Hessian Hills School (1925–1952) was a

progressive school Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''p ...

in the Mount Airy neighborhood of

Croton-on-Hudson Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern sub ...

, New York. The school was founded as a community school by Elizabeth Moos and Margaret Hatfield. Children were welcomed from age 2 to 15. In 1934, Hessian Hills School, City and Country School in New York City, and five other like-minded progressive schools formed a group called Associated Experimental Schools to raise funds and to refine their progressive philosophy, but the group was abandoned by the end of the 1930s. City and Country School has preserved the archives of this group. Parents were "an eclectic group of socialists, Quakers, radical Jews, prominent intellectuals and liberal business-people". The curriculum was based on the ideas of John Dewey and

Horace Mann Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts St ...

Frances Horwich Frances Rappaport Horwich (born Frances Rappaport, July 16, 1907 – July 22, 2001) was an American educator, television personality and television executive. As Miss Frances, she was the host of the children's television program ''Ding Dong ...

was head of the school for a few years during World War II, and later became host of the children's television program

Ding Dong School ''Ding Dong School'', billed as "the nursery school of the air", was a half-hour children's TV show which began on WNBQ-TV (now WMAQ-TV) in Chicago, Illinois a few months before its four-year run on NBC (albeit still produced in the WNBQ studios). ...

. She was followed in 1943 by educator James L. Hymes Jr. Moos, the founder, developed political views which some viewed as too far to the left.

Architecture

The school suffered a fire in 1930. After the fire a new school building was designed by

William Lescaze William Edmond Lescaze, FAIA (March 27, 1896 – February 9, 1969), was a Swiss-born American architect, city planner and industrial designer. He is ranked among the pioneers of modernism in American architecture. Biography William Lescaze w ...

and George Howe. The building was designed in the International Style, and has been called "the most noted early example of modernist school design in America". The school was the subject of a documentary film by Lee Dick, screened at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The film was apparently the first documentary produced on 16mm with sound and dialogue. The building is currently used by Temple Israel of Northern Westchester.

Notable alumni

* Mary Esherick, b. 1916. Daughter of

Wharton Esherick Wharton Esherick (July 15, 1887 – May 6, 1970) was an American sculptor who worked primarily in wood, especially applying the principles of sculpture to common utilitarian objects. Consequently, he is best known for his sculptural furniture a ...

, artist, who, Instead of fees, paid the school in children's chairs he designed in 1925. * Ethel Stein, b. 1917, textile artist. * Heywood Hale Broun, b. 1918, actor and broadcaster. * Sonia Chase Hodson, b. 1920. Daughter of school founder Margaret Hatfield and Stuart Chase, a prominent social theorist. *Sheldon R. Coons, Jr, b. 1921. Killed in WWII, son of Sheldon R. Coons, philanthropist. * Elizabeth Cadbury-Brown, b. 1922, architect. *

Thomas Kuhn Thomas Samuel Kuhn (; July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American philosopher of science whose 1962 book '' The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' was influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term ''paradig ...

, b. 1922, philosopher of science, who introduced the term paradigm shift. He attended the school from sixth through ninth grade, and left the school in 1937. * James Stevenson, b. 1929, illustrator and author. * Two sons of artist

Fairfield Porter Fairfield Porter (June 10, 1907 – September 18, 1975) was an American painter and art critic. He was the fourth of five children of James Porter, an architect, and Ruth Furness Porter, a poet from a literary family. He was the brother of photo ...

. He corresponded at length with Elizabeth Moos in 1941 about his sons' education. * Jonathan Talbot, b. 1939, collage artist. He was enrolled in the school in the late 1940s. Since the school welcomed children only up to about age 15, most children went elsewhere to finish their school education. One alternative

was

Scarborough School The Scarborough Day School was a private school in Scarborough-on-Hudson, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. Frank and Narcissa Cox Vanderlip established the school in 1913 at their estate, Beechwood. The school, a nonsectarian nonprofit college prep ...

, only a few miles from Hessian Hills.

References

External links

NY Times op ed by former student
*
Antiwar education
{{coord missing, Hudson Valley Private schools in New York (state) 1925 establishments in New York (state) 1952 disestablishments in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1925 Schools in Westchester County, New York Private middle schools in New York (state) Defunct schools in New York (state) Private elementary schools in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York Documentary films about education in the United States Documentary films about education