Paul Robeson is one of the few large comprehensive high schools left in Brooklyn. Most of its peer schools have been phased out or downsized to make room for new small schools to share their buildings. Paul Robeson’s survival may be attributed to the strength of its dynamic and determined longtime principal, Ira Weston, but it still suffers from many of the same issues that prompted the Department of Education to close the other schools: high absenteeism, occasional violence, low graduation rates, and poor test scores. There are many positive things happening at Paul Robeson, but so far, the strong programs, generous partnerships, talented teachers, and dedicated administration have not been enough to overcome the problems.

I graduated from Paul Robeson in 1990, and was one of the original Salomon Brothers (I suppose now Citibank) scholarship winners. Without that last dollar scholarship, I wouldn't have been able... read more

"I love the school. I wouldn't work anywhere else. The principal is the most amazing man.” A teacher said about Ira Weston.

A ninth grader said, "They do things to keep us motivated and busy. It keeps us from doing bad things on the street."