P.S. M721- Manhattan Occupational Training Center

PS M721 is a safe and orderly school where students agree that bullying does not happen frequently, surveys report.

The school, which serves around 180 students ages 11-21, is located in the West Village in Manhattan. The student body mainly consists of learners with intellectual disabilities, but there are a small number of learners with autism, learning disabilities, multiple disabilities, and emotional disabilities. The attendance rate for the 2015-2016 school year was 82.8 percent, according to the Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) and we read in the 2015 Quality Review that the quality of teaching at this school is good.

The CEP also highlights that a portion of the students participate in work site instruction for part of the day. The schools work-sites include Housing Works, Caring Community, Goodwill, VA Hospital, Greenwich House, Riverside Rehab Residence, Mott Street Senior Center, New York Public Library, New York Eye and Ear Hospital, TJ Max, 7-Eleven, Burlington House, US Department of Labor, Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, and Community of Special Education (DOE).

[Photo from DNAinfo]

ADMISSIONS: Citywide. PS M721 is part of District 75, a network of 69 schools dedicated to New York Citys students with disabilities who require increased attention. District 75 provides educational, vocational, and behavioral support programs for students who are on the autism spectrum, have significant cognitive delays, are significantly emotionally challenged, have a sensory impairment or have multiple disabilities. (Katie Safter & Hugo Segal, web reports, August 2017)