__NOTOC__ Walden School was a private day school in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City, that operated from 1914 until 1988, when it merged with the

New Lincoln School The New Lincoln School was a private experimental coeducational school in New York City enrolling students from kindergarten through grade 12. History New Lincoln's predecessor was founded as Lincoln School in 1917 by the Rockefeller-funded Gener ...

; the merged school closed in 1991. Walden was known as an innovator in

progressive education 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 ''pro ...

. Faculty were addressed by first names and students were given great leeway in determining their course of study. Located on Central Park West at 88th Street, the school was very popular with intellectual families from the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

and with families based in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

.Douglas Martin
Walden School, At 73, Files for Bankruptcy
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 23, 1987Wolfgang Saxon
Planned Merger to Cut Costs For Two Private Day Schools
''

'', May 10, 1988 The Walden School was founded in 1914 by

Margaret Naumburg Margaret Naumburg (May 14, 1890 – February 26, 1983) was an American psychologist, educator, artist, author and among the first major theoreticians of art therapy. She named her approach dynamically oriented art therapy. Prior to working in a ...

, an educator who later became an

art therapist Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art ther ...

Claire Raphael Reis Claire Raphael Reis (August 4, 1888 – April 11, 1978) was a music promoter and the founder of the People's Music League in New York City. The League was intended to provide free concerts for immigrants and public schools. Born Claire Rapha ...

, a musician, was also involved. Naumburg, who had been exposed to the theories of

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, embraced "individual transformation" as an education principle, encouraging creative expression and self-motivated learning. Throughout its history, the Walden School emphasized the visual and

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

. Competition between students was minimized. No standardized exams were required for admission. Walden's original building at Central Park West and 88th Street has been demolished. However, Walden's adjacent building at 1 West 88th, now known as the Goodman Building after Walden alumnus and civil rights martyr Andrew Goodman, is now occupied by

Trevor Day School Trevor Day School is an independent day school in New York City in the borough of Manhattan. History It was founded in 1930 as The Day School for the Church of the Heavenly Rest, an Episcopalian church located on Fifth Avenue at 90th street. ...

Notable faculty

Hans Maeder Hans Karl Maeder (December 29, 1909 – September 8, 1988) was an innovative educator who founded the Stockbridge School in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and served as its director and headmaster for 23 years.David E. PittHans K. Maeder, Stockbridge Fo ...

taught at Walden School and served as its interim head in the 1940s before leaving to start

Stockbridge School Stockbridge School was a progressive co-educational boarding school for adolescents near the Interlaken section of Stockbridge, Massachusetts and which operated from 1948 to 1976. History The school was founded by the World War II German refug ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. *

Florence Cane Florence Cane (September 28, 1882 – 1952) was a notable American art educator whose ideas influenced the field of art therapy. Personal life Florence was born in 1882 to Max and Theresa Naumberg in 1882 in New York City. She was the second ...

taught art, sister of Margaret Naumburg * Stanley Bosworth taught French, before going on to lead Saint Ann's School in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Notable alumni

Neil Barsky Neil Barsky is an American journalist, former hedge fund manager, filmmaker, and philanthropist, best known for making the 2012 film '' Koch'' and for founding The Marshall Project, a journalism nonprofit intended to shed light on the United St ...

, journalist *

Paul Freedman Paul Harris Freedman (born September 15, 1949) is an American historian and medievalist who serves as the Chester D. Tripp Professor of History at Yale University; he is a recipient of the Haskins Medal for his work regarding Medieval Europe. Free ...

, historian *

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

(1922–2004), jazz and film composer * John Berry (1963–2016), musician and founding member of the Beastie Boys * Matthew Broderick (1962–), actor *

Adam Clymer Adam Clymer (April 27, 1937 – September 10, 2018) was an American journalist. He was a prolific political correspondent for ''The New York Times.'' Career Clymer worked for the ''New York Daily News'' for a short period. Clymer worked for ''T ...

(1937–2018), journalist and author * Michael Diamond (1965–), member of the Beastie Boys *

Helga Davis Helga Davis is a New York-based multidisciplinary artist who works as an actress, singer, writer and composer, as well as a radio and podcast host. Performances Helga Davis performed as a principal actor in the 25th-anniversary international reviv ...

(1964-), multidisciplinary artist *

Jane Dudley Jane Dudley (April 3, 1912 – September 19, 2001) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Inspired by her mentor, choreographer Martha Graham, Dudley helped bring her movement inspired by social ills to the American Dance Fe ...

(1912–2001), modern dancer * Yvette (Hardman) Edmondson,(1915-2006) oceanographer and journal editor * Peter Elias (1923–2001), professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT *

Carol Gilligan Carol Gilligan (; born November 28, 1936) is an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist, best known for her work on ethical community and ethical relationships. Gilligan is a professor of Humanities and Applied Psychology at New York Unive ...

(1936–), educational psychologist * Leonard Gillman (1917-2009), pianist and mathematician * Andrew Goodman (1943–1964), civil rights activist *

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(1972–), celebrity chef and television personality * Steven Heller (1960–), design writer * Peter Kivy (1934–2017), professor of musicology and philosophy at Rutgers University *

Saul Landau Saul Landau (January 15, 1936 – September 9, 2013) was an American journalist, filmmaker and commentator. He was also a professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he taught history and digital media. Educa ...

(1936–2013), documentary filmmaker, author, biographer of Fidel Castro * Jeanne Lee (1939–2000), jazz singer * Glenn Ligon (1960–), conceptual artist * Kenneth Lonergan (1962–), playwright, film director * Janet Margolin (1943–1993), theater, television and film actress *

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

(1931–2014), film and theatre director, producer, actor and comedian * Robert Paterson (1970–),composer *

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(1965-), writer, journalist, podcast host * Robin Pogrebin (1965-), reporter *

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, physicist *

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(1963–), political activist and founder of

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and the New Policy Institute *

Susan Rosenberg Susan Lisa Rosenberg (born October 5, 1955) is an American activist, writer, advocate for social justice and prisoners' rights. From the late 1970s into the mid-1980s, Rosenberg was active in the far-left terrorist May 19th Communist Organizatio ...

(1955–), activist * Tony Saletan (1931–), American folksinger and musician *

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(1964-), actor * Kyra Sedgwick (1965-), actor, producer, director * Jane Stern (1946–), food writer *

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(1912–2011), architect *

Richard Teitelbaum Richard Lowe Teitelbaum (May 19, 1939 – April 9, 2020) was an American composer, keyboardist, and improvisor. A student of Allen Forte, Mel Powell, and Luigi Nono, he was known for his live electronic music and synthesizer performances. He was ...

(1939–2020), composer, keyboardist, and improvisor *

Barbara Tuchman Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for ''The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first month of World ...

(1912–1989), historian *

David Zwirner David Zwirner (born October 23, 1964) is a German art dealer and owner of the David Zwirner Gallery in New York City, London, Hong Kong, and Paris. Early life and education Zwirner was born in Cologne, West Germany. The son of art dealer Rudolf ...

(1964–), contemporary art dealer

References

Notes Further reading * Margaret Naumburg (1928), ''The Child and the World: Dialogues in Modern Education''. New York: Harcourt Brace.

External links

Margaret Naumburg and Florence Cane
student paper in Women's Intellectual Contributions to the Study of Mind and Society,

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

{{Education in Manhattan Defunct schools in New York City Educational institutions disestablished in 1988 Educational institutions established in 1914 Upper West Side 1914 establishments in New York City