LREI

What LREI does

LREI (Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School) is a private, nonprofit, pre-K-12 progressive independent school founded in 1921 by Elisabeth Irwin in collaboration with John Dewey, operating from three campuses in Lower Manhattan — the Lower and Middle School at 272 Sixth Avenue, the High School at 40 Charlton Street, and the Thompson Street Athletic Center. The school serves approximately 300-500 students from across the New York metropolitan area (all five boroughs, Westchester, Long Island, and New Jersey), delivering a continuous 14-year integrated curriculum grounded in progressive pedagogy, inquiry-based learning, fieldwork, and social-justice education across Lower, Middle, and High School divisions, supplemented by dedicated arts, athletics (20 interscholastic teams), afterschool enrichment, and individualized college counseling programs.

LREI's technology stack consists of standard educational SaaS tools rather than proprietary platforms: Google Workspace for Education and Chromebooks (grades 6-8) and MacBooks (grades 9-12) for core instruction; Ravenna for admissions management; Naviance for college guidance; School and Student Services (SSS) for financial aid processing; Blackbaud for donor management; Zoom for virtual events; and a custom afterschool registration system. The school discloses no AI/ML capabilities or proprietary technology products.

LREI's revenue model is dominated by recurring annual tuition, set at $60,620 per student for the 2025-26 academic year for grades 4s through 12, with a significant need-based financial aid budget. Supplementary revenue streams include the Fund for LREI annual fund, major fundraising events (Big Shindig, Art Party and Auction), afterschool enrichment fees (e.g., $30 per 30-minute instrumental lesson), a $75 non-refundable application fee, and planned gifts including bequests, securities, and digital assets (Bitcoin, Ethereum). Customer acquisition occurs through a direct admissions process involving the Ravenna platform, in-person tours, parent/student interviews, and ISAAGNY-aligned notification dates.

Name

LREI

Legal name

Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School

Website

https://lrei.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

LREI is a private, nonprofit pre-K-12 progressive independent school founded in 1921 in New York City, serving approximately 300-500 students across three Lower Manhattan campuses with a 14-year integrated curriculum grounded in John Dewey's progressive pedagogy. Revenue is generated primarily through $60,620 annual tuition plus annual fund donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition Revenue: LREI is an independent school funded primarily through tuition. The 2025-26 academic year tuition is $60,620 for 4s through twelfth grade. The school also offers an Afterschool Program with enrichment classes, instrumental lessons, and a drop-in program for additional fees.
2. Annual Fund and Donations: The Fund for LREI is the annual fund serving as the cornerstone of fundraising efforts, providing educational resources not covered by tuition. Additional fundraising includes Big Shindig and Art Party and Auction events.
3. Planned Gifts and Endowments: The school accepts planned gifts such as bequests, charitable gift annuities, securities donations, and digital asset contributions (Bitcoin, Ethereum). The Elisabeth Irwin Heritage Society recognizes legacy donors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LREI is a private, nonprofit Pre-K through 12th grade progressive independent school operating three campuses in Lower Manhattan. The school delivers a continuous 14-year inquiry-based educational program rooted in John Dewey's philosophy, including academics, arts, athletics, and individualized college counseling, funded primarily through annual tuition ($60,620 for 2025-26), the Fund for LREI annual giving campaign, and planned gifts/endowments.

Product overview

LREI (Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School) is a pre-K-12 progressive independent school founded in 1921, offering a unified 14-year educational experience. The school operates as a single integrated institution with three academic divisions (Lower School, Middle School, High School) supported by specialized programs including College Counseling, Arts, Athletics, Afterschool Program, and Financial Aid. Key operational systems include the Ravenna admissions platform, Naviance college guidance database, Blackbaud donor management, SSS financial aid processing, and LREI Connect parent portal. The school also maintains a dedicated afterschool registration system and calendar integration with Google Calendar, Yahoo, and Outlook.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates accepted to top colleges and universities including Ivy League schools, liberal arts colleges, and specialized arts and music programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• God's Love We DelivercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLREI's Engage for Change program partners with God's Love We Deliver, a community service organization. Students complete volunteer experiences with partner organizations as part of their service learning requirements.
• Community of HopecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLREI's Engage for Change program partners with Community of Hope for student community service experiences. This partnership supports the school's commitment to service learning and social justice.
• Interfaith Center of New YorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn January and February 2025, LREI partnered with the Interfaith Center of New York to host panel discussions with diverse faith leaders on supporting religious diversity in the school community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Trevor Day School: Manhattan independent K-12 progressive school with an inquiry-based curriculum and similar tuition positioning. Directly comparable across product, customer, and pedagogy.
• The Dalton School: Manhattan-based independent K-12 progressive school founded on a similar experiential-pedagogy philosophy. Directly comparable in mission, size, and tuition tier, serving the same NYC progressive-education family segment.
• The Town School: Manhattan independent progressive school serving Nursery through Grade 8 with a similar inquiry-based, progressive mission. Comparable customer segment and product philosophy, though shorter K-12 runway.
• Berkeley Carroll School: Brooklyn-based independent Pre-K-12 progressive school with a similar inquiry-driven mission and comparable tuition positioning. Comparable across product (K-12 progressive education), customer (NYC progressive families), and business model.
• Fieldston School (Ethical Culture Fieldston School): Bronx-based progressive independent K-12 school founded on Ethical Culture progressive principles. Highly comparable mission and product, though slightly larger and suburban in location.
• Grace Church School: Independent co-educational Pre-K through Grade 8 school in Greenwich Village with a progressive, inquiry-based curriculum rooted in Episcopal values. Highly comparable given shared neighborhood, philosophy, and progressive pedagogy.
• Friends Seminary: Lower Manhattan Quaker independent K-12 school with a progressive, values-based curriculum. Highly comparable given shared geography, similar 14-year K-12 offering, and progressive pedagogy.
• Poly Prep Country Day School: Independent K-12 school in Brooklyn with comparable progressive curricular approach, similar tuition tier, and overlapping NYC metro applicant pool. Directly comparable in product offering and customer base.

Emerging players

• City and Country School: Lower Manhattan independent progressive school founded on a similar progressive, experiential model dating to 1914. Highly aligned philosophy and geography, but limited to Grades 2-8, making it a partial overlap rather than direct competitor for the full K-12 arc.
• Bank Street School: NYC progressive education institution known for its constructivist pedagogy (founded by Lucy Sprague Mitchell). Strongly comparable mission and customer base; partial overlap as Bank Street's School for Children focuses primarily on the younger grades.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lrei
• Facebooklrei.org/media/filter/facebook
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/lrei
• Instagramlrei.org/media/filter/instagram

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LREI