SEPTEMBER 2011 UPDATE: Karen Ditolla has replaced Carol Moore as principal at Mark Twain. Throughout her career in education, Ditolla has worked as a classroom teaching social studies, guidance counselor, assistant principal, district and regional administrator and network leader.

MAY 2011 REVIEW: Mark Twain, located in a far-away corner of Coney Island, is one of the city's most sought after middle schools and the largest feeder school to Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech,  A well-trained staff provides a rigorous program that allows students to pursue a range of academics and arts and excel at both.

Student work showcased in halls and classrooms is consistently impressive in its quality and variety, Math projects, book reports and studies of Greek myths show off a multi-media approach to teaching and learning, demonstrating why students choose to travel far from home, frequently on private buses, to attend.

Carol Moore (set to retire as principal in September 2011 after eight years in the job) says her teachers have moved away from “traditional chalk and talk” and use interactive technology like Smartboards to engage their students.  Thanks to aggressive grant-seeking and a strong parents' group, the school is well-equipped to offer students a rich experience, even with tight budgets.

Mark Twain educates more than 1300 students from diverse backgrounds in a large utilitarian building dating from the 1930s. Staff members believe strongly in teamwork and work hard to make the school feel like a close-knit community, despite its size. A cluster system breaks the population into groups of about 160 students with a dedicated  team of teachers.  At weekly meetings, teachers monitor student progress in all areas and address issues early.  Students form a particularly strong bond with their specialty “talent” teachers who remain with them throughout middle school.

The school is kept spotlessly clean, but students are given remarkable freedom, particularly during lunch periods.  On our visit we saw several students eating in classrooms while working on projects or getting extra help.

Like most successful middle schools, Mark Twain “coddles” 6^th-graders a little bit. They are given planners, nonitored by both teachers and parents, where they learn to record every activity and assignment. In 7^th-grade there is a growing emphasis on the high school application process and test prep for the Specialized High School Admission Test (SHSAT).  For those aiming for an arts school like LaGuardia, portfolios take shape.  By 8^th grade some students are ready to take the Math, Living Environment and Earth Science Regents exams.

Students write in all classes, including physical education.  Laptops are widely used, the entire building has wireless service and a fourth computer lab will come on line in 2011-2012.

In addition to the core academic subjects, students audition and select a talent area: art, athletics, computer and mathematics, creative writing, dance, drama, media, music and science and get five talent classes each week. Moore says she hires teachers who can get children actively involved in learning and give them support when needed.  All teachers have a tutoring period built into their daily schedules and there is a well-developed peer tutoring program.

Parents raise funds to subsidize trips to competitions for the robotics teams and musicians. They also play a key role in community-building events such as evening concerts and talent shows. CHAMPS provides a free afterschool program three times a week until 5 p.m. Even though many families live far away from the Coney Island school, events are well-attended by families and teachers.  Mark Twain has an office dedicated to helping arrange busing and there is supervision as early as 6:30 am and as late as 4 pm for should parents have to drop off children early or pick-up them up late.

Special education:  For students with learning or emotional disabilities, Mark Twain has four self-contained special education classrooms.

Admission:  More than 5000 children apply for approximately 450 spots.  Any child residing in New York City can request to be tested in two of 12 talent areas.  Scores are sent to the central student enrollment office which decides who is admitted based on the scores and student preference.  For the latest admissions information, check the school’s website.

High school admissions: The majority of students apply to specialized high schools and other competitive high schools.   Of the 2011 graduates: 113 went to Stuyvesant, 91 to Brooklyn Tech; 64 to LaGuardia, 12 to Brooklyn Latin, and 8 to Staten Island Tech. (Sara Doar, May 2011)