1970-1980

1980-1990

1990-2000

2000-2005

In 1970, The New School was founded by a group of parents and educators who wanted to provide all-day Montessori education for children, ages 3-12. Initially aided by Hilda Rothschild, Professor of Education at Xavier University and a student of Maria Montessori, The New School established multiage group programs for 3-6 year olds, 6-9 year olds and 9-12 year olds. With the foresight to serve today's working parent, a full day childcare program was developed.

Founding Mothers
The "founding mothers" of The New School were Jan Henry and Joan Wyzenbeek, two friends who wanted to start their own school because they weren't satisfied with the existing options. They talked about it, with their husbands Tom and Andy, for a year before they finally decided to do it. As of June, 1970, with school scheduled to start in September, they had no building for the school. The in July, 1970, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati agreed to rent the Mitchell Mansion to The New School for the princely sum of $1 per year.

Early Days of TNS Education
The preprimary program was Montessori from the beginning, having recruited Carol French-Corbett from the Cincinnati Country Day Montessori preschool to serve as Director of the Preprimary Program. Tom French-Corbett, Carol's husband, served as the Director of The New School. The "upstairs" or elementary program modeled after and based upon the "Free School" philosophy of A.S. Neill and John Holt.

TNS Tuition: The Bread Club and Friday Food Co-op
The Bread Club: Once a week, a group of TNS people would come to the school and bake lots of bread which they would sell, gaining a little profit and also providing the staff with good food. Later, this idea was expanded to a Friday Food Co-op, which included not just The New School but also members of the neighborhood.

1971: Extended Day and Lunch Programs Begin
The preschool started as a half-day program but in the middle of the second year, the parent community let it be known that they needed a full-day program. This was the beginning of the Extended Day Program. This brought with it the need for lunch, which in turn created a requirement for some physical plant changes, such as multiple water heaters- one for dishwashing at appropriate temperatures and one for hand-washing.

Can You Believe It?
Several staff members actually lived in the mansion from time to time. The longest term tenant was Patrick Leedom who worked at The New School from 1970-1976 and lived in the upstairs and attic for five of those years.

Taking Care of Business
Patrick Leedom was the first full-time "Administrator" or Business Manager from 1972-1974 followed by Linda White from 1974-1986 and then Barbara Gray from 1986-now.

1974: Can You Believe It?
Total budget for the school in 1974 was under $100,000, with the total for staff salaries between $35,000 and $45,000.

Mitchell Mansion Fact
The Mansion's attic was originally the residence for five of the Mitchell's servants and some of their children. Later, when St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic school was here, the nuns lived on the third floor.

The Preprimary play yard…
was once paved in blacktop. According to longtime teacher Laura Dawson (1974-1988) the children hammered it to bits and carted the rubble away in little wheel barrels over several years.

In the early years...
the Montessori preschool kept the school alive with heavy enrollment (c. 50). The upstairs elementary program struggled at first with enrollment around 30

Annual Camping Trip
The Annual Camping Trip was a TNS feature from the start. In the early days, the trip was a week long and more rustic than today. Every spring (and once in the fall), the teachers, students and some parents would drive down to Daniel Boone National Forest to a place called Turkeyfoot. They would leave on Monday morning and return the next Friday.

1975: TNS goes all Montessori.

TNS Tradition: Hot Delicious Lunch
Lunch was a part of the preschool program almost from the beginning. Staffers would "breakdown" the Northroom classroom everyday, set it up for lunch, feed the kids, then rebuild the classroom. Children helped with setup and cleanup.

Elementary students brought their lunch until the 1980's. A group of teachers and students wanted hot lunch, so they organized a lunch group. Each child brought in $2.00 per week and staff members took turns buying food for the week and cooking each day. They would eat in an upstairs classroom designated "The Café." Since it only took $1.50 per week to feed each child (!), they saved the extra $.50 and went out to eat once a month. Later, one of the kids suggested they save the money until the end of the year and go to Kings Island. They did and had a great time.

1976: After several years of internal debate, the elementary program finally adopts a Montessori curriculum.

1977: Preprimary teacher Debbie Weinstein joins TNS staff.

1979: Founding teacher Carol French Corbett resigns.

1979: Eric Ellis joins TNS staff.

1979: Things That Go Bump
TNS parent and longtime board member John Fleischman builds a reputation for the ghost stories he tells about the mansion.

Fall 1979: Robyn Breiman begins as a 6-9 teacher.

Toughing It Out
In the early years, the school had little money to pay staff. At least three staff members worked for a whole year before they were ever paid. Money was so tight that the salary plan was based on need: staff members who had families were paid more than single staff members because they needed more money to get by. After a few years, a formal salary structure was adopted. Fundraising was the order of the day, rummage sales, light bulb sales, selling candy on Fountain Square or anything to raise money.

The Art Rooms
The basement rooms have always been used for art activities except for a few months when a couple of staff lived in the basement. In the early years, the rooms were called the Blue Earth Workshop that was painted blue and had an image of the earth on the floor and the White Stone Studio which was and still is white. The White Stone Studio was originally a coal bin and had to be scrubbed from floor to ceiling prior to painting.