P.S. 205 Fiorello Laguardia

P.S. 205 is a large neighborhood school serving kindergarten through 5th grade in the Belmont area of the Bronx. Despite overcrowding, the school has a strong sense of neighborhood pride and community, and families come out regularly for school events, according to the yearly plan.

Thanks to many neighborhood partnerships, children at PS 205 attend classes at the Bronx Zoo and learn to play chess. They run with the New York Road Runners Mighty Milers. They take part in chorus, violin, theater and visual arts. Fourth graders produce a student newspaper. 

State test scores in reading and math are below the city average but have improved since Principal Jenneth Santiago took the helm in 2017. In math, teachers have encouraged children to talk more about the steps they use to solve problems, and they are giving them more challenging multi-step problems. At the same time, teachers have urged kids to stick-with-it, even when math is hard, using Growth Mindset principles. 

The school has long been overcrowded, with classes at full capacity in at least two grades every year, according to the Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP). Classes are divided into two buildings: the A building houses grades 2-5; the B building houses kindergarten and 1st grade inan open classroom setting with no walls. 

The school has a "Family Night," and events such dancing and student theater productions. Family participation is high, according to the CEP.

ADMISSIONS: Zoned neighborhood school. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, April 2020)