Portfolio School: Archive Note on a Closed or Inactive Project-Based Microschool
Portfolio School should not be published as an active school profile without fresh verification. Its official website remains accessible and describes a project-based school, tuition, admissions, and a transition to a parent-owned and teacher-led nonprofit model for 2023-24.[1][2][3] However, the site's admissions pages appear stale, with references to Fall 2023 applications, and third-party sources report that Portfolio School closed or failed to complete the attempted cooperative transition.[4][5][6]
The safest treatment for SchoolDecision is an archive or research note. Portfolio School is useful historically because it represents a small private project-based, maker-oriented, portfolio-named microschool in New York City. It is not useful as a current parent shortlist profile unless an editor confirms that a successor school is active, licensed, and enrolling students.[4][5][6]
Snapshot facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official name | Portfolio School.[1] |
| Current operating status | Hold or archive. Official pages remain online but appear stale; third-party sources report closure or unsuccessful transition.[4][5][6] |
| Founded | Secondary local coverage says the school opened on North Moore Street in 2016 and moved to 90 Hudson Street in 2019.[7][8] |
| Founders or leadership | Local and education coverage identify Doug Schachtel as a founder or co-founder. Some secondary materials also identify Babur Habib among Portfolio School founders. These details should be treated as historical and verified before any formal profile.[8][9][10] |
| Primary location | Historical New York City location in Tribeca, including 90 Hudson Street after a 2019 move, according to local coverage.[7][8] |
| Campus footprint | Historical single-site private microschool. No verified active campus in this research pass.[5][6] |
| Grades served | Official stale pages describe K-5 applications. Private School Review reports the school as closed in 2025, serving grades K-5 with 41 students.[4][11] |
| Status | Historically private. Official pages described a proposed transition to a parent-owned, teacher-led nonprofit cooperative for 2023-24, but local reporting says that transition did not come to be.[2][5] |
| Tuition | Official FAQ listed maximum Portfolio Tuition of $47,500, but this should be treated as historical because current operation is not verified.[3] |
| Admissions | Historical private admissions. Official admissions deadlines refer to 2023 and should not be treated as current.[11] |
| Educational model | Historical project-based and maker-oriented model. Secondary education coverage described the school as a private project-based microschool with hands-on projects and less reliance on traditional letter grades and homework.[9] |
| Publication recommendation | Do not publish as active. Use as archive, closed-school note, or exclude from parent-facing browse pages unless current active status is confirmed.[4][5][6] |
What it is
Portfolio School was a small private project-based school in New York City. Its current official site still describes a project-based model and lists tuition, admissions, and a cooperative transition, but multiple signs indicate the site is not current. The admissions page refers to Fall 2023 applications, and the tuition page describes a 2023-24 transition to a parent-owned and teacher-led school.[2][11]
Private School Review lists Portfolio School as closed in 2025.[4] Tribeca Citizen reported in 2024 that the school had been scheduled to close in 2023 and that an attempted parent and teacher cooperative did not come to be.[5] A company profile source also describes the school as closed in June 2023 after seven years in Tribeca.[6]
For SchoolDecision, the editorial risk is clear. A user looking for an active school could be misled if Portfolio School appears in the same status category as active options. The file should be preserved only as an archive note or a research item until current operation is verified from primary sources and public records.[4][5][6]
Educational model
Historically, Portfolio School was associated with project-based learning, making, and portfolio-style documentation. The official site describes projects as the organizing element of the school experience.[1] Secondary education coverage described it as a private project-based microschool that reduced reliance on traditional letter grades and homework while using hands-on projects.[9]
The school's name and public descriptions make it relevant to the portfolio and maker taxonomy. However, because the school is not verified as active, those model details should not be presented as current parent guidance. They are useful for understanding a historical example of the private microschool wave in New York City.[1][9]
Student experience
Historical accounts portray Portfolio School as small, project-based, and hands-on. The 2019 education coverage described a for-profit private microschool model centered on projects rather than standard letter grades and homework.[9] A co-founder interview with the PAST Foundation used the phrase "we are a maker studio" to describe the school's maker identity.[10]
Those descriptions should be kept in historical voice. A current parent should not infer that such a school day exists now. The right parent-facing guidance is to verify whether any successor school, program, or campus is operating, who runs it, which grades it serves, and whether it has current enrollment authority.[4][5][6]
Curriculum, assessment, and progression
The historical curriculum appears to have been project-based and interdisciplinary, with maker work and portfolio documentation. The official site and secondary coverage support that broad description.[1][9][10]
No current, reliable diploma, transcript, credit, or progression system was verified in this research pass. Because the school appears to have served elementary grades in its later public materials, the transcript issue may be less central than for a high school. The more important implementation issue is active status.[4][11]
Public, charter, private, nonprofit, program, or network status
Historically, Portfolio School was a private school. The official FAQ says it started with founder investments and tuition and was transitioning toward a parent-owned and teacher-led nonprofit in 2023-24.[3] The tuition page makes a similar 2023-24 cooperative-transition claim.[2]
That transition should not be treated as completed. Tribeca Citizen reported in 2024 that the parent and teacher effort to save the school as a cooperative never came to be.[5] SchoolDecision should therefore avoid presenting Portfolio School as a current nonprofit cooperative unless fresh documentation proves it.
Locations and availability
Portfolio School was historically located in Tribeca. Local coverage says it opened on North Moore Street in 2016 and moved to 90 Hudson Street in 2019.[7][8] No verified current campus was identified in this research pass.
If the school remains in the repo placeholder list, the recommended routing status is archive or hold. It should not appear in active browse pages without a visible status caveat.
Tuition, admissions, and eligibility
The official FAQ lists maximum Portfolio Tuition of $47,500.[3] The admissions page refers to 2023 deadlines and Fall 2023 K-5 applications.[11] These should be treated as historical, not current.
A family should not use the official website alone as proof that admissions are open. Before any public-facing listing, an editor should verify current registration, licensing, address, leadership, enrollment, and whether any successor entity exists.[4][5][6]
Credits, transcripts, diplomas, and accreditation
No current credit, transcript, diploma, or accreditation details were verified. Because the school appears to have been K-5 in its later public admissions materials, diploma questions may not apply. The more important verification item is whether the school currently exists.[4][11]
Evidence and outcomes
Portfolio School's official site provides historical model descriptions, but not reliable current status. Secondary sources provide the strongest evidence that the school closed or did not complete its cooperative transition.[4][5][6]
The profile should not make claims about outcomes. Any historical statements about student experience, grades, homework, or maker work should be clearly attributed to school materials or secondary coverage from the period when the school operated.[1][9][10]
Best fit
Portfolio School is not currently a parent shortlist option based on the sources reviewed. It may be useful as a case study for SchoolDecision's internal taxonomy on project-based microschools, maker education, and the fragility of small private alternative schools.[4][5][6]
If a successor school is discovered, it should receive a new profile only after confirming active enrollment, tuition, governance, grade span, licensing, accreditation if applicable, and current family-facing documentation.
Questions parents should ask
Parents should first ask whether Portfolio School or any successor entity is currently operating. If someone claims it is active, parents should ask for the current legal entity, address, leadership, grade span, tuition, admissions calendar, enrollment authority, staff list, student records policy, and evidence of current students. Until those facts are verified, this should remain an archive note.[4][5][6][11]
Research notes and open questions
School Decision found enough public information to describe the organization's model, availability, and parent-facing considerations. Families should still verify specific items directly with the school or program before applying or enrolling.
- For archive profiles, confirm final operating status, records custodian, successor entity, or closure timeline.
Sources
[1] "Portfolio School," Portfolio School, https://www.portfolio-school.com/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[2] "Tuition," Portfolio School, https://www.portfolio-school.com/tuition, accessed June 7, 2026.
[3] "FAQ," Portfolio School, https://www.portfolio-school.com/faq, accessed June 7, 2026.
[4] "Portfolio School, Closed," Private School Review, https://www.privateschoolreview.com/portfolio-school-profile, accessed June 7, 2026.
[5] "A New Play Space Coming to Hudson Street," Tribeca Citizen, https://tribecacitizen.com/2024/07/15/a-new-play-space-coming-to-hudson-street/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[6] "Portfolio School," Tracxn, https://tracxn.com/d/companies/portfolio-school/__XcQbrpsqspyiSStKbqDGXqM0ZLhhOCbBP0oDb3GAEjY, accessed June 7, 2026.
[7] "Portfolio School Will Become a Cooperative," Tribeca Citizen, https://tribecacitizen.com/2023/01/25/portfolio-school-will-become-a-cooperative/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[8] "Portfolio School Moving to 90 Hudson," Tribeca Citizen, https://tribecacitizen.com/2019/02/01/portfolio-school-moving-to-90-hudson/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[9] "At This New York City Microschool, Students Learn Through Projects," The 74, https://www.the74million.org/article/at-this-new-york-city-microschool-students-learn-through-projects/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[10] "Portfolio School Interview," PAST Foundation, https://www.pastfoundation.org/portfolio-school, accessed June 7, 2026.
[11] "Admissions Process," Portfolio School, https://www.portfolio-school.com/admissions-process, accessed June 7, 2026.