J.H.S. 259 William Mckinley

With almost 2,000 students, JHS 259 William McKinley is one of the largest middle schools in the city. But despite the size and crowding, this Bay Ridge school is also one of the city’s most sought-after middle schools and by almost all accounts an orderly and successful place.

The school has a district-wide honors program and two of its own selective programs for children who live in the school attendance zone. Applicants for the VE (for virtual enterprise) program are selected in 7th grade and, in addition to advanced classes, create their own mock business to produce and market a product.  Students in Independent Investigative Method classes focus on research. Students in all advanced programs take three Regents exams.

The hundreds of other McKinleyites are in classes with a wide range of students. “We’ve found that works best,” says assistant principal Anthony A. DeBenedetto, who adds that teachers are skilled at providing help for some students and enrichment for others.

Principal Janice Geary has headed the school since 2002. In a Department of Education survey, students gave good marks to the school’s academics; teachers praised the quality of class discussions and said the school is a good place to be a student or a teacher.

Historically very tight on space, McKinley has a fairly new wing with elevators and a new cafeteria. Even so, the school’s popularity and rezoning boosted enrollment by more than 400 students in the past five years. This has created overcrowding, but the school says it has been able to avoid increases in class size.  

Hallways are covered with colorful student murals in a myriad of styles that have won recognition from a number of city news outlets. In addition to visual arts, McKinley offers theater, dance and music, with special rooms for each one. It recently added a course in textile and design.  

Technology is another focus. Students in a STEM class tackle real-world problems and the school has “code squads” of students with strong technical skills who assist classmates in need of technical help.

Owing partly to its size, McKinley can offer many extracurricular and afterschool activities in disciplines from sports to arts to technology to self-improvement and community service. The afterschool program is free.

McKinley is part of the city’s "community school" program in which schools work with community groups to offer special programs, such as Creative Connections NYC, aimed at helping students figure out what their aspirations are and then developing skills to fulfill those hopes. At the same time, the school is stepping up anti-bullying efforts, including holding workshops for parents.

The school has a substantial number of students learning English, mostly from Arabic or Chinese speaking countries, and has a transitional bilingual program in Arabic.

Special education: McKinley is partially wheelchair accessible and offers self-contained classes for students with disabilities in all grades as well as Integrated Co-Teaching.

Admission: Zoned, except for the Superintendent's Program, which admits students from throughout District 20 based on their 4th grade standardized test scores, report cards, punctuality and attendance. The program is highly selective. (Gail Robinson, phone interview and web reports, March 2019)