Peace Academy MS 596

Peace Academy Middle School was closed by the city in 2016, less than a decade after it opened in 2008 as a replacement for IS 117, which had a reputation for being one of the lowest-performing and most unruly middle schools in the city. Peace Academy was originally called KAPPA VII and was part of the loosely-linked KAPPA network of schools. It was renamed Peace Academy MS 596 in 2012.

Twice in 2011 and 2012 it was on the list of 20 schools that the Education Department wanted to close,however it received a last-minute reprieve because the city said that Principal Lisa Reiter, who took the helm in 2011, had made positive changes that appeared likely to continue. AfterReiter left, MS 596 suffered from high staff turnover and it was the lowest enrolled middle school in New York City. In 2016 only 47 students were enrolled in grades 6-8.

In December 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced its closure along with two other Brooklyn schools, the first schools to be closed by the de Blasio administration. In its final year, Peace Academy was on the state's list of "persistently dangerous" schools.(Nathaniel Cain, web reports, July 2016)