Arts-based private school opening downtown this fall, plans May 4 open house

This fall, parents will have a new option for educating their children. The North Fork Education Initiative is opening an independent school with a focus on the arts, community and the environment.  

The Peconic Community School will be located on the campus of East End Arts on East Main Street in Riverhead. This year’s class will include grades K-3 with plans to eventually expand to grade eight.

Founded by sisters Liz Casey and Kathryn Casey Quigley, along with Patricia Eckardt, The Peconic Community School seeks to nurture children’s natural curiosity, imagination and inclination for creativity and play.

Casey and Quigley are North Fork natives who returned to the area to start their own families. Eckardt grew up in New York City, spending weekends and summers with her grandparents on the North Fork. After she also relocated here with her family, she and her sister began searching for an alternative, arts-based education model in the area and found none. Having explored their options, they decided to start a school themselves. With backgrounds in education, the women were well versed in the needs of children. These three women have spent the last two years planning and working to get the Peconic Community School off the ground.

The school will follow a holistic model with elements of Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia. These philosophies support small class sizes where the teacher can spend time getting to know each child and learning how to best support the educational journey. The Peconic Community School will have small, multi-age classrooms and hopes to draw students from Greenport to Rocky Point. The founders believe this type of education should be available to all and as such, tuition will be scaled to a family’s ability to pay. The New York State Department of Education has approved the school for a charter. North Fork Education Initiative now needs to obtain the charter from the Board of Regents and plans to have it by June.

According to Casey, the women, “wanted to create this type of school because this option is not available.” They believe this model can thrive in our area.  Casey does not see the creation of the Peconic Community School as a critique of the area’s public schools, rather a private, alternative option. “We’ve been in contact with the superintendent [of Riverhead Schools] and she has been warm and welcoming,” says Casey.

Locating the school at the East End Arts school seemed ideal to the founders.  After searching all over the North Fork, the NFEI was approached by Pat Snyder and together discussed the possibility of using the school building. The central location, as well as the proximity to downtowns many amenities, made the decision final. Though they consider the location temporary as they will outgrow the space, Casey noted the many opportunities she sees in working with the Long Island Aquarium, Long Island Science Center, River and Roots Community Garden and the Riverhead Library.

NFEI is hosting an open house on May 4 at the East Ends Arts School, at 141 East Main St. This informational session will begin at 7 p.m.

“We want parents to have the opportunity to get a sense of the space and a closer look at what they can expect from the school,” Casey said.

GROW, a fundraiser and picnic for the Peconic Community School, will be held Saturday, May 12, at Charnews Farm on Youngs Avenue in Southold. For $15 for adults and $5 for kids, families can listen to live music by Dan Bailey then participate in a drumming workshop while enjoying a healthy lunch provided to each guest. The event will go on from 12-3pm and will also include an art project, seed planting and walking tours of the farm.

For more information about the Peconic Community School or to download an application, you can go to the website at www.northforked.org or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/north.fork.ed. You can also send an email to info@northforked.org. The school is still accepting applications for the 2012-2013 school year.