PS 536

Opened in 2011, PS 536 has a music program that incorporates movement, instruments and singing. Children take trips near and far to enhance their in-class studies, such as to an Apple Store and to Washington D.C. 

The school touts its hands-on lessons and projects.  “Learning can be, and should be fun, as well as rigorous,” it says on a yearly set of goals called the Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP)

Pre-kindergarten through first grade students receive free classes from Music Together, the music program paid for by Art Strides, a non-profit that secures funding to bring arts-education programs to schools. 

The school has a friendly, safe culture, school surveys show, but test scores are below average, and attendance is poor; some children miss at least a month of school. 

To improve instruction, teachers observe each other and work together to plan, photos on Twitter show. The school has also strengthened its relationships with families, according to the NYC Quality Review. Parents are invited to attend weekly English language classes, sit in on classes every month, and train to help out in classes, among other activities.

PS 536 and PS 531 (also known as Archer Elementary) replaced PS 102, which closed because of low-performance. Also housed in the building is the Bronx Little School.

Admissions: Zoned neighborhood school. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, August 2019)