Mayor de Blasio visits PS 154 in the Bronx, a Renewal and Community School Part Two

This is the second grade class which Mayor de Blasio was to visit at 10:45 AM. with Chancellor Carmen Farina. There are only 19 students in this class rather than the normal class size of 30 or more children. That is because this school is a Renewal School, a fancy name for a failing school. The mayor arrived 30 minutes late and it was local Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo and not Chancellor Carmen Farina who was at the school with the mayor. 

Above - The mayor and Assemblywoman greet Ms. Adams the teacher.

Below - The mayor speaks with Ms. Adams while the assemblywoman looks at the future voters.

Above - Mayor de Blasio watches as the students form groups of three or four and then do a lesson by answering among themselves the question the teacher has given them. 

Below - After the lesson is done the mayor gives high fives to all the students.

Above - The mayor Principal and staff walk around to the side of the school to see a school project. That is the Major Deegan Highway in the background.

Below - You can see the mayor is holding a half-dozen fresh eggs which the chickens in the chicken coup behind have laid. Visual Arts teacher Kendra Brown is the teacher in charge of the year round 'PS 154 Chicken Project'. Principal Coviello watches as the mayor asks Ms. Brown about the Chicken Project. The area is cleaned by the school custodian Ms. Lukry Tejeda.

The mayor took no questions, and then departed for the Manhattan school he was to visit followed by the last school visited in the five boroughs in Staten Island.

Mayor de Blasio visits PS 154 in the Bronx, a Renewal and Community School Part One

PS 154 is a Renewal and Community school. 

About the Renewal School Program

The Renewal School Program is a call to action. The NYCDOE will work intensively with each Renewal School community over the next three years, setting clear goals and—with support from Central—holding each school community accountable for rapid improvement. The NYCDOE has selected as Renewal Schools those schools that met all three of the following criteria and others that were added per the Chancellor’s discretion:

1. Were Identified as Priority or Focus Schools by the State Department of Education 

   Priority: The bottom 5% lowest-performing schools statewide

   Focus: The bottom 10% of progress in a subgroup
2. Demonstrated low academic achievement for each of the three prior years (2012-2014): 

   Elementary and middle schools in the bottom 25% in Math and ELA scores 

   High schools in the bottom 25% in four-year graduation rate
3. Scored “Proficient” or below on their most recent quality review                                

   Key Elements of the Plan

   1. Transforming Renewal Schools into Community Schools, with deepened support from and for families and community partners. Partnerships with community-based organizations will enable these schools to offer tailored whole-student supports, including mental health services and after-school programs.
   2. Creating extended learning time – an extra hour added to the school day to give all students additional instructional time.
   3. Supplying resources and supports to ensure effective school leadership and rigorous instruction with collaborative teachers.
   4. Performing school needs assessments across all six elements of the Framework for Great Schools (rigorous instruction, collaborative teachers, supportive environment, effective school leadership, strong family-community ties, and trust) to identify key areas for additional resources.
   5. Bringing increased oversight and accountability including strict goals and clear consequences for schools that do not meet them                                                      

      List of Renewal Bronx Schools                                                                                              07X154 - P.S. 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt

      07X162 - J.H.S. 162 Lola Rodriguez De Tio
      07X547 - New Explorers High School
      08X123 - J.H.S. 123 James M. Kieran
      08X301 - M.S. 301 Paul L. Dunbar
      08X332 - Holcombe L. Rucker School of Community Research
      08X375 - The Bronx Mathematics Preparatory School
      08X405 - Herbert H. Lehman High School
      08X424 - The Hunts Point School
      08X530 - Banana Kelly High School
      09X022 - J.H.S. 022 Jordan L. Mott
      09X117 - I.S. 117 Joseph H. Wade
      09X145 - J.H.S. 145 Arturo Toscanini
      09X219 - I.S. 219 New Venture School
      09X227 - Bronx Collegiate Academy
      09X276 - Leadership Institute
      09X313 - I.S. 313 School of Leadership Development
      09X324 - Bronx Early College Academy for Teaching & Learning
      09X325 - Urban Science Academy
      09X328 - New Millennium Business Academy Middle School
      09X329 - Dreamyard Preparatory School
      09X339 - I.S. 339
      09X412 - Bronx High School of Business
      10X080 - J.H.S. 080 The Mosholu Parkway
      10X085 - P.S. 085 Great Expectations
      10X331 - The Bronx School of Young Leaders
      10X363 - Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence
      10X391 - The Angelo Patri Middle School
      10X438 - Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology
      10X440 - Dewitt Clinton High School
      11X112 - P.S. 112 Bronxwood
      11X289 - The Young Scholars Academy of the Bronx
      11X370 - School of Diplomacy
      12X092 - P.S. 092 Bronx
      12X217 - School of Performing Arts
      12X286 - Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School
      12X384 - Entrada Academy
      12X463 - Urban Scholars Community School
      12X692 - Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design