City and Country School

A newspaper to make

City and Country School in Manhattan teaches children from age 2 through eighth grade.

Its eighth graders publish a newspaper. In a Class of 2025 account, the staff was always a step ahead: interviews for the next issue were being booked while the last was still on sale.

The writers were candid about the work. A good interview took interesting questions and produced answers worth printing; drafts passed through the main editor and pupil managing editors; and someone had to see that every photo and video arrived.

Paint, clay and blocks

In the 2s, 3s and 4s, the materials are deliberately basic: paint, clay, water, wood, paper and unit blocks. Paint comes in primary colors, so children mix the rest, and the clay is real clay rather than play dough.

Counting at attendance, sorting and block work carry the math; stories, songs, dictation and letter-sound practice carry the language.

The school links this work to later reading and writing: clay builds the small hand muscles needed for handwriting, and rhymes and stories train the ear for the sounds reading will rely on.

Phonics in small groups

From kindergarten, the school teaches reading mostly in small groups, using a phonics-based program that moves from early phonemic awareness to fluent reading. Learning and reading specialists give direct reading instruction during language arts periods.

Second graders studying the Brooklyn Bridge write up their research and act out its building in Rhythms, the movement program, as the engineers and workers they have been studying, to live piano: one bridge, learned on the page and through movement.

The school's Roman-numeral groups follow age, not grade (the Vs are kindergarten, the XIIIs eighth grade); this profile uses grades.

Jobs with real responsibility

The newspaper is the eighth grade's turn in the school's Jobs Program, which gives third through eighth graders a working part in running the school.

Fourth graders show how that works with the School Store: on a $2,100 loan, they decide what to stock, compare prices, track sales and judge their own year-end results.

Math in the older grades

In third through fifth grade, math pairs direct instruction in Illustrative Mathematics with jobs, such as the Post Office and School Store, that use grade-level math every day. The aim is fluency with whole numbers, fractions and decimals before algebra.

In sixth through eighth grade, a math specialist teaches math daily, still using Illustrative Mathematics, and the school says all pupils complete Algebra I concepts and skills by the end of eighth grade.

Academic Performance Lab is a separate course, taught by learning specialists, on executive functioning, test-taking and self-advocacy, including how the brain learns. It is about how a child studies and tests.

After eighth grade

Because the school ends in eighth grade, high school applications are part of the work. In sixth grade, Academic Performance Lab begins preparing students for standardized tests; in seventh, one-to-one meetings build customized lists of school options; in eighth, mock interviews start in the fall, with personal help on essays and test prep.

How to apply

The school's admissions page has the full steps; the Open House and block workshops are optional.

• Application due Monday, December 7, 2026, in Ravenna; the school encourages applying early.
• Financial aid (kindergarten and up) applies through Clarity by the same date; the application fee is waived automatically for aid applicants.
• A campus tour, in person from 9 to 11 a.m., is required; email admissions about the waiting list if tours are full.
• The interview, in person or on Zoom, is booked in Ravenna after you submit.
• The child visit is required: Saturday, January 9, 2027 for the 2s and 3s; Saturday, December 12, 2026 for the 4s, kindergarten and first grade; a school day between November 2026 and January 2027 from second grade up.

Ages and hours

The birthday cutoff is September 1: a child must be the group's age on or before that date. No standardized test scores are required at any age.

2026–27 tuition

The table is the school's 2026–27 tuition, not a quote for a later entry year.

Tuition assistance rests on demonstrated financial need alone. Awards last one year, so families reapply annually; support usually stays similar unless finances change a lot.

Before and after school

Early drop-off for the 4s through second grade runs 8:00 to 8:40; for third through fifth grade it runs 8:00 to 8:30 at no charge.

Paid extended afternoon runs Monday through Friday: until 5:00 for full-day 2s (when turning three) and full-day 3s, and until 5:45 from the 4s through eighth grade.

Flex, for third through eighth grade, is free; children who stay for homework time or learning support must remain until the 4:00 dismissal. It runs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

For morning and afternoon drop-in care, aid follows your tuition-aid rate up to 75%, with minimum charges of $5 in the morning and $10 in the afternoon; private music lessons are not aid-eligible.

City and Country's hybrid hours and reading support

City and Country's youngest groups run hybrid schedules, so confirm the hours and who notices when a child needs help with reading or study habits.