History

Founded in 2009 by a group of visionary women, Speyer is an independent school that serves gifted learners in Kindergarten through eighth grade. It began with 26 students in a two-classroom space on West 61st street and has grown to more than 320 students in a modern, 85,000-square-foot campus on West 59th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

Now entering its 13th year, Speyer has developed an interdisciplinary curriculum with an innovative approach that encourages and inspires a passion for learning and questioning in each of its students. We carry on the mission established by The Speyer School in New York City in the 1930s, an experimental public school with a curriculum designed to meet the educational and social emotional needs of gifted children founded by Dr. Leta Hollingworth. Hence the “Legacy” portion of our school’s name.

Speyer’s central principle is that gifted learners are happier and achieve more when offered a curriculum tailored to their specific abilities and when surrounded by other high-achieving children. This insight was first introduced in the pioneering research of Dr. Hollingworth, and her premise has been re-confirmed by recent studies. Today, at Speyer, we proudly carry her work forward.

Mission & Core Values

OUR MISSION

At The Speyer Legacy School, students are inspired to be intellectually curious and passionate. They realize their full potential as accelerated learners in a collaborative community that is committed to ethical values and action. Speyer students learn with like-minded classmates and are guided by academically fearless teachers who share and nourish their enthusiasm for knowledge and inquiry.

OUR MISSION-ALIGNED VISION AND CORE VALUES

Pedagogy at Speyer is designed to meet the needs of gifted learners through an enriched curriculum that addresses the mind, body, and heart of each child. Speyer students are members of a school community that nurtures scholarship, integrity, and social and emotional development. 

Students enter Speyer with a wide range of interests, strengths, challenges and perspectives. Speyer faculty, staff, and administrators fearlessly inspire and support the development of critical thinking skills, and they instill in each student an enduring love of learning. The school's goal is to help students to engage with real-world challenges while respecting diverse communities.

Students will find membership in a school community that values the following principles:

  • the nurturing of scholarship as well as social and emotional development

  • cultivation of both intellect and integrity

  • encouragement of reflective and analytical thinking skills to the highest level

  • maintenance of both physical well-being and personal health

Central to Speyer's mission is the appreciation for innovation, differentiation, and the unknown. Speyer is committed to maintaining:

  • an interdisciplinary curriculum

  • a fearless faculty that responds to students' inquiry

  • a limitless learning environment

It is our goal that students will leave Speyer confident in their individuality as they tackle complex and nuanced challenges in an increasingly diverse and inclusive world.