Harbor Heights

Harbor Heights Middle School is designed to serve newcomers from Spanish-speaking countries, including many who have had little schooling in their native countries.

Most children who enter this tiny school lack basic math skills such as single digit multiplication and many read below a third grade level in their native language, according to the Comprehensive Educational Plan. Yet most make significant progress during their middle school years.

Students write and perform skits as part of the People’s Theatre Project—and teachers say acting is a good way to learn a language. [photo from People's Theatre Project website]

Monica Klehr has been principal since the school was founded in 2006. Although parents are uniformly enthusiastic about the school, some teachers grumble about the principal, according to school surveys. 

Harbor Heights School shares a building with PS 173. 

Admissions: Open to children from the Bronx and Manhattan who speak Spanish and have been in the United States less than 3 years. (Clara Hemphill, web reports, May 2019)