Like many schools in District 5, PS 36 has below average attendance and test scores. On the positive side, the school has “outstanding” partnerships with community organizations such as the 92nd Street Y and Manhattan School of Music, according to a DOE official who toured the school for the Quality Review. Parents volunteer in the lunchroom.

Some teachers say that academic expectations are low, and many say they don’t receive the help they need to solve behavior problems, according to the Learning Environment Survey. Nearly half said order and discipline are not maintained. A new principal, Heather Jean Baptist, took over in 2012, after the survey was completed. 

Just around the corner from Teachers College, the school is perched on rock outcropping.

Special education: A large proportion of children receive special education services, and some are placed in self-contained classes.

Admission: neighborhood school. (Clara Hemphill, statistics, March 2013)