A Coney Island elementary college the place most children fail standardized exams and miss three weeks of lessons a 12 months has gotten so dangerous that academics are pushing to shift to profession and technical training.
Brooklyn’s PS 188 Michael E. Berdy Faculty is a poster little one for the Large Apple’s faltering public college system, with 60% of youngsters chronically absent and 60% failing standardized math and studying exams.
Educators on the Ok-5 college now wish to seriously change how they educate their children — whereas revealing the college is maintaining $2 million in tech tools in storage by way of the epidemic of failure, The Put up has discovered.
“It’s 50-50: I blame the college and the mother and father,” stated PS 188 mother Nicole Beatty, who stated she needs to drag her two children out as a result of they’re getting bullied. “[But] if you’re failing in math and studying at such a younger age, how are you going to maneuver on? It’s the inspiration that you just construct on.
“We have to know why they’re failing,” Beatty stated.
Group members are circulating an SOS that’s calling to develop and alter the college’s curriculum to Ok-8 and rebrand as a college for “Revolutionary Considering, Profession and Technical Schooling and Undertaking-Primarily based Studying.”
Some imagine the shift will higher have interaction youngsters with hands-on training and project-based studying to spice up their studying comprehension — and attendance.
The decision for change comes as the college’s struggles turn into more and more obvious.
There are solely 233 college students enrolled, however 167 have been “chronically absent” final college 12 months — which means they missed a minimum of 18 days, in accordance with attendance data reviewed by The Put up. Some 15% of youngsters miss lessons on any given college day, the information confirmed.
Whereas absenteeism is a priority all through the town college system, the typical for persistent absences at PS 188 is almost double the citywide common of 33%, the information reveals.
In the meantime, solely 40% of scholars on the Coney Island college handed the state standardized studying exams final college 12 months and solely 42% scored excessive sufficient on math exams — lagging far behind the citywide averages of fifty.2% and 58%, respectively.
It’s unclear the place precisely the college ranks by way of the town’s worst performers.
Almost all the college students come from poor and economically deprived households, primarily children from the close by Gravesend and Surfside Backyard public housing tasks. About 52% of the coed physique is black, and 33% is Hispanic, in accordance with statistics.
Metropolis officers thought so little of the college that they even thought-about turning it right into a shelter for immigrants.
“You need to maintain the mother and father accountable,” PS 188 mother Nysheika Gilchrist stated, calling the surprising price of absenteeism “loopy” and “ridiculous.
“They’re younger youngsters. You might be giving up in your little one. There is no such thing as a purpose in your little one to be absent,” Gilchrist stated. “You might be subjecting them to failure particularly in a minority neighborhood…Saddens me.”
Gilchrist stated her personal daughter’s grades improved when she acquired a tutor for her twice per week.
“The academics are doing their greatest,” she stated. “They solely have them for eight hours. The remainder of time is within the mother and father’ arms. I keep on prime of my little one.”
One other mother or father with a 3rd grader, Latoya Bryant, agreed that, “it begins at residence. You’ll be able to’t depart all of it as much as the college. Mother and father must work together with the academics.”
“Go knocking on doorways, get social providers concerned, get solutions,” she stated. “Why is the child absent?”
Regardless of the turmoil on the college, the town Division of Schooling didn’t reply to requests for remark from The Put up, and PS 188 Principal Leslie King declined remark, as did District 21 Superintendent Erin Lynch-Reyes.
However PS 188’s Complete 2025-2026 Schooling Plan acknowledged issues with attendance and low math and studying take a look at scores, and vowed to handle them.
“Power absenteeism is deeply affecting Black college students at PS 188, reflecting bigger systemic challenges resembling inequitable entry to transportation, healthcare, or housing stability,” the plan stated.
Eighteen college students have been absent for “59 days in a row,” the plan stated.
PS 188 stated it applied a three-tiered intervention system to handle persistent absenteeism and maintain “Attendance Issues” household workshops.
The varsity additionally companions with organizations together with the YWCA and Replications to assist households dealing with challenges resembling housing.
The Put up reported Sunday that the town Division of Schooling is appointing attendance cops — “college avoidance liaisons”—to cut back persistent absenteeism in any respect colleges.
As for English lessons, PS 188 directors stated they might use small group instruction and personalised instruction to assist college students increase studying comprehension and vocabulary, in addition to Dad or mum Literacy Workshops
PS 188 acknowledged that some college students struggled with primary math, information and algebra.
The varsity stated it will focus extra on serving to struggling math learners, together with these college students who usually are not fluent in English or have particular wants or disabilities.
Jay Brown, chairman of Group Schooling Council 21 that features PS 188, stated he was not conscious of a proposal to transform the college to Ok-8 however is aware of of the struggles.
“The take a look at scores through the years have been within the low aspect,” Brown stated. “There’s been a spotlight to dig into these issues. There’s been enchancment. However there’s room for extra enchancment.”
