Central Park East was founded in 1974 by Deborah Meier, a visionary teacher whose work has had a profound effect on education in New York City and the nation. Her belief that schools should be small, humane, democratic places where children learn how to learn and how to think for themselves helped spark a revival of progressive education in the city and the nation. Now, when just about every elementary school classroom in the city has a rug and almost no one uses graded readers, it's hard to imagine how revolutionary Central Park East and its two sister schools, Central Park East II and River East, were when they first opened and how much influence they've had on education in the past two decades.

At a time when other schools had desks in rows, Central Park East had tables and sofas. At a time when other schools tracked children into classes for smart kids and dumb kids, Central Park East put kids of different abilities and even different ages into the same class. (More than one third receive special education services.) Instead of accepting racial segregation as a given, Central Park East has always put a premium on enrolling children from different neighborhoods to make the school as racially integrated as possible.

CPE (and its sister schools, Central Park East II, and River East) have remained true to their roots. They still attract an amazing range of parents and children: lawyers and families on public assistance, high-achieving children who are bored in traditional classrooms, and children who are dyslexic or emotionally troubled. All three have a corps of passionate, articulate, and highly educated parents who are deeply committed to the schools' philosophies. Parents say CPE offers an unusual attention to children's own interests, and the firm belief that those interests will lead children to explore the world around them in a serious and purposeful way. Independent work is prized. Even kindergartners are expected to work on their own, whether they're splashing at the water table, writing in their journals, or playing in a toy kitchen.

The criticism of the CPE schools over the years - and of progressive education in general - has been that too many children fail to master basic skills such as the multiplication tables, dates in history, spelling, and punctuation. The schools have consistently had lower test scores than other schools serving children of similar socioeconomic backgrounds. But teachers say much of what is taught here isn't measured by multiple-choice tests: the ability to work with others, the ability to find the answers to questions that interest one, the ability to delve into a project for a long period of time. At least one long-term study suggests that these skills may serve children better in the long run than those taught in traditional urban schools. David Bensman, an educational researcher and professor at Rutgers University and author of Central Park East and Its Graduates, found that CPE graduates were more likely to complete high school and attend college than their peers at other New York City public schools.

CPE has suffered from turnover in administration in recent years. It has had four principals in four years. Some teachers have resisted attempts by the regional office to impose the chancellor's new curriculum, which calls for more explicit instruction in reading and more attention to results on standardized tests. The school's leaders have been caught between the dictates of the regional office and the teaching styles of the staff. (For a more detailed profile, see New York City's Best Public Elementary Schools. Clara Hemphill, May 2005)

"I am the parent of a 4th grader and I actually think the students are generally very engaged. CPE's use of project-based work, driven by the students own interests and passions actually cultivates true scholars. Anyone who has ever had to work on a research paper, senior thesis or project, or better yet a dissertation can appreciate that it takes enormous discipline, engagement and focus to think up a project, research it, design a plan or procedure, and implement it over the course of months. And then the kids do an oral presentation on the project and the process! It's quite amazing, actually. It may not result in 4's on state tests, but students leave with invaluable skills that should carry them through to the highest levels of school and beyond."

"CPE 1 is a great school for K-2 or maybe 3rd after that you should transfer your child to a new school, I say that because the curriculum and teaching procedures is not the best for a 4th & 5th grader, things a child should be learning at that age they don't, there is no advance programs at the school and not enough to keep your child challenged and engaged in learning. I feel the kids in 4th & 5th grade are way behind in learning materials compare to other public & charter schools. They need to work on that."

My son has been at CPE 1 for about a month now. He transferred there after 4 years in a G&T class. The most important thing I can say about CPE is that he is truly happy there. He was not happy to be leaving his friends behind, but he soon changed his tune once he recognized the vast differences at CPE. For the first time since pre-school, he is invested in his work and actually enjoying it. He is thinking again, not just doing robotic test prep work. And now when I ask about his day, he is actually excited to talk about what he did and learned. I am equally happy. The teachers, parents, principal- everyone!- all feel very welcoming and invested in the kids. In my opinion, this is what school should be. A space where kids are respected and cherished, where kids' voices and ideas are equally valued. And best of all, they are genuinely learning and thinking.

"I disagree with your review about many children not obtaining basic skills," writes a parent. "Both of my children attended CPE 1 since pre-kindergarten and learned to read by 5 years of age. They also had no trouble mastering age-appropriate math concepts. CPE 1 uses assessments that measure kids progress over time. It is a wonderful school that is academically challenging and at the same time teaches children through a hands on curriculum. If your review was based on test scores alone then you missed the whole picture. My son is now an honors student at a parochial school in the Bronx. My daughter is in the third grade. She loves to read and write and I owe it all to CPE 1. " (January 2004)