M.S. 246 Walt Whitman

IS 246 Walt Whitman is a small safe school with experienced teachers and a long-time leader. The school offers a transitional bilingual program in Haitian Creole. It has a popular program for students with good grades, test scores and attendance called the Whitman STEAM Academy.

The school faces challenges including declining enrollment. Many students miss at least a month of school and most students enter 6th grade well behind grade level in reading and math. While the school does succeed in helping them improve, according to the School Quality Guide, it has a ways to go to prepare them for high school. Advanced classes are available for high-achievers. 

Principal Bently Warrington took the helm in 2005. His staff is trained in the Columbia University Reading and Writing program (TCRWP), according to the Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP).  

The school offers only visual art as a regular arts class for all students, according to the Arts in Schools Report, but dance and music are listed as activities in the middle school directory. 

Admissions: District 17. Open enrollment. The Whitman STEAM Academy looks at a composite score drawn from grades, state test scores and attendance. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, May 2019)