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For parents of Tribeca, Dror Benshetrit and Davina Rosenbaum, early arrival involves more than just saying goodbye to her 5-year-old daughter Noi and her 3-year-old son Oht.
Once the family arrives at school, the day begins with a circle of music where parents and children sing and dance to Beatles and Disney songs in a space dubbed "the magic meadow" – an island covered in green carpets. medium of light wood fixtures, all designed by a Danish architect of the avant-garde. Then parents gather in a lounge to socialize and have free coffee.
"You enter this fun concert experience. It's a highlight of our day, "said Rosenbaum, who runs a design studio with her husband, a" futurist. "
Welcome to WeGrow, a new kindergarten and progressive elementary school from WeWork, the shared workspace company, headquartered in Chelsea.
The $ 42,000 per year program ($ 36,000 for preschoolers ages 3 to 4 and $ 22,000 for 2-year-olds) is a thorny blend of Montessori, New Age and New Age philosophy. of Silicon Valley capitalism, among interiors worthy of Architecture Digest. Only a few months after the start of the school year, parents – and their children – are delighted by this brand experience, but some educators fear that this may be another unsuccessful attempt by revolutionaries in the world. school.
While the WeWork name conjures images of millennials stuck on laptops, technology is used sparingly at WeGrow. The program includes weekly visits to a farm in Westchester, where children spend time in nature and learn about science by growing their own fruits and vegetables. On Thursdays, they practice their math and entrepreneurship skills at a school farm kiosk, selling the products to WeWork members and donating money to a charity.
"The future of preparing your children for the world is based on compassion [and] entrepreneurship, "said Anja Tyson, who was first informed of the school on Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop website and decided to send Matilda, 5, to the school.
She notes that Matilda no longer wrestles with separation anxiety, as she does in other schools. "This era of education of the industrial revolution is outmoded in today's society."
The school was designed by Rebekah Neumann, Brand Manager at WeWork and wife of CEO Adam Neumann. She was unhappy with their daughter's experience with kindergarten and could not find better alternatives in the first grade.
"We could not find the school that, in our opinion, would nurture growth, its spirit and spirit," said Neumann, a five-child mother and Jivamukti-certified yoga instructor who studied with the Dalai Lama. . "These children are born, they are very advanced, they are very special. They are spiritual. They are all natural entrepreneurs, natural humanitarians, and it seems like we are getting out of the education system. "
After the morning music circle, the 46 students – from Kindergarten to Grade 4 – enjoy a 25 minute reflection and meditation period called WePractice. (The school is planning to move to grade 6 next year.) The rest of the morning is spent learning Hebrew or Mandarin, robotics and engineering, as well as more traditional subjects, all taught in a transdisciplinary approach.
After a moment of gratitude at noon and a vegetarian lunch, free time for reading and two periods devoted to art classes. The nine teachers are making efforts to address the unique interests of students and Neumann said the goal of the program was "to help students identify their super powers and discover how to use them to help others" .
"Everything we do nowadays has this mind-body-mind approach," said Josh Shanklin, 42-year-old WeGrow community leader (principal).
It's this holistic philosophy and the emphasis on kindness and community that seduced Dami Okuboyejo, a former teacher who sent her twin 4-year-old son to WeGrow. "I'm really not great on academics. . . I do not know what the Pythagorean theorem did for me, "said the resident of Harlem, who has her own stationery business. "At the end of the day, you have to be able to communicate with people."
Students aged 6 and over participate in a mentorship program in which they are paired with WeWork members or employees who do something of interest to them, such as video game design or even event planning. . According to a school representative, all mentors are subject to a background check and mentors are supervised by teachers.
"We have [one student] who simply loves to manage the project, "said Sung-Ae Yang, head of learning. "She is partnering with our event team at WeWork."
WeGrow adapts its schedule and pace to student needs, according to a school representative, and includes traditional studies including math, science and language arts. The school follows a Montessori-based approach that emphasizes the daily assessment rather than the rigors of testing. He does not participate in standardized tests by the city or the state.
The blind optimism of the academy stems from the efforts of various titans of technology to reform education. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel both invested in AltSchool, a for-profit "micro-schools" network launched in New York in 2015, offering learning plans. personalized for each child.
But earlier this year, AltSchool shut down its East Village sites and some California sites and is now focusing on selling educational software to other schools. Parents also complained to various media outlets about the quality of education provided to their children.
"We came to the conclusion that, really, AltSchool. . . was a kind of forehead for what [founder Max Ventilla] What he really wants is to develop software that he sells, "a former AltSchool parent told Business Insider.
"We all spend a fortune on tutoring to supplement what our kids do not learn," a mother told TechCrunch.
Paul France, a former AltSchool teacher, said WeGrow "looks like AltSchool and what everyone felt at first".
But "When we just say to the kids," We'll just learn what interests you. " . . it limits them. There was also this right that I thought was really toxic, "added France whose book" Reclaiming Personalized Learning "will be released next year.
At the moment, parents are not worried about whether or not WeGrow can help their kids get into a competitive high school. In fact, they hope that the school will develop to offer education until the grade 12 and beyond.
"The longer she can stay [at WeGrow]better it is, says Tyson about his daughter. "If they have an MFA program, it will be there."
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