P.S. 236 Langston Hughes

PS 236 Langston Hughes is a tiny school in a modern brick building with a bright red gate and a playground with climbing equipment on school grounds. Trust between the principal and the experienced staff is good and most teachers would recommend the school to new families. 

Teachers have encouraged students to become more engaged in lessons. They invite them to discuss topics in small groups or with a partner. Teachers have studied John Hattie’s research on Visible Learning, according to the yearly plan. Hattie believes one of the most powerful things you can do for a student is to provide meaningful, in-the-moment feedback, with clear strategies on how to improve. 

Teachers focus on a practice called “close reading,” to ensure all students learn to develop a deep understanding, critically analyze, and precisely interpret a book or article. Close to one dozen staff members are trained to deliver a structured, intensive, research-based tutoring approach called Reading Rescue, for the students who struggle most with reading. 

PS 236 works in partnership with Young Audiences and Bronx Arts Ensemble. For each artist residency, teachers and artists plan the work students will be doing to weave art into lessons. The school has expanded its after school arts programming with cycles of arts residencies in dance, visual arts and drumming. The Partnership with Young Audiences includes community projects, for example, children created an art installment in the 176th Street Community Garden.

A downside: Students with disabilities, who make up more than one-quarter of the school population, have not made much progress on state test scores, school data shows. 

ADMISSIONS: Unzoned school. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, May 2020)