Centennial Archives Exhibit | Why C&C | City and Country School, New York

Since opening in Greenwich Village in 1914, City and Country has been informed by its neighborhood and the many dynamic personalities that have passed through its doors. In this section of the exhibit, we explore the various aspects of the Village that influenced the School’s early development, as well as the life experiences that led founder Caroline Pratt to the innovative educational philosophy upon which she based her experimental school.

Learn more about the below panels by watching these video introductions by Archivist Jordis Rosberg:

History of C&C

History of Greenwich Village

Pratt founded C&C on the principle that children learn through play, and that, to do so, they need materials they can manipulate in order to express and explore their ideas. Encountering a dearth of truly open-ended materials in the early 1900s, Pratt created her own set of building blocks which, with their proportional units and countless possibilities, have become a staple of classrooms around the world. Here we detail the evolution of blocks in education and the integral role they play in City and Country’s Lower School.

Learn more about the below panels by watching these video introductions by Centennial Archives Committee member Lisa Baker Horner:

Unit Blocks at City & Country

Outdoor Blocks at City & Country

As City and Country grew in the early 1920s—adding successive grades until it was home to children aged 2-13—Pratt recognized the need for a complement to the blocks program for older students. She noted that the children were ready to take on real-life responsibilities, and to apply all that they were learning to meaningful tasks. And so the C&C Jobs Program was born, providing students in the 8s through 13s with essential, necessary roles to play in the functioning of the school community.

Learn more about the below panels by watching these video introductions by Centennial Archives Committee member Valerie Knecht.

Jobs at C&C

Printing at C&C

One of the hallmarks of City and Country’s educational approach is its deeply integrated curriculum. Each year is anchored by a Social Studies topic or theme, and it is through this lens that children explore, engage concepts, and develop skills. Students pose questions and gather information through research, firsthand experiences, and field trips—all revolutionary elements of Pratt’s vision since the beginning. Additionally, students are provided with myriad ways in which to express their learning throughout the year, from complex block structures to Renaissance-era portraits to formal research papers, as well as one of the most beloved C&C traditions since the 1920s: the Group play. In this portion of the exhibit, we share photographs and documents related to many iconic elements of the C&C program which have both evolved and stayed constant over the course of the School’s history.

Learn more about the below panels by watching this video introduction by Centennial Archives Committee member, AZ Jenkins: