53 Stanton UNIT 6B
New York, NY 10002

We moved to NYC at the end of COVID; I was looking for school options and relying heavily on reviews from this and other forums, which was really tough. We've been at Anna Silver for 3 school years now, commuting from Brooklyn, and I'm glad that we made this choice. In our experience with the school, and specifically the Mandarin Dual Language program:- The key staff - Principal, Parent coordinator, and school safety officers know and greet the kids by name every morning. - The principal and teachers are all outside at dismissal after school, and have been incredibly willing to chat when I have had questions or concerns. When I'm not at dismissal (and kids go to after school), teachers and staff have all been very responsive over email.- Within the Mandarin Dual Language program, the class sizes have been small (all below 20!) allowing for good teacher attention, and tight bonds to form amongst the classes. In my oldest daughter's cohort, all but 2 students and ALL OF the non-native speakers went on to Mandarin Dual Language middle school programs, which I think says a lot for the interest in the language and love of learning instilled. - There is a wide range of activities and programs brought into the school for arts and dance exposure.In my school search, I often heard variations of "it's not a good school, the test scores aren't great." It is worth calling out that the school has many students who are both recent immigrants and learning English. All parent communications are in English, Spanish and Mandarin. We've personally loved the diversity of the school, and the care that is shown to learning about everyone's culture and language.

As principal of this amazing NYC public transfer high school, I am proud to offer a unique approach to education. At Cascades we pride ourselves in going the extra mile to assist students who have not been successful elsewhere. Whether we are helping counsel a student who is a single parent, providing employment experience for another student who is living on their own or just helping a struggling learner who does best when people take the time to focus and explain things, we at Cascades realize that teaching is not a job, it is a calling.

All staff and teachers are great !!!