A tiny gem of a place, the Center School is one of the oldest and most popular alternative schools in the city. The school combines a progressive attitude toward how children learn with a classical view of what they should learn. That means teachers expect the kids to move around the classrooms and to chat with one another as they work rather than sit silently in rows and absorb knowledge. At the same time, the subject matter is traditional: Latin is mandatory, and everyone is expected to spell properly, and to learn conventional geography and algebra.

"Our child had an unhappy fifth grade experience at CS. Many days the homework was overwhelming. Some class materials were disturbing and inappropriate for our 9-year-old. In the class on... read more