JHS 164 has an illustrious history, counting such notables as Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, opera diva Maria Callas and baseball hall-of-famer Rod Carew among its former students. However, since the days of these alumni, the school has slipped dramatically.

Principal Laverne Reid says that when she arrived in Fall 2002, kids were coming and going at will and there was little learning going on. During our visit in February 2004, the principal and teachers had to yell during class changes to get students to quiet down and move into their classrooms. In the 2005-2006 academic year, 16 percent of 8th graders passed the New York State English exam and 18 percent passed the state math exam. (Vanessa Witenko, August 2007, Tom Huser, February 2004)