Located in the top floor of a former Catholic school building on a residential street in Park Slope, Park Place Middle School offers a safe, cozy space for District 13 students. The school's focus on digital technology all 8th graders have personal computers available for daily use provides a "rallying point" for families and teachers, school officials say.

Park Place opened as a selective middle school, but in 2002 its admissions criteria changed to admit students of all abilities. The school is still adjusting to meet its students' changing needs but because of the school's small size and low profile, it has maintained an intimate environment, enrolling siblings and neighbors of enrolled students.

Many students enter unprepared for challenging middle school work. Michelle Robinson, who became principal in late 2002, said teachers have developed lessons that create connections to the "real world." A teacher said the change in students' needs has forced him and his colleagues to become more creative and flexible. In addition, Robinson created a writing team, added a full-time literacy coach, and hired an assistant principal, freeing up administrators to focus on improving instruction.

Classroom instruction still has much room to improve. We saw a 6th grade class filling out pages in workbooks and, in a 7th grade math class, kids followed a pre-packaged lesson available through a Department of Education computer system called ACUITY. In that class, a digital voice repeated a math question about probability as students used decks of playing cards to answer. But because not all the decks were complete, students weren't able to answer the question correctly, and the teacher, circulating among the desks answering questions about the computerized lesson, became visibly frustrated.

Given the amount of attention devoted to helping struggling students, meeting the needs of the school's students who are at or above grade is a challenge for administrators and teachers. The DOE's ACUITY lessons allow some kids to move forward more quickly than others, Robinson said. In addition, the school has started a book discussion group for advanced readers and holds oratory contests for students who seek challenges. Some students take as many as four Regents exams in Living Environment, Math A, Spanish proficiency, and English but the school doesn't actually offer the courses leading up to the exams, required for graduation. Instead, students must study on their own, sometimes as part of an after-school club. Robinson said a digital animation art class offers opportunities for students who learn best in a setting that's not teacher-dominated.

Because there are only a small number of teachers, the school "doesn't really have clubs," Robinson said. Kids sometimes stay after school for tutoring, and the school also participates in interscholastic sports. Robinson wants to reactivate a chess program and bolster the arts, perhaps by bringing back the school's jazz band, which had been very successful.

As a small school, Park Place operates on a limited budget and Robinson said her biggest challenge is "making sure the kids get what they need," especially given the school's lack of a library or science lab. (Park Place is slated to receive a science lab in the near future.) The staff has adapted to the lack of amenities. "The best artists are starving artists," one teacher said.

A few kids go on to specialized high schools. Many attend Benjamin Banneker Academy, a mid-sized school located in District 13, and others attend large high schools throughout Brooklyn.

Special education: The school offers Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS) and employs a part-time psychologist, guidance counselor, and family worker. Students from the District 75 special education program in the same building also attend some academic classes and activities at Park Place.

Admissions: District 13 choice process. (Philissa Cramer, February 2008)