This fall, I was approached by LJ Mitchell and Ryann Imperioli in the LREI development office to possibly work with them to create an institutional archive in advance of LREI’s centennial celebration in 2021. I am an LREI parent who also happens to be an archivist, and I was delighted with the idea. LREI has saved important archival material since its founding, but it has not yet to date been catalogued as a comprehensive collection, and I, as well as everyone else, thought that an institution as important to New York and educational history should have a proper archive that can be made accessible to staff, alumni, current and future families, and researchers.

An archive will not only be a record of LREI’s rich history, but can also serve as a development tool as well as an educational tool for students. Online exhibitions of items from the archives could bring together alumni scattered across the world, thus kindling school spirit and nostalgia, which would in turn widen the growing LREI community. Students can learn to use archival materials as research tools before going off to university, where they will be asked to perform rigorous research with primary source materials.  Historians of New York, education, and social movements would be able to access the materials and add LREI to their research. There are myriad ways that an archive can represent the school to diverse audiences and spread the word about a place where progressive education thrives.

This is an all around positive move for the school and I am honored to be part of this project. I will be blogging here about the progress of this project.  Anyone who is interested can track our activities, contact us to donate material or to volunteer their time, and write in with ideas and suggestions, so please check back regularly or subscribe to this blog now!