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.[3]