PS 6, The Lillie D. Blake School, is a public elementary school located on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York City. Founded in 1894, PS 6 is regarded as the top elementary school in New York City.

Overview

PS 6 has about 800 students in grades K-5. Average class sizes are 23-28. The school is popular with families on the Upper East Side who often choose to send their children there rather than to private school. The school's former Principal, Carmen Fariña, claimed that the acceptance rate for out of district students was 1/7, lower than that of many top-tier Universities.

History

PS 6 was founded in 1894 and named after the feminist author and reformer Lillie Devereux Blake (though the school has misspelled her name, with an added "a" in Devereux). The school was originally located several blocks to the north on 85th Street. The current red brick building on

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between 81st and 82nd Streets was constructed in 1953. The school's first principal, Katherine Devereux Blake, the daughter of the school's namesake, served in that capacity for 34 years and demanded that the pacifist hymn '' I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier'' be sung at every assembly.

Academics

PS 6 is a Teacher's College "Mentor School." Students are expected to write plays, poetry, essays and short fiction by the time they graduate. The school also places a special emphasis on Art education. Its location, two blocks from the

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, allows the students particularly good access to view the works of famous artists. PS 6 was also the recipient of a grant from the

Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations. Overview The Annenberg Foundation was established by Walter H. Annenberg in 1989 with $1.2 billion, one-third of the assets from the sale o ...

to help fund art projects in the school.

Special events

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (May 31, 1938 – January 7, 2025) was an American singer and songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk music, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Yarrow co-wrote (with Lenny Lipton ...

played a special benefit concert in the school's auditorium for many years to raise money for the school.

In popular culture

The school is featured in the 1979 film '' Kramer vs. Kramer'', which won five

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

Notable alumni

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...

, Photographer * Phoebe Cates, Actress *

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, Actor * Peter Cincotti, Jazz Singer/Songwriter * Miguel Condé, Artist *

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke in 1994, and co-founded the fashion retailer Rocawear with the former in 1999. Early life ...

, Hip Hop Mogul * Jose Feliciano, Guitarist * William Hurt, Actor *

Robert Iler Robert Michael Iler (; born March 2, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of A.J. Soprano on ''The Sopranos''. His film roles include '' Tadpole'' (2002) and '' Daredevil'' (2003). Career He made his debut in 1995 as ...

, Actor * Jonathan Katz, Actor/Comedian * Lenny Kravitz, Musician * Michael Kurland, Author * William Leroy, Reality TV Host * Tina Louise Actress (''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'') * Lorna Luft, Actress, Singer, Daughter of

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

* Erin Moriarty, Actress * Tony Roberts (actor), Actor * J.D. Salinger, Author of '' The Catcher in the Rye'' * Andrew Schulz, Comedian *

Herbert Solow (journalist) Herbert Solow (20 November 1903 – 26 November 1964) was an American journalist and co-editor of the ''Menorah Journal'' who was first a Communist Party USA, Communist fellow-traveler in the 1920s, a Trotskyism, Trotskyist in the 1930s, and then ...

, Writer, Editor of ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

'' magazine * Mark Sourian Film Producer * Andrew Stein, Former President NYC Council, Former Manhattan Borough President * Robert F. Wagner Jr., Mayor of New York and Ambassador to Spain * David L. Wolper, Producer *

, Singer

References

External links

Official P.S. 6 Website
{{Coord, 40, 46, 39.33, N, 73, 57, 37.85, W, region:US, display=title Public elementary schools in Manhattan Educational institutions established in 1894 1894 establishments in New York (state)