M.S. 142 John Philip Sousa

MS 142 John Philip Sousa was closed in June 2015 after years ofpoor performance. This school closed in 2015. For transcripts call the Department of Education on (718) 935-2399 or (718) 935-2009.

The building now houses MS 529 One World Middle School at Edenwald, MS 532 Baychester Middle School, and Bronx Alliance Middle School.

MS 142 had long felt the strain of trying to educate children from a neighborhood that suffers from many social ills. "Whatever issues that they are dealing with in the community get acted out in the school too." said former principal Floyd Green. To try to open a new chapter, after years of suffering from both poor academic performance and disruptive student behavior, the school tried its hand at the mini-academy approach, in which a large school is divided into smaller programs with themes. It introduced three such programs: the Law, Business and Social Justice Academy, the Art and Media Academy, and the Health and Recreation Academy.

After failing to improve, the Department of Education announced in 2013 it would close the school. No new students were admitted after September 2013.(Jacquie Wayans, January 2004; Updated by Ella Colley, June 2015)