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P.S. 130 Hernando De Soto

Grades: Pre-K, K-5
Staff Pick
143 Baxter Street
Manhattan NY 10013
Phone: 212-226-8072

Our Insights

What’s Special

Strong academics and parental support, emphasis on the arts

The Downside

Not much outdoor playtime

PS 130 is a well-run neighborhood school with strong leadership, good instruction and one of the highest attendance rates in the city. Parent involvement is strong, and a robust arts program keeps students engaged and enthused at school. Located on the edge of Chinatown, the school reflects and serves the surrounding community. Many children are English language learners or speak Chinese exclusively at home, and most come from low-income households.

Principal Renny Fong took over in 2014 after the retirement of PS 130's longtime leader, Lily Woo. Before becoming principal, Fong worked for nearly two decades at the school as a classroom teacher, technology program director and assistant principal.

Walk into any classroom at PS 130 and you will find calm, focused kids. Teachers speak in quiet, conversational tones; students listen to instructions, move quickly from one activity to another and quiet down when asked. Classrooms are neat and thoughtfully arranged with areas for students to gather as a class as well as work in groups. Supplies are plentiful and every room is stocked with a generous selection of grade-appropriate books arranged neatly on shelves.

Math instruction follows a challenging curriculum called Math in Focus (the American version of Singapore Math), which teaches children to solve problems and show their findings in multiple ways. Strong students may tackle a problem on their own, while others get hints to help them get started, and still others get more step-by-step guidance from the teacher.

For English, students read many books of their choosing and at their skill level as well as write and revise multiple drafts of work on a variety of topics. By the upper grades students can write lengthy essays and stories on a range of topics.

Children often work in groups and are encouraged to be creative. For instance students may write about a character from a novel they read, but then work in a group to illustrate a poster to accompany their individual essays. In math, students brainstorm complex problems, figure out different ways to solve them and then work together to create charts that display and explain their solutions.

There is one G&T (gifted and talented) class per grade. The main differences between G&T and general education classes lie in the pacing of instruction and types of projects. G&T students may plow through a unit of study quickly leaving more time to tackle additional topics and lengthier projects. In general education classes, teachers spend more time on the fundamentals, though we observed plenty of challenging work and engaging projects in those classes too.

The school really shines in the arts. "The arts give students a chance to build confidence so they learn to take some risks," says Fong. "They also learn that practice makes perfect." During our visit we observed several classes of students starting off their day with instruction in dance, chorus or violinand many more classes were scheduled to enjoy the same later on.

Students get lots of performing arts instruction thanks to the school's impressive roster of partnerships with organizations such as Dancing Classrooms, Rosie's Theater Kids, Inside Broadway, National Dance Institute, Third Street Music School Settlement and Young Peoples Chorus of NYC. There are also homegrown options including lion dance club, the fife and drum corps and chorus.

Additional partnerships with community-based organizations provide students and families with a range of free and low-cost services including healthcare, child care, tutoring and after-school activities.

There is a rooftop play space, which is impractical to use for lunch recess. However, teachers schedule time during the week to take their classes to the roof for activities and free play, said Fong.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: In addition to SETSS, there are self-contained special education classes that provide transitional bilingual instruction. English language learners (ELLs) are concentrated in some general education classrooms so the teacher can tailor instruction to their needs. English-as-a-second language (ESL) specialists give extra support to ELLs in their classrooms and on a pullout basis. Some classroom and cluster teachers also are certified in ESL instruction.

ADMISSIONS: Neighborhood school. Admission to G&T is according to Department of Education standards. (Laura Zingmond, December 2015)

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Is this school safe and well-run?

From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey

How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
95%
82% Citywide Average

From the 2019-20 NY State Report Card

How many students were suspended?
0%
1% Citywide Average

From this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Are teachers effective?

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
86%
84% Citywide Average
Years of principal experience at this school
8.1

How do students perform academically?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
77%
53% Citywide Average
How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
77%
50% Citywide Average

What is the Pre-K like?

From the NYC Program Assessment (CLASS and ECERS-R) Database through 2019-2020

Instruction: Teachers ask kids to explain their reasoning when they solve problems
Activities: Children explore art, music, sand/water, dramatic play and more
Language: Teachers talk and listen to kids in a supportive way
Interaction: Teachers ask kids good questions and invite back-and-forth conversation

Who does this school serve?

From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Enrollment
606
Asian
87%
Black
1%
Hispanic
4%
White
2%
Other
6%
Free or reduced priced lunch
48%
Students with disabilities
16%
English language learners
17%
Pre-K seats
22

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

Average daily attendance
97%
90% Citywide Average
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
7%
40% Citywide Average

From the 2020 School Directories

This school offers Transitional Bilingual Education in Chinese.

How does this school serve special populations?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
46%
30% Citywide Average
How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
29%
23% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
36%
21% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
29%
12% Citywide Average


For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Contact & Location

Location

SoHo (District 2)
Trains: F Line, M Line to Broadway-Lafayette St; B Line, D Line to Grand St; 6 Line, A Line, C Line, E Line, J Line, N Line, Q Line, R Line, W Line, Z Line to Canal St; 4 Line, 5 Line to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall 1 Line to Franklin St
Buses: B39, M103, M15, M15-SBS, M20, M21, M22, M5, M9

Contact

Principal
Renny Fong
Parent Coordinator
Diane Chong

Other Details

Shared campus?
No
This school is in its own building.
Metal detectors?
No

Zone for the 2019-2020 school year. Call school to confirm.

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