Public School
From East Broadway, Chinatown
History
PS 134 or the Henrietta Szold School is a small elementary school located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the intersection of Grand st. and East Broadway. Currently it is housed in the same building as PS 137. Originally PS 134 occupied the whole building, but in the fall of 2006, PS 137 moved in. The two schools have their own separate areas of the school building, but both do share common areas such as the cafeteria, auditorium and library. Both of these schools are part of District 1. The building itself was built in 1959. The occupancy permit of the building dates back to December 7, 1961.
The building is 45 feet tall. It consists of a cellar and 4 floors. The cellar consists of the boiler room and storage area. The first floor consists of an auditorium, lunch/play room, teachers’ lunchroom, classrooms and offices. The second floor consists of a gymnasium and classrooms. The third and fourth floors have similar plans. Both floors consist of classroom and offices.
PS 134 (Henrietta Szold School)
Loretta Caputo is the current principal of PS 134. She has been the principal for the past seven years. The student body consists of classes from kindergarten to 5th grade. There are three kindergarten classes. The student to teacher ratio of the kindergarten classes is around 22 to 1. There are two classes each for the other grades. Each of these classes has a student to teacher ratio of 25 to 1. The school also has two special-education classes. Currently there are a total of 21 special-education students.
The student body at PS 134 is very diverse group. The four leading ethnicities present in the school are Hispanics (56%), Asians (24%), Blacks (17%) and Caucasians (3%). The teachers do not teach alone in these classrooms, rather they employ the help of assistants, who use this experience to springboard their own teaching careers. Student teachers, Assistants and Learning Leaders can all commonly be seen assisting teachers in the classroom.
State Testing results show that PS 134 is meeting state averages in Math and Language Art State Examinations. For the 2006-2007 school year grades 3-5 have met the state average in Mathematics testing, however in Language Arts the schools results are considerably less than the state average.
The school offers a few After-School programs to its students; one of these is the Chess Program. The students participate in many citywide chess competitions. The school has been involved in this program for five years now. Another program is “Girls on the Run”. This program consists of 3 or 5 mile races. The students participate in competitions twice a year. The school also has an art program for its students.
The principal, Ms. Caputo has some future plans on mind for the school. She is working on starting a new music program for the students. She is hoping to make a community based music program, where parents can be involved along with their children.
PS 137 (John Bernstein School)
Melissa Rodriguez is the current principal of PS 137, with Pamela Watts serving as Assistant Principal. Originally the school was located on 327 Cherry Street, however it was forced to move over to the PS 137 building after the city decided to use 327 Cherry Street to house a high school. The school has a population of roughly over 400 students. A K-5 school, PS 137 is also a part of District 1. There have been recent complaints that District 1 has too many schools for the small district 1 population.
Like PS 134, PS 137 is predominantly attended by Hispanics (63%), Blacks (27%), Asians (8%), and Caucasians (2%). The teachers at PS 137 are relatively young. The school has a policy where it only hires teachers who have a minimum of 5 years experience prior to teaching at PS 137. Most of the teachers at PS 134 are Jewish and this is correlated to the heavy Jewish population in the area surrounding the school.
State testing results show that students in grades 3-5 in PS 137 are not meeting state averages for both Mathematics and Language Arts State exams. Furthermore, less than 48% of students passed the Language Arts State exam in all 3 grades. In addition, only the 3rd grade students met or placed around the state average for the Math state exam. A great decreasing trend can be seen in math state exam scoring as you move higher grades.
PS 137, unlike PS 134, focuses more on Arts and Music. The school has affiliations with Carnegie Hall and Alvin Alley dance studio. The school offers classes such as Ballroom Dancing to promote the arts. The administration believes that the promotion of arts classes leads to stronger and more beneficial development of their students. Fun-Fridays is a program where parents come in for an hour on Fridays and get to spend time with their children while taking part in school activities. The program was established by the school to incorporate and promote parental contribution to the school.
Administration within the schools say that there have been no serious problems between the kids of the 2 different schools. PS 137 staff says that the students of PS 134 see themselves as "Better" than the PS 137 students. Assistant Principal Watts believes that this feeling of superiority is a result of PS 137's short tenure thus far. She believes that in 4-5 more years, PS 137 will be able to establish its own identity and as a result be able to prove itself to its neighboring school.
Special Academic Programs
PS 134 offers a few after school programs to its students; one of these is the Chess Program. The students get to participate in many citywide chess competitions. This school in particular has been involved in this program for five years now. Another program is “Girls on the Run”. This program consists of 3 mile or 5 mile races. The students participate in competitions twice a year. The school also has an art program for its students. PS 137 participates with Virtual YMCA allowing their students to spend time after school doing productive activities.
Extracurricular Activities
Henry Street Settlement
Henry Street Settlement provides after-school programs at PS 134. The program is called Helping Horizons. It serves about 180 children from kindergarten through 5th grade, Monday through Friday, 3 to 5:30 p.m. They provide a safe environment for the students. They offer daily homework assistance and exposure to a wide variety of enriching and educational activities to the students. They also have an art program for the students.
Hester Street Collaborative
Hester School Collaborative, another local group, also provides after-school programs at PS 134. In 2004 they initiated a school-wide program to transform a derelict community garden into an outdoor classroom for the students. This gives the students an opportunity for inter-disciplinary hands-on learning.
Excerpts from INTERVIEW with PS 134 Principal Loretta Caputo
How has the school population changed over the past 10-15 years demographically?
The neighborhood used to be mostly Jewish before. But now the neighborhood getting more diverse. There are a few reasons behind that. New people are moving in and buying the co-ops in the area. This has caused the school to have a more diverse student body than before.
What is the current breakdown of ethnicity?
The student body at PS 134 is pretty diversified. The four main categories of ethnicities present in the school are Hispanics, Asians, Blacks and Whites.
What is the school’s budget?
Our funding based on the spread of students. We get extra funding for special-ed students and ESL students.
How do students end up choosing to go to your school?
Students are able to choose any school in district 1. Parents choose to enroll their children in our school because it is either closer to them or they work around the environment. Others choose to take advantage of the special programs that we offer to the disabled children.
Do you offer a method of transportation for your students?
We provide buses for students with disabilities. Other students come through public transportation. The F train is close by and there are several bus stops around the school. Other students choose to walk to school because they live so close.
Excerpts from INTERVIEW with PS 137 Assistant Principal Pamela Watts
How have you seen the neighborhood change since you've moved to East Broadway?
I don't think I've noticed much change. The neighborhood is still predominantly Jewish, however more Whites are moving into the Co-op building a block away from the school.
Why was PS 137 relocated from your original home on Cherry Street?
The city decided to move us here to East Broadway because they wanted to use our old building to house a K-8 public school.
How have you had to adjust to this new setting where you share one building with a K-5 school?
Well the adjustments haven't been too hard. In this building, one side of the school essentially belongs to PS 134 and another belongs to us. So most of the time we don't have to worry about interfering or disturbing each other. However, sometimes we don't have problems with the shared facilities. Sometimes teachers don't read proper notices or forget to schedule a room that they need, so then on those rare occasions we have to quickly find a solution, but for the most part everything is organized so that the 2 worlds of each school don't collide.
Have there been any problems between the students of the two schools?
There have been no incidents between any of the students from one school and another student from the other school. I do sense that the PS 134 students think that they're "Better" than the 134 students. But I think thats a result of us only being here for 2 years. I think that that feeling will disappear in 4-5 years.
The teachers in your school look relatively young, so do you hire teachers straight out of college? Also, what is the ethnic breakdown for your teachers ?
No we do not hire teachers straight from college, we only hire teachers who have at least 5 years experience. Even though the teachers here are young, they are very experienced. As for the ethnic breakdown, most of our teachers are Jewish.
How do the students decide on which junior high school to enroll in after graduating from here? Our guidance counselor gives the students brochures of the junior high schools in the area. Then they attend open school events with their parents to look around the schools. After that they decide on a school they want to enroll in, the deadline for this decision is at the end of January.
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