The Science And Medicine Middle School 366

The Science and Medicine Middle School was founded in September 2009 with the mission of training students to become advocates for health in the Canarsie community, where asthma and diabetes are common and many families lack health insurance. The school received a grant from the Brooklyn borough president to convert a classroom into a hospital room for “hands-on, real world medical science,” according to the school’s yearly plan.

Many students are the children of immigrants from the Caribbean, including Guyana, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago, according to the school’s Facebook page.

Dennis Herring Jr., formerly assistant principal at IS 68 Isaac Bildersee, has been principal since 2014.

The school faces many challenges. An evaluation by the Department of Education called the Quality Review said the quality of teaching is uneven and new teachers don’t get enough support. Test scores have been declining in recent years and attendance is poor.   

Special education: The school has three self-contained classes for children with special needs, according to yearly plan.

Admission: Open to District 18. (Clara Hemphill, web reports, April 2019)