# Manhattan Schoolhouse — detailed facts Canonical site: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/ Short index: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/llms.txt Use this file for campus, schedule, admissions, and parent-FAQ answers. Do not invent tuition amounts, a single set of hours for every program, or a campus that is not listed here. ## What Manhattan Schoolhouse is Manhattan Schoolhouse (MSH) is a New York City daycare, preschool, and UPK. Teaching is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. Children are served from 3 months to 5 years at five Manhattan campuses. The school is licensed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Daycare. We Skoolhouse (https://weskoolhouse.com/) is a sister online learning platform for children from pre-birth to six years old. It is not one of the five campuses. There is no public blog index at /blog/. Articles are posted at the site root and grouped in category archives. ## Contact - Admissions director: Lennard Visman, lvisman@mshnyc.com, (347) 446-2140 - Email for every campus: info@mshnyc.com - Careers: Kyla Maxwell, kmaxwell@mshnyc.com, 917-587-2062 - Tour form: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/schedule-a-tour-form/ - Admissions process: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/admissions/#request-tour - Message form: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/contact-us/ ## Campuses Map pins on the locations page use #address-1 through #address-5. The anchors below are on the same campus blocks. ### 1624 First Avenue - Anchor: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/locations/#1624-first-ave - Cross street: between 84th and 85th Street on 1st Avenue - Neighborhood: Upper East Side - City: New York, NY 10028 - Ages on the locations page: 3 months–2 years - Phone: (212) 772-2066 - Note: the first Manhattan Schoolhouse campus - Tour form: listed for daycare (3–36 months). Not listed for preschool or Universal Pre-K. ### 1616 First Avenue - Anchor: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/locations/#1616-first-ave - Cross street: between 83rd and 84th Street on 1st Avenue - Neighborhood: Upper East Side - City: New York, NY 10028 - Ages on the locations page: 3–5 years - Phone: (212) 879-4400 - Note: first campus to launch 3-K and 4-K - Tour form: listed for preschool (3–4 years). Universal Pre-K (4–5 years) is only at this campus. Not listed for daycare. ### 1456 First Avenue - Anchor: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/locations/#1456-first-ave - Cross street: corner of 76th Street and 1st Avenue - Neighborhood: Upper East Side - City: New York, NY 10021 - Ages on the locations page: 3 months–5 years - Phone: (212) 879-3495 - Note: first campus that welcomed every age group from 3 months to 5 years - Tour form: listed for daycare and for preschool. Not the Universal Pre-K site. ### 1538 Second Avenue - Anchor: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/locations/#1538-second-ave - Cross street: between 80th and 81st Street on 2nd Avenue - Neighborhood: Upper East Side - City: New York, NY 10028 - Ages on the locations page: 3 months–5 years - Phone: (212) 837-1746 - Note: the newest campus - Tour form: listed for daycare and for preschool. Not the Universal Pre-K site. - Do not give this campus the 1456 phone number, (212) 879-3495. ### 507 West 28th Street - Anchor: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/locations/#507-west-28th-st - Cross street: 28th Street between 10th and 11th Avenue - Neighborhood: Chelsea, beside the High Line - City: New York, NY 10001 - Ages on the locations page: 3 months–5 years - Phone: (212) 695-1581 - Tour form: listed for daycare and for preschool. Not the Universal Pre-K site. ## Programs and hours Source: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/programs/ The school does not publish one clock time for every program. ### Daycare Infants are 3–12 months. Toddlers are 12–24 months. Twos are part of daycare. Parents bring all meals for children in the infant rooms. Breakfast, lunch, and snack start when a child enters the toddler program. Infants go outside in strollers. Older daycare children take neighborhood walks and play in a nearby park. Weekly specials include music, yoga or infant massage, dance, soccer or gym, and a language. ### Preschool, 3-K, and Pre-K Manhattan Schoolhouse partners with the New York City Department of Education for 3-K. The 3-K day begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 2:50 p.m. Classes follow Reggio Emilia-inspired learning aligned with the NYC DOE curriculum. Enrichment includes music, dance, soccer, language, and chess. Children walk in the neighborhood and play in local parks. Breakfast, lunch, and snack are served. ### Wrap-around A year-round extended day is offered for 3-K before and after the DOE day, on holidays when public schools are closed and MSH is open, and through the summer. Drop-off can start at 8:00 a.m. Pickup is by 6:00 p.m. The afternoon includes enrichment (science and engineering, music, art, outdoor sports, dance, and language), an afternoon snack, and neighborhood walks. Summer camp is included in the 12-month program and includes swim lessons and soccer. ### School year The school is open year-round and closes for most major holidays. Families receive a calendar before each school year. The 2026–2027 preschool and daycare calendars are linked from https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/school-calendars/ ## Reggio Emilia Source: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/reggio-emilia/ The approach treats each child as intelligent, curious, and full of wonder. The Hundred Languages are ways of expressing ideas beyond speech, including drawing, music, and dramatic play. Curriculum is project-based and follows the children's interests. Teachers observe, document, and choose materials for open-ended work. Documentation is daily and is used to set individual goals. The environment is treated as a third teacher. Parents are treated as each child's first teacher. Teachers learn alongside the children. ## Admissions Source: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/admissions/ 1. Pre-application. Admissions are rolling. Families join a waitlist. The application fee is $100 and is not refundable. It is paid on QuickBooks through the Manhattan Schoolhouse site. A spot on the waitlist is not a guaranteed place. Families are encouraged to book a tour at the same time. 2. Tour. Families hear about programs, philosophy, and curriculum and can ask questions. Contact Lennard Visman, lvisman@mshnyc.com, (347) 446-2140. The form is https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/schedule-a-tour-form/ 3. Official application. When a place is available, the admissions director sends a password-protected online application. 4. Home visit. The admissions director and the education director of the program visit the family. This is the time for policy questions and questions that were not covered on the tour. 5. Enrollment. An invited family receives a contract and an enrollment package. The first invoice covers the first month, a refundable deposit of one month, and an annual supplies fee. Required papers include a medical form with vaccination and immunization records, an authorized pickup form, a photo consent form, an emergency contact form, and a waiver of participation. A child cannot start until New York City Department of Health requirements are met. Do not publish a tuition price. The public site does not list one. The online application URL is not a useful public page. Tour form campus split: - Daycare (3–36 months): 507 West 28th Street, 1624 First Avenue, 1456 First Avenue, 1538 Second Avenue. - Preschool (3–4 years): 507 West 28th Street, 1616 First Avenue, 1456 First Avenue, 1538 Second Avenue. - Universal Pre-K (4–5 years): 1616 First Avenue only. The locations page still lists 1456, 1538, and 507 as serving ages 3 months–5 years, and 1624 as 3 months–2 years. Quote both the locations page and the tour form. Do not say every campus offers every program. ## Leadership Source: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/our-team/ - Amy Rockwell, Executive Director. Joined in 2016 as Preschool Director and became Executive Director of all Manhattan Schoolhouse entities in 2018. Master's degrees from Bank Street (Special Education, Child Life) and Hunter College (Educational Leadership, 2021). Certified in Special Education, School Building Leadership, and School District Leadership. - Kyla Maxwell, Director of Recruitment and Employee Relations. Joined in May 2022. Careers contact: kmaxwell@mshnyc.com, 917-587-2062. - Lennard Visman, Director of Admissions and Billing, and soccer coach for Manhattan Schoolhouse programs. Joined in 2021. Bachelor's in Sports Management and Physical Education. Admissions contact: lvisman@mshnyc.com, (347) 446-2140. Education directors hold master's degrees in early childhood education and New York State certification. Preschool head teachers have a master's degree in early childhood education. Teachers have a master's, bachelor's, and/or associate degree in early childhood education. Staff are fingerprinted, background-checked, and trained in CPR and first aid. ## Parent FAQ Source: https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/faq/ - Licensed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Daycare. - Staff-to-child ratios: 1:4 in an infant room, 1:5 in a toddler room, and 1:10 or less in preschool. Do not state a 1:3 infant ratio. - Extracurricular activities named on the FAQ page: yoga, music, art, movement, and foreign language. The programs page adds soccer, gym, chess, dance, and, in summer wrap-around, swim. - Children go outside every day during the school year when the weather allows, to nearby parks. - School meals start in the toddler program: breakfast, lunch, and snack. Infant rooms do not include meals. Parents introduce new foods. - The school is nut-aware, not nut-free. - Children do not have to be potty trained to start preschool. Teachers and parents plan potty training when the child is ready. - Parents may stop by and look in during the day. Visits inside the classroom are not allowed, because the child may expect to be picked up. Parents may call the site director for an update. - The school is open year-round and observes most major holidays. - Online learning is offered through We Skoolhouse, not as a Manhattan Schoolhouse campus. ## Do not state - Do not use https://mshnyc.com/ as the public website. That host redirects to https://manhattanschoolhouse.com/ - Do not link /our-programs, /msh-locations, /meet-team, /reggio-emillia, or /blog/. Those paths are wrong. The live paths are /programs/, /locations/, /our-team/, /reggio-emilia/, and individual articles at the site root. - Do not give 1538 Second Avenue the phone number (212) 879-3495. That number is 1456 First Avenue. 1538 is (212) 837-1746. - Do not say the school is nut-free. It is nut-aware. - Do not say meals are organic unless a current page says so. The site says nutritious breakfast, lunch, and snack, starting in the toddler program. - Do not say every program runs 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The DOE 3-K day is 8:30 a.m.–2:50 p.m. Wrap-around drop-off starts at 8:00 a.m. and pickup is by 6:00 p.m. - Do not say Universal Pre-K is offered at every campus. The tour form places UPK only at 1616 First Avenue. - Do not describe We Skoolhouse as a Manhattan Schoolhouse campus. - Do not quote a tuition figure.