School founded by Blue Man Group labeled a disaster as some children can't even read

Parents are pulling their children from an 'progressive' school founded by the Blue Man Group in New York City because the school took the adage 'No more pencils, no more books' a little too far.



The $32,000-a-year school boasts of creating a 'healthy, warm, safe, nurturing environment,' but parents say the school - which has no books and no tests - has failed to teach their children how to read.



Teachers are also fleeing the Blue School, with eight calling it quits by the end of the year.

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School Woes: Parents are pulling their children from an 'progressive' school founded by the Blue Man Group in New York City because the school took the adage 'No more pencils, no more books' a little too far

'When a 6-year-old says they’re bored, there’s a problem,' one mother said to the New York Post . 'I think they bit off more than they can chew.'



Blue Man Group founders Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink were inspired to found the school with their spouses after the success of their play group in 2006.

The lower Manhattan school, which teaches pre-kindergarten through third grade, got its independent charter in 2009.

'In building our program, we remove the kinds of educational practices that we believe are not working so well and amp up the "best practices" and innovations that we believe have great promise,' co-founder Matt Goldman writes on the school's website .

Numerous media publications have praised the program at the school, including profiles in CNN, TIME and the New York Times. Classes incorporate 'disco learning floors,' climbing walls, and glow tubes.



Tough: The $32,000-a-year school boasts of creating a 'healthy, warm, safe, nurturing environment,' but parents say the school - which has no books and no tests - has failed to teach their children how to read

The curriculum is based on the Lab School model, which integrates academics with creative problem-solving.

'It’s all fun and games until you realize your second-grader can’t read,' an angry parent wrote on Urbanbaby.com.

'It’s all fun and games until you realize your second-grader can’t read.' Parent



Five first-grade students are leaving at the end of the year, according to the New York Post, because of their apparent struggles with reading. 'They don’t push [reading] as much,' parent Marina Brolin said to the paper.



Earlier in the year, some parents complained to the administration that their children weren't prepared enough to take exams before heading to middle school. Third graders were given a private school admission practice exam, according to the New York Post.



'You’ve got to give kids some experience with testing,' admitted Don Grace, the interim head of school.

Class: Teachers are also fleeing the Blue School, with eight calling it quits by the end of the year

Founders: Blue Man Group founders Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink were inspired to found the school with their spouses after the success of their play group in 2006

In addition to the teachers that are leaving, the head of the school will be ousted in July. Allison Gaines Pell, the founder of the Urban Assembly Academy of Arts & Letters, will take the helm.



Mr Grace said that the school is looking closely at teacher attrition and will try to do better in the future. Officials also said that students decide their own curriculum and are not pressured by deadlines.



Study: The lower Manhattan school, which teaches pre-kindergarten through third grade, got its independent charter in 2009

However, some experts said that they weren't surprised by the results and parents should be patient with the school.



'Parents are understandably anxious about being patient if their child is developing at a slightly later time,' said Steve Nelson, head of the Calhoun School.

