PS 261 currently enrolls 800 students, which is a medium-to-large school for a New York City elementary school. For comparison, PS 321 has more than 1200 students, and the Brooklyn New School comes in around 500. What does that mean for the students? One of the benefits of being a larger school is that we have more resources: a science room, two art rooms, a music room, a gym, an auditorium, and a library/technology room-and teachers for all these special subjects. We also have a good-sized cafeteria and two play yards, one for smaller children that opens off the kindergarten classrooms, and one for the older ones, which is currently being rebuilt and is expected to be completed in Spring 2007. The building's space means room for more classrooms per grade, as well: Classes are typically smaller than the mandated 25 for grades three and younger and 30 for grades 4 and 5.

Most important, it's the intimacy of the school setting that many families find attractive about PS 261. Most families don't think much about the size once they are a part of the school. Everyone is friendly and it's easy to get to know each other. The PTA is large and active and runs many events throughout the year. The school has a large and responsive resource staff. The children own their school and walk around it with ease by the time they are kindergartners.

Return to top of page

PS 261 is called a magnet school for the arts because we were awarded a large grant several years ago that funded significant arts programs. Although the funding has since run out, the school is still allowed to continue to call itself that, and the school continues to emphasize the arts. While PS 261 is a public school and must fulfill certain curriculum and testing requirements, we also have a strong focus on the arts. We have two full-time art teachers. We have two music teachers, one full-time and one half-time. We have a dance teacher. We have a technology teacher who uses a lot of art in his teaching. (We also have a P.E. teacher and two science teachers, but they aren't specifically art-related.) Each grade strives to incorporate art in their classrooms; most of the classroom work has a strong art component, in all areas, including music, drama, visual art, and movement.

Return to top of page

As it says in the parent handbook, PS 261 has adopted a standards-based instruction. This means the teachers are required to teach certain topics in a certain way to the children so that they may reach certain standards. We have no choice in this matter; we are required to follow this, per the direction of Region 8. How well the school does in this area is based on the multitude of tests that are administered each year by the city and state. These tests have been a fact of life in American public education for the past two decades. How a school does in the testing results in how much freedom it may have from certain curriculum requirements and how much oversight or direction it may be forced to receive. The pressure on school administrators to do well on testing is extraordinary. Our school tries very hard not to teach to the tests and not to let the teaching that does happen take over the curriculum.

Don't forget that not all tests are tests, that some are strictly evaluative, such as the E-CLAS for kindergartners and first graders, and provide teachers with invaluable information about each child's abilities and progress.

The trend in New York City is toward more testing, not less. The Department of Education is requiring some schools to evaluate every six weeks. If you are concerned about testing you can contact http://www.insideschools.com/ or http://www.fairtest.org/], among other websites.

Return to top of page

Absolutely. The teachers welcome and need parental involvement, but they ask for it in specific ways. As they are responsible for their entire class, 20 to 30 children, for 10 months, they must think of the classroom community as a whole. If you want to get involved on the classroom level, ask the teacher what specific contribution you can make, given both your and the classroom's schedules, needs, and interests.

Return to top of page

The teachers at PS 261 are among the most dedicated and exciting teachers you will ever hope to meet, anywhere. They all have Master's degrees or are working on them. Many of them have training and educational backgrounds for previous careers prior to their becoming teachers, which they incorporate into their teaching. There's a solid mix of professionals who are relatively new and those who are seasoned but not burned out. Teachers are attracted to PS 261 in part because of the collegial feeling among their peers, and because they like working with the principal, who was a teacher for two decades before becoming an administrator. The student body at PS 261 is quite diverse, so PS 261 teachers have to juggle a very wide range of abilities and strengths and weaknesses among their students, and stick to the curriculum, and expose them to a wide-range of ideas beyond reading and math, and simply love the children, all the while not compromising their own values personally and as teachers. It's a tall order and they do it with style and class. We're lucky to have them.

Return to top of page

It's important to remember that despite the media hype, no one school will be perfect for all children. If you are considering PS 261 for your child, tour the school and ask questions of everyone you can find, not just the principal but also teachers and parents and custodians and lunch aides-and children. Look at the art work on the walls; listen to the noise level in the classrooms. Study the parent handbook and monthly PTA newsletter; surf the school website. Test scores are important but remember that they often reveal more about the economic level of the student body than they do a school's teaching and philosophy.

Return to top of page

PS 261 accepts an increasingly limited number of variances for places at our school. Priority goes in order of zoned children, District 15 children, siblings of children already attending, and then all others. It's worth it to visit to see if PS 261 is a community in which your child would feel comfortable. Make every effort to attend an open house. Look around; ask questions; meet members of the school community. Carmen Perez, the parent coordinator, can answer specific questions about the application and notification process and give applying families the appropriate paperwork. Contact Carmen at (646) 270-8971, or cperez@schools.nyc.gov, or leave a message at the school for her, or stop by the office.

Return to top of page

PS 261 is in Region 8 and District 15.

Click here for the region's PS 261 page.

Click here to map it.

Return to top of page

Click here to find out where you are zoned.

Return to top of page

Click here to get to the Department of Education's student transportation office.

Return to top of page

Click here to see PS 261's 2004-05 annual report card.

Click here for the entire city's annual reports.

Return to top of page

The best way to get involved is through the PTA. The PTA focuses on fundraising, which often includes planning events, such as the spring auction and winter dance-a-thon, and community building, which includes the Fall Fest and the spring talent show. Another area is communications, such as the newsletter and website. The PTA encourages parents who have not chaired events to shadow someone who has so that you are trained to take the event over the following year.

Probably the biggest path people take toward involvement on the PTA is getting involved in what sounds like fun to them. Another way is to identify an involved parent or teacher who you think you might enjoy working with, and then ask him or her if they need help. Some people consider what they want to learn, along with what they have to offer. Some people simply get involved in areas where they already have an interest: A book lover might work on the book fairs. Someone interested in what the children learn joins the School Leadership Team, or SLT, which is a city-mandated committee made up of parents and teachers. Others see a lacking and carve out new territory. If you like to edit and don't have a lot of time for meetings at school, maybe proofreading the newsletter is the way to go.

Talk to your class parents, or attend to a PTA meeting, or chat up the PTA officers during drop-off and pick-up, especially the presidents, vice presidents, and fundraising chair, to get ideas about how and where to get involved. The school always needs lunch aides and enrichment teachers; speak to the principal or parent coordinator about volunteering in the school as a whole.
You may also Volunteer Online.

Return to top of page

If your child currently attends PS 261 and you are wondering about his or her experience, step back and look at it from a bigger angle. Is your child excited about school, in general? Does he like learning? Is she curious? Does he seem to be empowered, exploring his world, and asking questions? Does she want to go to school in the morning?

If you have concerns about your child, speak to the teacher first. Work out a plan with her and take her suggestions. If you are still dissatisfied, speak with the principal. She has an open-door policy-for real-and works hard with her staff to be responsive. She is very happy to explain her thinking and policies, as well as the school's decision-making procedures.

Above all, get involved in the PTA and the school; it will help you feel more grounded and connected to the school community.

Return to top of page