I.S. 136 Charles O. Dewey

Charles O. Dewey, MS 136, offers students the opportunity to explore the world beyond their neighborhood. Students have traveled to Spain, Peru, and Italy; gone on camping trips; and visited Mount Rushmore.

The school serves many children of immigrants and seeks to involve families of all backgrounds by providing translated materials and services, welcoming parents to the school library and offering Saturday courses for adults. About 40 percent of the students are still learning English.

MS 136 shares a stately, century-old brick building with Sunset Park Prep. The building has a large schoolyard and is next to a park with basketball and handball courts. 

Academics still have a ways to go. Most students enter the school with weak academic skills, and state test scores remain well below the city average.

In response, the school has adopted a model called “The Leader in Me” to promote self-confidence and better academic skills in students. Parents are also offered information on how to help their children at home using the model to improve literacy and use technology appropriately for studying. 

Admissions: District 15 is launching a districtwide plan to increase middle school diversity and equity. As part of this plan, all middle schools in District 15 use an open admissions method with an admissions priority for 52% of seats set aside for students from low-income households (who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program), students in temporary housing, and English Language Learners. To learn more about the D15 Diversity Plan, visit d15diversityplan.com. (Melanie Quiroz, web reports and DOE data, November 2018)