Elaine Schwartz, Longtime Principal of an Innovative School, Dies at 92

Elaine Schwartz, who in 1982 co-founded the Center School, a public middle school in Manhattan, as a way to introduce bold classroom innovations, then remained its principal for four decades — long enough to see many of those innovations become common practice in schools nationwide — died on Monday at her home not far from the school, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She was 92.

Her daughter Andrea Franks said the cause of death was heart failure. Mrs. Schwartz had retired just a year ago.

The Center School, on West 84th Street at Columbus Avenue, began as a unique institution in the New York City public education system. Long before the charter school movement, it rejected a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching, opting instead for individualized instruction, small classes and student-led learning.

It came into being at a critical time for the city. White flight had gutted its school-age population, and the school system was creaking under the weight of outdated ideas about how children grow and learn. New ideas were called for, and the Center School delivered.

Mrs. Schwartz founded the school with Howard Berger and Audrey Feuerstein, but over time she became synonymous with it. She eschewed an office, instead stationing herself at a small desk in the corner of a classroom. She roamed the halls, chatting with students and faculty, her presence becoming the glue binding the small community together.