The Liberi School Open House

Just outside of Hudson on the town line between Greenport and Livingston in Columbia County, is the campus of the new Liberi School, a modern take on the one-room schoolhouse. The spacious, light-filled, barn-style structure has a huge central classroom that's equipped with a leveled library, math manipulatives, science equipment, art supplies, and other tools for hands-on, project-based learning. Located on 150+ acres of wetlands, meadows, and woods, which are incorporated into the curriculum, it’s an independent school licensed by the New York State Education Department. And on January 28th, you can peek inside to learn how students work in flexible multi-age and multi-year groupings with teachers who gauge individual learning styles, cognitive strengths, and preferences to create a personalized learning environment.

“Liberi” (pronounced līberī) is the Latin word for both “children” and “free." That merged meaning is an overriding philosophy for the Liberi School teachers, educators, administrators, and curriculum designers, who approach education and children from a holistic perspective–emphasizing creativity, intellectual freedom, skills mastery, and in-depth exploration of ideas and content.  “Our integrated multi-age curriculum has roots in a classical tradition of liberal arts education and innovates on modern approaches to learning and thinking,” says director and cofounder Jennifer Wai-Lan Strodl. “It is our belief that this model of education can liberate our children by teaching young minds how to think, not what to think.”

The Liberi School open house at 3521 Route 9 in Livingston: Saturday, January 28; 2:00pm-4:00pm.

The Liberi School is now accepting applications for students entering kindergarten through fifth grade in the 2017-2018 school year. Enrollment is limited and the application deadline is March 1. Any family who lives within 15 miles of the school can be bussed through their home district. For inquiries and further information, please visit their website, or contact the director at: [email protected] or 518-697-5065.