, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2020.</ref><ref name="edelson">Edelson, Zachary. [https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/rockwell-group-blue-school-upper-campus/ "At Rockwell Group’s New Blue School, “the Space Is Almost the Third Teacher"], ''Metropolis'', September 25, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2020.</ref>
== Facilities ==
The parent-run playgroup was initially located in a building housing Blue Man Group. As the playgroup grew into a formal education program, the school relocated to accommodate increasing numbers of faculty, staff, and students. In September 2008 the school opened a new space on Avenue B, and in September 2010 it relocated to a building on Astor Place previously owned by Cooper Union. In November 2010, Blue School announced that it was acquiring a permanent home and would relocate there in September 2011.<ref>Miriam Kreinin Souccar, [http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101107/FREE/311079979 "A home for Blue School"], ''Crain's New York Business'', November 07, 2010, accessed November 8, 2010.</ref>
The school's building at 241 Water Street, one block south of the Brooklyn Bridge and one block north of the Schermerhorn Row Block, was originally built in 1799 by Peter Schermerhorn to house a ships chandlery business.<ref name="nyinc">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120314202514/http://www.nyinc.com/view/full_story/9881810/article "CB Richard Ellis Named Exclusive Agent For Historic Office Building At 241 Water Street In Manhattan"], ''NY Inc'', October 20, 2010, accessed November 8, 2010.<!-- This link is only marginally stable as it has a nested redirect but the article contents can still be retrieved from it. --></ref> The building was rebuilt and significantly enlarged in 1991 by James Polshek and Richard Olcott,<ref name="nyinc" /> and served as the headquarters of the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey until the Institute relocated to Newark in 2010.<ref>Miriam Kreinin Souccar, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/realestate/06seamen.html "Seamen’s Institute to Sell Its Building and Leave Manhattan"], ''The New York Times'', October 5, 2010, accessed November 8, 2010.</ref> The building's renovation included design services by David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, a member of the school's advisory board and designer of the nearby Imagination Playground.<ref>Robin Pogrebin, [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/rockwell-group-to-design-blue-school-interiors/ "Rockwell Group to Design Blue School Interiors"], ''The New York Times'', March 18, 2011, accessed August 3, 2011.</ref>
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to the Seaport area, flooding the first floor of school with four to five feet of water and forcing it to close for a week while repairs were made and electrical power was restored.<ref>Marc Siegel, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/11/08/hurricane-sandy-nyu-hospital-evacuation/1690615/ "A healthy response to Superstorm Sandy"], ''USA Today'', November 9, 2012, accessed October 1, 2014.</ref>
In March 2014, Blue School announced that it had secured the adjacent building at 233 Water Street to provide expansion space as it adds a middle school program. The new building was renovated with classrooms, science and arts spaces, and a rooftop garden and play space, and opened for the 2015–16 school year.<ref>[https://www.prweb.com/releases/blue_school_announces_expansion_to_middle_school_deepens_commitment_to_downtown_nyc/prweb11709556.htm "Blue School Announces Expansion to Middle School, Deepens Commitment to Downtown NYC"], ''PRWeb'', March 27, 2014 , accessed October 15, 2014 .</ref>
In December 2016, Blue School acquired additional space nearby at 156 William Street, which opened in September 2018. It was later shut down after the school suffered from significant financial losses.
== In media ==
The association with the Blue Man Group has brought the school some national media attention, including stories by ''Time'',<ref>Belinda Luscombe, [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121194210/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858869,00.html "At the Blue Man Group's School, Kids Rule"], ''Time'', November 23, 2008, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref> NBC's ''Today Show'',<ref>Tiki Barber, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv2Qoexb7gs], ''NBC Today Show'', January 23, 2009, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref> and National Public Radio.<ref>Margot Adler, [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98683278 "Blue Man Group Creates High-Tech NYC Preschool"], ''All Things Considered'', January 1, 2009, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref> Local stories appeared in ''The Villager''<ref>Melissa Korn, [http://www.thevillager.com/villager_226/makingasplashblue.html "Making a splash, Blue Man Group goes to school"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517030625/http://www.thevillager.com/villager_226/makingasplashblue.html |date=2011-05-17 }}, ''The Villager'', August 29, 2007, accessed November 8, 2010.</ref> and the ''New York Post''.<ref>Yoav Gonen, [https://archive.today/20120719051925/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nypost/access/1595176841.html?dids=1595176841:1595176841&FMT=ABS "Blue Man School - Kids Learn 'Creative Mischief' for 27G"], ''New York Post'', November 14, 2008, [http://www.nhirschgroup.com/imagesPress/291.jpg cached image] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714180425/http://www.nhirschgroup.com/imagesPress/291.jpg |date=July 14, 2011 }}, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref>
The school attracted some controversy after a front-page article about the school in ''The New York Times'' called attention to the school's tuition rates. Although the school's tuition is "right in the middle" of what other private schools in New York City charge, some readers outside of the city were shocked by the cost.<ref>Jenny Anderson, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/education/01blueschool.html "Inventive New Private School Hits Old Hurdles"], ''The New York Times'', March 31, 2010, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref>
Blue School's media visibility has also made it a target for attacks by conservative educators, who are critical of its focus on creativity and the elements it takes from the Reggio Emilia approach to education.<ref>Ashley Thorne, [http://www.nas.org/polArticles.cfm?doctype_code=Article&doc_id=1087 "Blue Blastoff"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102003402/http://www.nas.org/polArticles.cfm?doctype_code=Article&doc_id=1087 |date=2011-01-02 }}, ''National Association of Scholars'', November 10, 2009, accessed November 4, 2010.</ref> A June 2012 article in ''The New York Post'' criticized the school's approach and reported that parents removed their children from the school, claiming that the children weren't learning how to read.<ref>Palmeri, Tara. [https://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/blue_man_dupe_6ltN21ytq0GUDCGusUYmcK A blue man ‘dupe’: Parent panic at 32G ‘progressive’ school]. New York Post. 13 June 2012.</ref>
In April 2012, ''The New York Times'' published a feature on how Blue School integrates scientific research about child development in the classroom, writing that "the school has become a kind of national laboratory for integrating cognitive neuroscience and cutting-edge educational theory into curriculum, professional development and school design."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/nyregion/at-the-blue-school-kindergarten-curriculum-includes-neurology.html "Making Education Brain Science"], ''The New York Times'', April 15, 2012.</ref> Blue School was also featured on a March 18, 2012 episode of CNN's The Next List.<ref>[http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/14/coming-up-on-the-next-list-blue-school/ "Coming up on 'The Next List': Blue School"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321221805/http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/14/coming-up-on-the-next-list-blue-school/ |date=2012-03-21 }}, ''CNN "What's Next"'', March 14, 2012, accessed March 19, 2012.</ref>
In March 2014, ''New York'' magazine published school vaccination rates that reflected incomplete reporting for the 2012–13 school year due to damage of student medical records in the flooding from Hurricane Sandy.<ref>Clint Rainey, [https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/some-nyc-schools-show-dismal-vaccination-rates.html "Immune to Logic: Some New York City Private Schools Have Dismal Vaccination Rates"], ''New York'', March 30, 2010, accessed October 1, 2014.</ref>
In 2022, Blue School employees voted to unionize but were met with anti-union tactics by school leadership, who failed to recognize the legal union.<ref>{{cite news |title=Teachers and Staff Strike At NYC Blue Man Group-Founded School |url=https://www.nycclc.org/news/2022-05/teachers-and-staff-strike-nyc-blue-man-group-founded-school |access-date=22 October 2023 |work=New York City Central Labor Council |date=31 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
== See also == *Education in New York City
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == <!-- per WP:ELMINOFFICIAL, choose one official website only --> *{{official website|http://www.theblueschool.org/}} *[https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9E2F7AB9D6BBB175 TEDx Blue videos]
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Category:Private elementary schools in Manhattan