MAY 2011 UPDATE: IS 339 is one of twenty-two schools that will receive Small Improvement Grant funding of up to $2 million to implement the “Restart” intervention model.  Each “Restart” school will be matched to a non-profit educational partner organization that will work closely with the principal and school community to implement a targeted improvement plan aimed at strengthening the curriculum, developing academic supports for students, and helping teachers improve practice.  These schools will remain open and a new class of students will be admitted next year.

FEBRUARY 2011 UPDATE: IS 339 School of Communication Technology, was featured on a February 8, 2011 PBS Frontline program, "digital_nation" in a segment entitled "How Google Saved a School." The segment spotlighted the school's embrace of technology, including the extensive use of SmartBoards by teachers and laptop computers by students.  It also reported the school's math scores for 2009, a year in which 62% of students scored at or above grade level in math. In 2010, after the tests were made more difficult to pass, only 19% of the middle school students scored at or above grade level.

2004 REVIEW: Almost every student at IS 339 wears the school uniform of white shirt and navy pants or skirt. Such compliance with a dress code is unusual in an intermediate school.

IS 339 offers a Saturday academy every weekend, all year, with academics in the morning and sports in the afternoon. Its teachers staff the program, and up to 140 students participate in it.

IS 339 has fewer suspensions than both the citywide average and schools in its socio-economic category. Overall, the atmosphere is peaceful, with students lining up quietly as they move about the building. We saw a fight almost break out when the 8th graders returned from lunch, but school safety guard Carlos Rodriguez attributed the dispute to the hot day and told us IS 339 is one of the safer, calmer schools he's worked in.

We were impressed with many members of the faculty, among them, Christopher Rasidakis, a young man who seemed to have an excellent rapport with his male students. Lillian Stewart had a class composed exclusively of children who'd had behavior problems in other classes, but under her instruction everybody was on task. We did see some teachers barking at students, but administrators told us that none of them cross the line from stern to mean.

Special education: A trained actress was recruited to be the drama teacher dedicated to the special education program, and plans were to put a mixed special-general education class in a big room that will double as a theater. (Helen Chernikoff, April 2004)