Company Profile
Company Overview
The Co-op School provides a safe and stimulating micro-environment in which N-8th grade students experiment and learn. All members of The Co-op School—students, families, and staff—contribute to the development of our unique culture and participate in improving our community and beyond. As students learn to work together, preparing for their place in a global environment, our families also work within committees and on the board of directors to support the school. Whether it’s painting walls, assembling furniture, growing the school through various initiatives, we all contribute to help The Co-op School flourish.
Teachers guide students in the dynamic, life-long process of questioning and making connections. Through far-reaching social studies projects enriched through literature, math, science and the arts, students make decisions, research, and reflect.
Students will leave The Co-op School confident in their ability to effect change in the community and comfortable reflecting on ways to challenge and grow themselves. As creative problem solvers, each with unique viewpoints and learning styles, students will embrace the idea of a more equitable world. We strive to inspire passion and teach children to become protagonists in their own educational journey by fostering their innate sense of curiosity and creativity. We listen to and honor the individual interests and strengths of each child.
Company History
The Co-op School was founded in 2003 by a group of parents who saw the need for a high-quality and affordable preschool option in the Clinton Hill and Fort Greene neighborhoods. Since then, the Co-op School has matured from a small, parent-run playgroup to a fully staffed and licensed non-profit school. The Co-op School is a parent-aided organization for which “cooperative” means just that: students’ families are responsible for the development, fundraising, and maintenance of the school. The Board of Trustees is comprised of elected parents. Parents share the responsibility of upholding the school’s guiding principles, facilitated through the elected Board. With the staff, parents, and student body, we continuously work towards our ultimate goal of blending community and education, with special attention to honoring our differences.
After residing in two prior homes in Clinton Hill, The Co-op School moved into 87 Irving Place in the fall of 2009. In 2011, The Co-op School launched the first kindergarten class of its elementary program at 40 Brevoort Place. In 2019, we opened our doors at 644 Gates Avenue in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood—in a 3,500-square-foot building with double-height gym, a rooftop library, and two playgrounds—housing our preschool, elementary, and middle school students under one roof for joyful learning.