P.S. 161 Pedro Albizu Campos

This school is not safe to kids in school

The leadership and commitment of the overall staff needs a complete overhaul. This is not where taxpayer dollars need to be invested. Close the school.

I feel that the school strives and delivers quality education. My child takes violin classes twice a week. One class at Lucy Moses ( at the Kaufman Center) and the second class at the school itself. The classes in the lower academy are relatively small considering it is a public school- 19 students in the class. This is just one of many partnerships the school have created to ensure that the student body is receiving a first rate education. Girls that Code, the National Dance institute, Chess in the Schools are just an example of some of these partnerships. Many of the students go onto specialize middle and high schools. The principal and her staff are hands on and very accessible to their constituents (students and their families).

While teaching at PS/MS 161 I enjoyed a successful school community because the team that worked there was professional and supported one another.

The elementary section is a nightmare. The Assistant Principal for fourth and fifth grade is a bully to both students and parents. The new principal, notwithstanding her numerous years as an assistant principal in the middle school is inept and seems to take instructions from the elementary school assistant principal. The teachers in the elementary school barely speak English. Many are young and have fewer than five years experience. This is reflected in their inability to manage the classroom. The school is also sadly lacking in diversity. The student and teacher population is about 85% Spanish speaking in the elementary grades. Many of these teachers do not know how to communicate with non-Spanish speaking children and seem to be uncomfortable having them in their classrooms. The result is that these teachers often unfairly criticize and unduly punish non-Spanish speaking children, who are then left to feel like outsiders.