Sunset Park Prep

At Sunset Park Prep, students have many opportunities to travel and participate in a wide range of extracurriculars. The school hosts an annual trip to the Poconos where students can learn to track animals, paddle a canoe, hike, and study pond ecology. On school trips to Washington, D.C. students explore the nation’s capital after extensive research in the classroom. 

Through a partnership with New York Road Runners, the school’s running club has competed in over 25 races and won awards in the Young Runners Championship. Students in the club have also trained for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. The Science Olympiad team has competed and placed in many regional and state tournaments. 

Students may apply for “jobs” at school, such as a “technology liaison” to help maintain equipment in classrooms, or “communications director” in charge of updating the student bulletin boards. The student council gives children a greater voice in community building and decision making in the school. 

Classrooms are equipped with libraries and students are expected to read for 30 minutes or more at home to supplement the in-class reading. An ELA reading intervention program is available for every student once a week to improve reading skills. Writing is incorporated across subject areas so that students are practicing writing daily. 

Parent involvement in the school is low, as evidenced by the small response rate to the School Quality Surveys and their negative responses about being allowed to visit or volunteer at the school. However, the school promotes family-centered activities at the school like soccer nights in the gym and an arts showcase. Almost all teachers would recommend the school to families. 

A clean and orderly school, Sunset Park Prep is housed in a stately, century-old brick building. The school shares the building with MS 136, and facilities like the cafeteria, auditorium, and library. The building has a large schoolyard and is next to a park with basketball and handball courts. 

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 will now 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)