Kate Delacorte founded The Downtown Little School with Adrian Hood in 1999. Kate was already well known by downtown families and fellow educators as the longtime Director of Pace Little School, the laboratory school for the Pace University School of Education. Kate taught courses at the University in Children’s Literature, Cultural Diversity and Children’s Play. When Pace Little School closed in 1999, the new Downtown Little School opened in its current location at 15 Dutch Street.

Kate holds an undergraduate degree in English from Princeton University and a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education from the Bank Street College Graduate School of Education. She has thirty years of experience working with young children, their families and their teachers.

It is Kate’s philosophy of early childhood education that has shaped the school culture at the Little School. Her long history in the neighborhood has helped her build strong relationships with hundreds of families in the community. Little School alumni return as summer teacher’s helpers, and parents of alumni still check in with Kate for advice. Kate has built relationships between the Little School and other educational institutions including Borough of Manhattan Community College, Columbia Teachers College, New York University, City-As-School, the Rivendell School and Bank Street College of Education.