In Sunset Park, a School Thrives Despite Obstacles

The doors of P.S. 172 open at 3:05 p.m. The children rush out to meet their parents after a seven-hour school day. Their backpacks are full of books for tomorrow’s homework assignments. These enthusiastic students are from the Beacon School of Excellence, one of the top five elementary schools in New York City.

In September, P.S. 172 was the only school in Brooklyn to receive the annual “Blue Ribbon” award bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education to high performing schools across the country. The New York City Department of Education’s Progress Report for 2011 has given them an “A” grade during the past three years.

This high-achieving school is even more extraordinary because it is located in Sunset Park, a neighborhood in which roughly half the residents are of Hispanic origin and poverty rates are high.

Moreover, the Department of Education reports that Hispanic children have the largest elementary school dropout rate in the city, with 17.6 percent.

In contrast, the other public elementary school in the neighborhood, P.S. 169, suffers from the same problems but is not doing nearly as well as P.S. 172. While P.S. 172 scored a 9 out of 10 in performance on schoolbook.org, P.S. 169 received a 4.

Beacon School belies those grim statistics. The school’s success is the result of a long term effort that has revolutionized its teaching. According to a 1998 DOE profile, the school got rid of its topdown structure and allowed its teachers to design and adapt the curriculum for individual classes.

In addition the school works closely with parents, immediately informing them when their children are failing to meet their goals. “A school support team including a psychologist, a guidance counselor, a social worker, and an educational evaluator interprets the child’s needs to the family,” the DOE states.

Susan Johnson, a grandmother of twin girls, aged 5, argues that P.S. 172 is very different from other schools she sent her children to. “They are taught to read and enjoy it from early on,” she says. She is particularly fond of the discipline the school instills on its pupils. “They know what they’re supposed to do, and they are taught to follow the rules,” she says. And, the teachers in the school are “very caring.”

About 82 percent of the students enrolled in P.S. 172 are Hispanic. 87 percent qualify for the federal lunch program, which is a figure used to measure poverty rates in the country.

According to insideschools.org, a website that provides information about public schools in New York City, P.S. 172 is not a traditional school because students are the ones who lead class discussions, not teachers.

Parents are involved. The school hosts assemblies on Saturdays and encourages parents to continue their own education, by promoting GED programs, among other things.

There’s a fair amount of work from the students involved as well. Johnson says that her grandchildren leave school with homework everyday.

Students spend about seven hours in school. The day ends at 3:05 p.m., but children who need extra help stay an hour later.

“It’s also very safe,” Johnson adds. “The children are always supervised and there is no reason to worry.”

The school’s environment is reflected in its test scores. The Department of Education reported in August that the school’s scores in English and Math from grades 3 to 5 are above the state average in all categories.

People move to the neighborhood just for the school. Cat, whose daughter has just started kindergarden this year, says she and her family moved specifically to Sunset Park because of its reputation. “We bought a house four years ago. The house isn’t much. But the school is great,” she says.

Louis Reyes, who has three daughters, has sent them all here. His youngest one says she loves going to school, which is something few kids say in general. “It’s awesome!” he says giddily, embodying his daughter’s enthusiasm.

All three agree that their children are more than prepared for the challenges of middle school upon leaving the Beacon school.

After the children meet their parents at the main entrance, they scamper off in different directions. As a father and his child cross the street, he asks her in Spanish: “¿Aprendiste las letras?” (“Did you learn the letters?”, meaning the alphabet). The child, excited, replies in English: “Yes, Dad!”

Comments (3)

“This high-achieving school is even more extraordinary because it is located in Sunset Park, a neighborhood in which roughly half the residents are of Hispanic origin and poverty rates are high.” Your comment is poorly written and even sounds racist.

What is extraordinary is that city institutions look at Sunset Park the way the writer does & yet succeeds.

November 4, 2011 tee gee

As a resident of Sunset Park I am happy to see our schools succeeding. I’m sure the Staff and Teachers at PS 172 have worked very hard to achieve these accolades. I do worry however think that it is possible they are only receiving all this outside attention due to the fact that they have high test scores. It would be great to see other successful Sunset Park schools get recognized for their holistic achievements not just test scores.

Sunset Park High School for example has already ranked itself on the top of the city’s list of Schools with low drop-out rates. (An achievement a little more impressive at the HS level in my opinion) PS 1 and PS 24 have great reputations and good programs available such as Dual-language and Gifted & Talented. And even the middle schools (MS 136 & MS 821) have outstanding success with 9th Grade Regents classes for their 8th graders and unique after-school programs.

Let’s celebrate our successes but not be surprised when our schools and community programs succeed just because of the “Hispanic origin” of our neighborhood and our high “poverty rates” We can set our expectations high for our kids and youth and they’ll achieve them. Success deserves an article, just not one that makes it seem like this is the lone glimmer of hope in the neighborhood.

November 4, 2011 DG

What I understand the author is trying to convey is (above the unmissable fact that there is a high content of Hispanics in PS. 172, which reflects the community it is based in, which reflects in itself that most Hispanic-centric neighborhoods are middle-class or below) that this institution is working -and succeeding- efficiently employing methods that could be considered unorthodox but are, nevertheless, proven effective.

This is certifiable in the national testing scores cited and the low dropout rating (which is a widely-spread problem across the educational system when it comes to us Hispanics and our neighborhoods), but what simply cannot be overlooked is the empowerment being transfused to those young students, their enthusiasm and that of their parents. Making of our younger citizens a crew of education aficionados is no easy task, and this is even more so in lower-income communities. A not too different crux lies in maintaining that same rate of interest in the parents and guardians of these children, whom themselves are very likely to have upwards of one job in order to make ends meet, and their places of employment will often be found in more affluent areas, quite a commute away from where they are forced to reside due to their income.

Lastly, the primary point of all is that the methodology applied in PS. 172 can be (and should be) emulated by other schools in the locality, and needless to say, in many other spots, nationwide not being the limit.

November 6, 2011 Arr Gee

In Sunset Park, a School Thrives Despite Obstacles

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