I.S. 192 The Linden

IS 192 The Linden seems to be an unusually safe and happy school. Under the leadership of longtime principal Harriet Diaz, attendance is high, the suspension rate low and more than 90 percent of students feel safe. According to the NYC school survey, only 6 percent see bullying as a problem, compared with 50 percent of students in all city schools. Teachers collaborate, the survey found, and students generally pay attention and are respectful in class. Also according to survey data, teachers play a significant role in hiring new staff, and even students are involved in the process—a select group of children are allowed to watch a demonstration lesson by a job applicant and comment on it. Overall, student and parent satisfaction is the highest in District 29.

Unfortunately, however, the outstanding school environment is not matched by academic achievement. The school’s test scores in English language arts and particularly math are substantially below the citywide average and not as good as test scores in comparable schools. In its Comprehensive Education Plan, the school has attributed some of this to low levels of achievement for incoming students.

In response, IS 192 instituted a new math program in 2016-17. According to the 2017 Quality Review, the program seems promising. The school also has worked to encourage writing in all subjects, partly to boost performance on the ELA exam.

Many classes are run as workshops, with students collaborating on an issue or problem. Eighth grade students take the algebra Regents. The school has beefed up its technology offerings and facilities with a robotics program and a recording studio.

IS 192 offers a number of clubs, such as animation and cartooning and a cooking club, and has numerous athletic programs. To help reduce student lateness, some of these activities meet at the beginning of the day.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: IS 192 offers a full gamut of services for students with disabilities. Of the students with special needs, almost half are in self-contained classes for most of the school week.

ADMISSIONS: The school accepts students from throughout District 29, though those from within the school zone have priority. Applicants are selected at random. The school is slightly under capacity with some unfilled seats. (Gail Robinson, DOE data, January 2018)