PS 30 is a small East Harlem school that serves an especially needy population. Many students live in nearby low-income housing developments  and nearly a third qualify for special education services. It has a beautiful new running track. (See photo at left, as well as a slideshow.)

The population dropped from 432 in 2006 to just over 300 in the fall of 2011. Test scores have likewise been declining. In 2011, only one-quarter of the students performed at grade level in math as compared to those at the Harlem Success 2 Charter School, which shares the building, where more than 85% were on grade level in math. Achievement levels are even lower in reading.

Many students arrive each day carrying burdens well beyond their years, said Karen Melendez-Hutt, principal from 2001-2010. "I want to take some of the kids home with me all the time," she told Insideschools on a visit in 2005. "It really hurts." After she left the school in 2010, Teri Stimson became principal.

In 2011, the Teachers Union (UFT) wrote about the school's celebration of its success, including its 2004 removal from the state's list of failing schools. The article highlighted PS 30's role in the community where many "are trying to get on their feet." A teacher said, “It’s the [UFT] members’ rigor, professionalism and their ability to target the individual needs of our population that makes this school work."

But, in the 2011 Learning Environment Survey, teachers expressed concerns about communication, safety and discipline. One-quarter of the teachers who took the survey said that school leaders did not encourage open communication. Sixty percent said that students were often bullied,  and more than 30 percent said they could not get needed help to address discipline problems.

Special education: About one-third of the children receive special education services, either in integrated co-teaching classes or in self-contained classes for special needs students only. Graham-Windham offers school-based counseling services to students and their families.

Admissions: Neighborhood school. (Pamela Wheaton, from DOE stats and web reports, February 2012)