JULY 2006 UPDATE: Katy Rosen, a long-time assistant principal and teacher at the school, was named interim acting principal in July 2006. Carol Stock has retired as principal.

2005 REVIEW: Strong, coherent leadership, a unified staff with a shared vision of education, and an active parent organization have made PS 199 one of the most popular and successful schools in the district. The school is one of the few in the district that's wheelchair accessible, and parents say the presence of handicapped children helps make the school a particularly gentle and tolerant place. All 4th graders and Special Forces, particpate in a dance class that mainstreams physically and developmentally challenged students including dancers who are wheelchair mobile, vision impaired, and hearing impaired, take dance classes offered by the National Dance Institute. Children take part in "wheelchair ballet," with the able-bodied assisting those in wheelchairs. Children who are physically handicapped but able to keep up with the regular curriculum without extra help are assigned to regular classrooms. Children with emotional handicaps or learning disabilities may be taught separately in two self-contained classes or included in general education classes with extra support from specially trained teachers.

The administration is philosophically opposed to gifted education, and children are not grouped by ability. The school has a long-standing collaboration with the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College. The administration believes children need to learn to communicate on paper before they learn "dictionary spelling" and that children write best when they feel there is a purpose to their work. "You're always writing for a real audience," said Stock. The math curriculum is the progressive Everyday Math program developed by the University of Chicago, in which children experiment with different ways to solve problems rather than using one set formula given to them by the teacher. The curriculum is based on the notion that children learn math best by manipulating concrete objects they can touch and feelplastic tokens or coinsrather than relying on the more abstract paper-and-pencil exercises.

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, some of whom send their own children to the school, work with teachers to develop music programs, and a musician from Julliard teaches chorus. Children sometimes get free tickets to performances at the Philharmonic. Next to the school is a small garden with a gazebo. Children plant in the garden, watch birds, and bring their sketch pads to draw during art class. PS 199 has a wheelchair-accessible playground and an unusually large blacktop play area, an important plus for city children who live in small apartments. Children outside the PS 199 zone are rarely accepted. Tours are offered only to those who live in the zone and show proof of address. (For a more detailed profile, see New York City's Best Public Elementary Schools. Clara Hemphill, updated 2005)

I am a mom who is new to NY and trying to find a good public school for my 5 yr old boy. In my search, I have recently contacted PS199 and had a brief conversation with the principal, Katy Rosen. I found her to be very unaccomodating and abrupt - alot of short 'no' answers and couldn't wait even another minute to hang up. If she represents the kind of school PS199 is, I will have to say 'no thank you'. Very disappointing....