Deborah Meier

Deborah Meier (born April 6, 1931) is an American educator often considered the founder of the modern small schools movement.

[1][2] After spending several years as a kindergarten teacher in Chicago, Philadelphia and then New York City, in 1974, Meier became the founder and director of the alternative Central Park East school, which embraced progressive ideals in the tradition of John Dewey in an effort to provide better education for children in East Harlem, within the New York City public school system.

During this time, and after, Meier helped to establish a network of small schools in New York City based on progressive principles.

With Teachers College Press she co-authored with Beth Taylor and Brenda Engel, Playing for Keeps: Life and Learning on a Public School Playground (2010); co-edited with Matthew Knoester and Katherine Clunis D'Andrea, Teaching in Themes: An Approach to Schoolwide Learning, Creating Community, and Differentiated Instruction (2015); and co-authored with Matthew Knoester, Beyond Testing: 7 Assessments of Students and Schools More Effective than Standardized Tests (2017).

Recipients include Diane Ravitch, Jonathan Kozol, Michelle Fine, Karen Lewis (labor leader), Leon Botstein, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Lani Guinier, John H. Jackson, and Barbara Madeloni.