P.S. 109 Sedgwick

Perched on a hill along a leafy, secluded street in Morris Heights, PS 109 offers a gardening program in partnership with Edible Schoolyard NYC. Children plant seeds, harvest edible plants and enjoy a sensory garden. Other partnerships include one with Alvin Ailey Theater Program, and another with Broadway Bound, according to the Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP). 

Teachers say they would like more coherence and consistency in instruction, school surveys show. Additionally, fewer than half the teachers say discipline and order are maintained. And, attendance could be stronger; more than 40 percent of students miss at least a month of school. 

Many PS 109 students require English as a Second Language services. The school has a Spanish dual language program, in which students learn half of their lessons in English and half in Spanish.

Special education: There are small “self-contained” classes, as well as integrated co-teaching classrooms that mix children with special needs into general education classrooms with two teachers, one trained in special education. 

Admissions: Neighborhood school. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and school data, February 2020)