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Our Insights
What’s Special
Commitment to diversity; supportive environment
The Downside
Metal detectors in building
Park Slope Collegiate, a 6-12 school, is a small, diverse and progressive school with a social justice bent in the heart of Park Slope. Children study Brooklyn history, examining issues in their borough, such as inequality, and showcase their work in a public exhibition. The school offers three years of Spanish—along with a class in Spanish film. All high school students must take four years of English, math, science and social studies.
Visual arts and a guitar program are available to middle and high school students. There also is a middle school glee club. A partnership with a theater company features an ensemble performance every spring of writing by Park Slope Collegiate students.
The school program is designed to engage and support students at a range of academic levels. Classes are small and run for 55 minutes, longer than the typical 42-minute period. The instructional day is slightly shorter on Monday, when the staff meets together for 90 minutes.
Test scores and graduation rates are about average for the city, although the college readiness rate falls short. To help students with math and science, the schools has instituted a CUNY program where students receive instruction and support from their peers who, in turn, receive instruction in teaching methods.
The school offers an array of support for students. Groups of 10 to 15 students meet weekly with a teacher to discuss personal and global issues. Three guidance counselors, one a college counselor, serve the approximately 750 students. Seniors participate in a small group college advisory to work on college admissions and financial aid applications, and later have discussions designed to help them prepare for college.
Over the years, Park Slope Collegiate has enrolled more white and somewhat more affluent students. It also has gone from being under-enrolled, with staff worrying whether the school could even face closure, to having more applicants than available seats in high school. On its web site, school leaders stress they worry about maintaining diversity in such an affluent section of the city. “We actively pursue a school community that is integrated across race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and past academic performance,” it says.
The school is unabashedly active in social justice causes. Its long-time principal, Jill Bloomberg, has been outspoken about inequality in New York City public schools and, in what struck many as a weird throwback to a bygone era, was investigated by the Department of Education for communist organizing. She was cleared.
Park Slope does not offer Advanced Placement classes but the Department of Education classifies the Brooklyn history class and 12th grade English as “college certified.” Students may also take College Now classes at City University of New York (CUNY).
The John Jay campus, which Park Slope Collegiate shares with three other schools, has had safety issues over the years, and students must pass through metal detectors. Now, though, most students feel safe. PSC’s middle and high schools occupy separate wings on the building’s top floor. The school has joint sports teams with two of the other schools on the campus, John Jay School for Law and Secondary School for Journalism but not with the third, Millennium Brooklyn High School.
SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school has many ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes.
ADMISSIONS: As part of a district-wide equity plan, all District 15 middle schools use an open admissions method with priority for 52 percent of seats going to students from low-income households (who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program), students in temporary housing, and English Language Learners. There are no “screens” for admission. To learn more about the D15 Diversity Plan, visit d15diversityplan.com. For high school, current 8th-graders are guaranteed a seat. Incoming 9th-graders from other schools are selected through the education option method, which selects students with a range of academic backgrounds; top priority to District 15 students, then to Brooklyn residents, and then to children from elsewhere in the city. (Gail Robinson, via web reports, October 2018)
Read moreSchool 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
From 2021 Middle School Directory
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
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 2018-19 School Quality Guide
From 2019 State ELA+Math Results Summary
Programs & Admissions
From the 2021 High School Directory
Program Description:
Our high school program is designed to prepare all students for success in college. All students are required to study four years of English, mathematics, social studies, and science to provide the well-rounded foundation of knowledge they will need for any college major. Similarly, students participate in Spanish language, PE and arts programming throughout high school. Internships in junior year and college advisory in junior and senior years ensure guidance through the transition to college.
Academics
Language Courses
American Sign Language, Spanish
Advanced Placement (AP) courses
AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History
Sports
Boys PSAL teams
Baseball, Basketball, Swimming, Volleyball
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Cross Country, Flag Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
Contact
Other Details
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