Discover your best options
P.S. 6 West Farms
Share this school
Bronx NY 10460

Our Insights
What’s Special
Respected leader, safe atmosphere
The Downside
Many children miss at least a month of school
PS 6 is housed in a century-old, castle-like building that seems to float above the streets of West Farms. The school has established a safe and orderly tone and now aims to improve attendance, and boost reading, writing and math. Each day starts with a gathering of staff and students in the cafeteria, where they exchange greetings to start the day off right, and review expectations for learning, according to a yearly set of goals called the Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP).
Teachers work closely with instructors from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, at Columbia University. In this approach, children choose fun-to-read books on topics they enjoy, and learn how to edit their own writing through several drafts. Reading and writing coaches visit PS 6 more than 20 days a year to help teachers improve their lessons. Parents are invited to “publishing parties” to celebrate children’s finished work.
The school faces challenges: nearly 150 students live in temporary housing, according to school demographics. Attendance has been an on-going concern. Roughly half of all students miss at least a month of school.
The school offers counseling and small group instruction to address academic, social and emotional concerns. One goal in the yearly plan is to help teachers meet the wide range of students’ abilities. Teachers encourage class discussion, and ask children to explain aloud how they solve problems in math, for example.
Enrollment has declined from 750 in 2010 to 532 in 2019, while the numbers of students with special needs has almost doubled. Tiawana Perez, who became principal in 2016, was formerly a special education placement officer, and she has a passion for serving children with special needs, as noted in a letter on the school website. She attended NYC public schools all through high school herself, and has worked her way up from payroll secretary to classroom teacher to instructional coach to principal. While her actions at PS 6 have yet to result in marked improvement in test scores for children with disabilities, teachers overwhelmingly say she is an effective manager.
Admissions: Neighborhood school. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, September 2019)
Read more
School Stats
Is this school safe and well-run?
From 2018-19 NYC School Survey
From 2017-18 NY State Report Card
From this school's most recent Quality Review Report
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
How do students perform academically?
From 2019 State ELA+Math Results Summary
What is the Pre-K like?
From the NYC Program Assessment (CLASS and ECERS-R) Database through 2018-2019
Who does this school serve?
From 2019-20 Demographic Snapshot
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
From 2020 School Directories
How does this school serve special populations?
From 2019 State ELA+Math Results Summary
Contact & Location
Location
Contact
Other Details
Zone for the 2019-2020 school year. Call school to confirm.
You may also like …
Samara Community School
Bronx, NY 10460
Bronx Little School
Bronx, NY 10460
Comments