PS/MS 219 Paul Klapper

At PS 219, flowers bloom in a spacious atrium, butterflies hatch in classroom cages and 4th graders sit on rugs with math books on their knees. Built in 1968 in the "open school" style popular at the time, the school has few doors or even walls between classrooms. But engaging teaching and the able leadership of Principal Meredith Deckler keep the buzz of student activity at reasonable decibel levels.

Located in a leafy residential area bordering the Queens College campus, PS 219 draws much of its enrollment from a zone that extends beyond its immediate neighborhood, so most students come by bus. Many classrooms have only three walls and open completely onto a corridor. In an area called "the dome," several grades are housed in a large circular area with few physical barriers between them. Though teachers often have trouble with the ambient noise and lack of privacy, children usually adapt well, Deckler said. One benefit of the layout is an abundance of natural light.

A blend of veterans and newcomers, the staff is made up of teachers who work together well, according to Deckler. She said that during the 2003-?04 school year they had put particular effort into adjusting to the new citywide curriculum, which requires group work and independent reading. Deckler singled out for praise the 6th grade teachers, who devoted many hours to mastering the city's new middle-school math curriculum, Impact Math.

We toured brightly decorated classrooms where students seemed relaxed and involved. Small groups in a 5th grade class gathered into book clubs where students decide how many pages to read each week. In a 1st grade, students sat back-to-back, reading books independently before turning to discuss them with each other. "They're building stamina," their teacher said, noting how much longer they could read at the end of the year than at the beginning. The school has spacious grounds; kindergarten and 1st grade classes played in a grassy area, one of two schoolyards.

There are computers in every room, and bulletin boards display math problems, including one that required students to calculate how many outfits could be assembled from given numbers of socks, pants and shirts. The school has are two science labs, one for upper and one for lower grades, staffed by two specialized teachers. In one, a class excitedly observed some very sluggish snails.

As we toured, a teacher told Deckler that a mother planned to withdraw her son from school several weeks ahead of the end of the school term to take him to her native country. Unfortunately, Deckler said, a number of PS 219 families frequently travel between countries, causing children to miss school.

The school is diverse, both in ethnic composition and range of abilities. A teacher who staffs a room offering special academic help (formerly known as a resource room) has composed original math songs for students who need help memorizing facts. A teacher of English as a second language serves PS 219's many English-language learners.

Special education: There are 10 "self-contained" classes for children with special needs only, as well as a number of "inclusion classes," which combine special education and general education students. We visited an inclusion kindergarten, staffed by two teachers and several aides, where students worked in pairs. This school also hosts an ASD Nest Program for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Students with ASD learn in a classroom alongside typically developing children, taught by two teachers who have been trained in the programs specialized curriculum and teaching strategies.

Admissions: Neighborhood school. (Marcia Biederman, June 2004; updated with information about the Nest Program by Pauline Zaldonis, August 2013)