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PS 527 - East Side School for Social Action

Grades: K-5
Staff Pick
323 East 91 Street
Manhattan NY 10128
Phone: 212-828-2710

Our Insights

What’s Special

Kids read classics like "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" and "The Wizard of Oz"

The Downside

No pre-k, seven-story building has no elevator

Opened in 2012 to ease overcrowding at other Upper East Side schools, PS 527 has quickly developed its own personality and culture. There is a lot of emphasis on being nice and on being a good citizen. The school is orderly but not rigid. Children move smoothly from one activity to another without a lot of wasted time.

PS 527 is a shade more traditional than some of the other schools in the neighborhood. It uses the Core Knowledge curriculum, based on the work of E.D. Hirsch, which includes classics like The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Wizard of Oz. Every child takes part in a guided reading group every day, and there is explicit phonics instruction.

At the same, teachers adapt Core Knowledge to include more child-friendly stuff and activities such as making paper-bag puppets about nursery rhymes, said Principal Dan McCormick. He added that Core Knowledge texts are too challenging and lessons are too teacher-centered, with too much passive learning and not enough activity. On our visit, we heard children talk about the difference between fiction and nonfiction--how Balto was a real, live dog, but Alice in Wonderland was a character in book.

Housed in a former parochial school with seven floors and no elevator, PS 527 has lavishly equipped rooms, including many that were empty at the time of our visit. Unfortunately, it does not offer pre-kindergarten, because city officials decided small children could not easily climb the stairs.

The theme of the school is social action and children are encouraged to take part in community service, such as making sandwiches for a local food pantry, or raising money for a charity such as the ASPCA or a campaign to save the rain forest.

McCormick (Principal Dan to the kids), formerly assistant principal at the Talented and Gifted School for Young Scholars in East Harlem, knows every child by name.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school takes pains to ensure that children with special needs are distributed across different classes and not clustered in one. ICT classes (with two teachers) tend to have fewer special needs children than the 40 percent that is typical. The school has a full-time speech therapist and an occupational therapist.

ADMISSIONS: Zoned neighborhood school. (Clara Hemphill, October 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?
100%
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?
82%
84% Citywide Average
Years of principal experience at this school
0.1

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?
88%
53% Citywide Average
How many elementary school students scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
80%
50% Citywide Average

Who does this school serve?

From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Enrollment
409
Asian
17%
Black
6%
Hispanic
14%
White
50%
Other
13%
Free or reduced priced lunch
18%
Students with disabilities
21%
English language learners
3%

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

Average daily attendance
95%
90% Citywide Average
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
15%
40% Citywide Average

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?
79%
30% Citywide Average
How many students with disabilities scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
57%
23% Citywide Average
How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
0%
21% Citywide Average


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

Contact & Location

Location

Upper East Side (District 2)
Trains: 6 Line to 96th St; 4 Line, 5 Line to 86th St
Buses: BxM1, BxM10, BxM8, BxM9, M101, M102, M15, M15-SBS, M31, M96

Contact

Principal
Stacie Lorraine
Parent Coordinator
Jennifer Ludwig

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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