IS 275

IS 275 officially closed after graduating its last class in June 2005. KAPPA V, which serves grades 6-8 moved into the building. IS 275 is a school that struggled for years, and even though test scores had shown improvement recently, they were still too low too keep the school open.

During her time here, Principal Priscilla Williams recruited outside help to fix up a depressing building where machines once scanned for weapons. By consulting community centers, she endeavored to make IS 275 a safe place for children, and invited not-for-profit groups like the Police Athletic League into the building to host after-school activities and classes for students and their families.

A significant number of students at IS 275 came from five nearby homeless shelters, and one of William's top concerns was exposing her kids to things their more privileged counterparts in the city take for granted. "Kids are constantly being torn down in this neighborhood," she said, and the school has struggled to help them raise their sense of self-esteem. The parent coordinator recently took 8th grade girls shopping for prom dresses. Other staff members have accompanied students on trips (made possible by grants and gifts from participants in the annual "Principal for a Day" program) to the theater, colleges and even the Pocono Mountains. To encourage and motivate the students, "I tell them 'you can afford these things with an education,'" Williams said. (Vanessa Witenko, August 2007, Catherine Man, May 2004)

Read more