Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School

Building an idea

Two of the second-grade inventions at Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School (CGPS) were a washing machine and an ocean-trash collector, both meant to run on wind. The children showed their prototypes to families at the Innovation Festival in March 2026.

The assignment was to find a problem and build a prototype that put wind energy to work on it. A household chore and the state of the ocean sit a long way apart, and the assignment had room for both.

Earlier in the year the class had studied matter and energy, including renewable and non-renewable sources. Each invention was tried out and revised along the way.

CGPS is a Pre-K–12 school on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Kindergarten

Reading comes first. Instruction is explicit and phonics-based: children start with the sounds inside words and letter-sound matches, then move to blending sounds into words.

They read in small groups with classroom teachers and reading specialists, because they arrive at different points, and early childhood classrooms have at least two teachers present at any time.

Number sense is built by hand. Children count, sort, and combine or break apart sets, using five-frames and ten-frames to see more than, less than and pairs that make ten.

Their writing goes to real readers: list books, and letters to family and friends.

Sixth grade

By sixth grade the audience widens. In the Current Issues Research Seminar, each student researches a topic of their own choice, learns to identify valid sources, interviews an expert, often someone the child already knows, and writes a long research paper.

In May they present at the seminar's fair, showing the paper with visuals and speaking about it to parents, teachers and peers.

In technology, students convey design ideas through sketches, computer-aided design and mathematical models. Their final project is a therapeutic toy for children with cerebral palsy: they build a version, test it, and revise the design from the results and feedback.

In math, students are placed in a grade-level or an accelerated section, with flexible movement between them. The accelerated section covers the topics in greater depth and at a quicker pace.

Ask how placement is decided and how movement works.

Prep School choices

Electives start in ninth grade alongside required courses, and students gain more choice as they move up. Within each department, they can be added once the required courses are met, and the offerings change by semester.

Advanced Science Research (ASR) is the three-year research program in the Prep School, running from sophomore through senior year. Each student chooses a subject and designs an experiment.

At the May 2026 symposium, seniors gave slide presentations, every student presented a poster, and the incoming tenth graders met current researchers.

Students study journal articles, write a review of a narrow topic, then contact a scientist and ask that person to mentor an original project. A mentor is something the student seeks, so ask how the school supports that search.

The linked ASR student guide was revised April 19, 2023, so ask what the current requirements are before relying on its details.

It described a spring ninth-grade application with an essay, a three-minute live presentation of a popular science article and teacher recommendations.

It set the time commitment at an average of seven to ten hours a week. Students had to find a mentor by the last day of the tenth-grade course to stay in the program, and the summer before senior year had to stay open for research.

Support

Beyond reading specialists in kindergarten groups, the younger grades use a co-teaching model.

Middle School has a school psychologist or social worker who works with learning specialists and teachers, and deans for the sixth and seventh grades. Ask about the accommodations or therapy arrangements relevant to your child.

Care hours

Family breakfast for Pre-K and kindergarten starts as early as 7:30 a.m., when parents can join their children, and a teacher joins by 7:45 a.m. to supervise and help children move to class.

For younger children, after-school classes run until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and the After 3 Social Club offers supervised free time until 5:30 p.m. Club registration is open anytime, including the same day.

Morning Sunrise classes, 7:30 to 8 a.m., are included in tuition. The school says many other before- and after-school options cost nothing extra; ask which ones your child would use.

Middle School students have the Lion's Den, an extended-day program that runs 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays with homework time, physical activity and supervised free time.

Fifth grade is listed both ways: with the younger children's after-school program, which ends at 5:30 p.m., and with the Middle School, whose Lion's Den runs to 6 p.m. If your child enters fifth grade, confirm which applies.

Getting there

The campus is on 93rd and 94th Streets between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, near subway and bus lines. Eligible students may use public school buses, and families can arrange private providers themselves; the school does not promise a school-run bus.

Applying for 2027–28

Pre-K applicants must be four, and kindergarten applicants five, before September 1. The portal application is due November 15, 2026; for kindergarten, sixth and ninth grade, parent conversations and student visits must be scheduled by then but may take place later.

Kindergartners join a playgroup and one-to-one assessment. Sixth graders do a group project and an interview.

Ninth graders have an interview and a writing assessment. Visits run October through January.

Required documents are due January 8, 2027. Sixth- and ninth-grade applicants need ISEE or SSAT scores by January 31. The grade checklist lists each grade's documents plus decision and reply dates.

Children of current families, alumni families, and faculty and staff may opt into early notification for any grade by Friday, November 6; decisions come December 9.

Tuition and aid

These are 2026–27 figures; ask for 2027–28 tuition when you apply. The school says tuition includes books, lunch, class trips, athletics and required activities.

Confirm fees for optional care.

Aid is need-based and available from kindergarten through grade 12, but not in Pre-K. The largest award covers all but $500 of standard yearly tuition.

The Clarity financial aid application is due January 8, 2027.

A 20% deposit is due when the enrollment contract is signed. Families who choose ten monthly payments, August through May, pay a 10% finance charge on those payments, not on the deposit, unless the school waives it; families seeking or receiving aid may ask for a waiver.

The page lists that charge only for the ten-payment plan.

Course access and learning support at Columbia Grammar

Columbia Grammar's electives and research courses open at different points, so ask when, and who would be involved if your child has documented needs.