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New York City Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies

Grades: 6-8
Staff Pick Staff Pick for Special Ed
333 West 17th Street
Manhattan NY 10011
Phone: 212-691-6119

Our Insights

What’s Special

Creative and well-paced lessons; a history of inclusion

The Downside

Cramped classrooms, drab building

The NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies is among the most sought-after middle schools in the city. It's a place where bright kids work hard and excel but also have fun and express their creativity. It's a pioneer in the inclusion model of special education and students actively work against homophobia and other injustices. The school has a stellar record of sending graduates to the city's most competitive high schools.

The atmosphere is close-knit and relaxed yet lessons are well paced with little wasted time. Teachers deliver information in a conversational tone and students are comfortable enough to crack a joke or chat with teachers at the beginning and end of the period.

All 6th-graders take the same math class; 7th and 8th graders are split into three different tracks: The top two groups take Regents-level algebra (about 160 out of 200 students), and the highest group goes beyond what is needed for the Regents. "We try to cultivate a love of math," said Megan Adams, principal since 2007. Homerooms mix students of different academic abilities, as do humanities and science classes.

Students take art four times a week, twice as much as is required by the state. In a couple of special partnerships, 7th graders study drama with the New Victory Theater, and 8th graders study visual arts with the Whitney Museum. 

Classrooms are cramped, with more than 30 children in each. The building is drab but clean and well-kept.

For lunch, all grade levels are allowed to leave the building, but they need to stay within defined street boundaries. They also have the option to go to the library, participate in lunchtime clubs or play in the yard.

Founded as a 6-12 school, in 2007 Lab Middle School split from the high school known as the NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies. Though the two schools maintain a common vision and share a building (along with the New York City Museum School), they have separate admissions policies. Most of Lab Middle is housed on the fourth floor. About 25 students from Lab Middle attend the high school while roughly 60-65 percent attend specialized high schools. Other popular choices include Beacon, Bard, Millennium and Eleanor Roosevelt

Special education: There are six homeroom classes on each grade. Two of the six are integrated co-teaching (ICT) classes in which children with special needs are placed in classes with their general education peers and two teachers. Launched in fall 2019, Lab has the only ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Nest program in a district 2 middle school. “It is very appealing to our value system,” Adams said. These team-teaching classrooms are made up of five children with autism and 20 students in general education. The third type of class is a part-time ICT, in which special education teachers “push-in” to assist only during lessons in which a students has difficulty, for example, to help with reading or writing. The remaining two classrooms are general education only. 

Admissions: Lottery. Priority to siblings and students and residents of District 2.  The school has a diversity in admissions initiative. See NYC MySchools for the most current information. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and interview, March 2019)

 

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Is this school safe and well-run?

From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey

How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
91%
78% Citywide Average
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
29%
58% Citywide Average
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
97%
84% Citywide Average

From the 2019-20 NY State Report Card

How many students were suspended?
0%
4% Citywide Average

From this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Are teachers effective?

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
78%
79% Citywide Average
Years of principal experience at this school
14.1

How do students perform academically?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many middle school students scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
89%
46% Citywide Average
How many middle school students scored 3-4 on the state reading exam?
88%
51% Citywide Average

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

How many 8th-graders earn high school credit?
98%
39% Citywide Average

Who does this school serve?

From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Enrollment
516
Asian
48%
Black
3%
Hispanic
13%
White
29%
Other
7%
Free or reduced priced lunch
33%
Students with disabilities
22%
English language learners
2%

From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide

Average daily attendance
97%
90% Citywide Average
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
7%
38% Citywide Average

From the 2020 School Directories

Uniforms required?
No

How does this school serve special populations?

From the New York State 2022-2023 Assessment Database

How many English language learners scored 3-4 on the state math exam?
0%
15% Citywide Average


For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Contact & Location

Location

Chelsea (District 2)
Trains: A Line, C Line, E Line, L Line to 14th St-8th Ave; 2 Line, 3 Line, F Line, M Line to 14th St; 1 Line to 18th St
Buses: M11, M12, M14A, M14D, M20, M23, M5, M7, X1, X10, X10B, X12, X17, X27, X28

Contact

Principal
Megan Adams
Parent Coordinator
Marilyn Coston

Other Details

Shared campus?
Yes
This school shares the building with its high school and the Museum School
Uniforms required?
No
Metal detectors?
No

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