News & Weekly Letters

Summer is a time of reflection for those of us who work in the offices of a school. It’s the season to tackle projects that have been long-postponed for want of time, and it gives us the opportunity to take a step back from regular tasks and rethink, reimagine, and plan. Admittedly, it’s also a time of solitude. The hallways are empty, the classrooms silent, and the days feel pretty long.

Obviously, this is an exceptional back-to-school season at The École since we have left our historic Elementary & Middle School Building at 111 and moved next door to our new space at 115 22nd Street. The summer was an atypical one for the admin team, with shorter vacations, unpacking boxes, the spell of fresh paint, and the sound of drilling all on the agenda. But it was all for a good cause because the result is a resounding success, which gives me the opportunity to celebrate the astounding work of our facilities and maintenance team, led by Jan Salamon, assisted by Raul Bello Perez. Everyone pitched in, including Francis, our security guard from 206, who spent a long stretch of his summer at 115 helping out, and Cassandre, our receptionist, who became an expert assembler of Billy bookcases.

The World of Work is back for its twelfth season at The École in 2025-2026! We are delighted to welcome a variety of industry experts to meet our 8th Grade students in their classroom and share their professional experience, values, background, and knowledge with them.

We hope your summer is off to a wonderful start.

On our end, we’re pleased to share some exciting news: this week, we received the all-important Certificate of Occupancy from the City of New York. While this milestone was expected following the different inspections we successfully underwent over the past few weeks and months, it remains a significant achievement and a moment of collective joy (with a measure of relief!) for everyone involved.

As I sat down at my computer this morning, I realized that this is my last real letter of the year—I’ll wish you a happy summer break on Wednesday, the last day of school, but that will be a brief message. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your positive feedback about these letters. I truly enjoy writing them, then reading Andria’s translation, and I’m glad to hear that, for at least some of you, they’ve become an important weekly rendezvous.