SEPTEMBER 2009 UPDATE: Principal Jacqui Getz left the school during the summer of 2009 and was replaced by interim acting Monica Berry. At the same time, Margaret Lerner became the parent coordinator. The president of the PTA reported that registration was so full that two kindergartens and one 3rd grade class were added .

JANUARY 2008 REVIEW: Long one of the most popular schools on Upper West Side, PS 87 is a progressive neighborhood school that accepts children by lottery from outside its attendance zone. It's easy to see why the school is many parents' first choice: Walk into any classroom and you're likely to find something unique and interesting.

We saw a 2nd grade class drawing maps of the five boroughs with bridges and tunnels, to figure out the route their bus would use to the Queens Museum. Fifth grade science students, working in groups, were experimenting with propellers moving along a wire to figure out which variables in airplane design affect flight. In a pre-kindergarten class, parents and teachers participated in what the teacher called "popcorn planning," brainstorming to develop a curriculum around hats, including a trip to a hat factory. Kids planned to put on firefighter hats and visit the local firehouse as part of their neighborhood study.

Teachers take pride in the fact that PS 87 isn't a "cookie-cutter" school and that new ideas are generated from within rather than imposed from the outside. Each room has its own personality: walls, freshly painted by the teachers in the fall, are soft pastel colors. One room has purple desks. In another, each desk has a ruler, and an illustrated alphabet pasted on the surface. Student work is displayed throughout. In one room, everything posted on the walls was produced by the students themselves, including posters with classroom rules.

Strong on arts, PS 87 boasts two drama teachers, two music teachers and a full-time art teacher. Fourth and 5th graders get free private instrumental lessons from teachers from the Manhattan School of Music. Fourth graders participate in ballroom dancing. Children in the early grades take part in "movement" and drama classes. An in-house conflict resolution program has 5th graders handling "situations" that arise on the playground and elsewhere on school grounds.

Jacqui Getz, who became principal in 2006, introduced extensive professional development for teachers. There are two part-time literacy coaches. Teachers College helps train staff in how to teach reading and writing. Teachers meet weekly to discuss curriculum and share lessons and teaching techniques. The staff includes a part-time math coach and the science teacher is helping implement a new science curriculum, featuring hands-on lesson kits.

PS 87 boasts a school garden, and a committee of teachers and parents is working to develop curriculum ideas based on the garden. One downside: the school librarian position was eliminated because of budget cuts.

An extra half hour at the end of the day is devoted to math instruction taught to all students in small groups. "Since literacy gets all the attention, we thought that math deserved more," the principal said.

The school has full day pre-K. Kindergartners and children in pre-K share a playground that is separate from the older children's.

Dual language classes: A Spanish-English dual language program offers a class designed to make both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking children bilingual. There is one dual language class in each grade. The teachers in these classes alternate between English and Spanish instruction.

Special education: The school introduced two "collaborative team teaching" kindergarten classes and plans to add more each year. These classes have two teachers and mix special needs and general education children. There are plans to assign different general education kids to the CTT classes each year, so that many kids have the experience. The school also has an array of other special education services, including speech and language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS).

After school: The active Parents Association runs an after school program until 6 p.m., as well as holiday camps and a two-week summer camp. A fee is charged. See the website for details.

Admissions: Students who live in the zone are automatically admitted. District 3 children who live outside the zone are admitted by lottery. In 2007, 65 out-of-zone children were admitted to the kindergarten. Siblings of children currently enrolled receive priority.

This school is included in New York City's Best Public Elementary Schools. (Judy Baum, January 2008)

Our daughter just started 1st grade, after a stellar year in kindergarten. We are thrilled with the school. Although it is currently suffering from overcrowding, it is being handled as gracefully and positively as it's possible to do in the situation. 87 is consistently an exciting, energetic, and nurturing place for my daughter to spend her days. I'm constantly amazed at the "small school" feeling within this rather giant population!

"My son spent five years at PS 87, leaving at the end of fourth grade (2003) to attend The Center School," writes a parent. "From kindergarten to fourth grade, my son had wonderful teachers. Each teacher got to know him and his learning style. It is a large school but on an individual level, one does not feel that. Thanks to all the active, involved parents who contribute to the school's vitality. My son learned at P.S. 87 and he felt comfortable there. So did I. I am happy to hear that the school has a new principal and things are working out administratively." (March 2004)