Spring Creek Community School

Housed in a new and well-equipped building, Spring Creek Community School opened as a middle school in 2012. It added a grade of about 80 students each year and grew to serve grades 6-12 in the 2018-19 school year.

The building, which Spring Creek shares with the Young Academy for Writers, another 6-to-12 school, includes an auditorium, science and computer labs, an art room, several music rooms, a portable recording studio, and multiple gymnasiums. 

The school has a humanities and arts focus, with various art partnerships and theater and visual arts classes, but it also makes extensive use of technology. Teachers devise challenging tasks for most students and have developed strategies to engage and include students at a range of academic levels, according to the school’s Quality Review, based on an educator’s visit to the school.

Many students enter the school with weak academic skills in English and math, and middle school math scores remain persistently low.

Spring Creek emphasizes individualized attention for students and regular communication with parents. Students are assigned to an advisory that meets three times a week. In these advisories, students get social and emotional support but also work on projects, such as food drives, charity fundraising and planning schoolwide activities.

Special education: About one quarter of students have Individualized Education Programs. Most of those students are in team teaching classes with general education students although a small number spend much of the day in self-contained classes.

Admissions: The middle school is open to students living in or attending school in District 19. Continuing 8th graders are guaranteed a high school seat. Any New York City student may apply for the remaining 9th grade slots. (Gail Robinson, DOE reports, November 2018)