PS 958
Directora del Proyecto: Emily Shapiro
www.ps958.org
eshapiro@schools.nyc.gov
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About the Project Director
Our Idea
Learning Experience
Parent and Community Partners
Mission and Vision
Core Values
Enrollment Overview
Questions and a Call to Join Us
OUR
AGENDA
FOR TONIGHT
PS 958
Student Supports
20 years as a special educator (para, teacher, coach, administrator)
Appreciation for the knowledge base and expertise of District 75
ABOUT THE PROJECT DIRECTOR
PS 958
Mother to a 3 year old
Born and Raised in Brooklyn and NYC Schools
Our commitment to Equity must include our students with IEPs.
OUR IDEA
PS 958
Imagine NYC Proposal
We set out to design a school that would serve every student who lived in a community by providing proactive supports to all young children and would engage the whole community in achieving this goal.
Visíon Futuro
Advocates and mothers from the Sunset Park have been advocating for an inclusive school in the community for many years.
THIS IS JUST A DRAFT. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FINISH IT!
MISSION AND VISION
PS 958
Mission:
PS 958 is a flexible space for learning that is universally designed, supports neurodiversity and is culturally responsive. Students engage in challenging, real-world exploration that utilizes research-backed instructional practices, builds critical thinking skills and fosters creativity. The school community will work collaboratively to design a student-driven learning experience that supports and affirms the intersection and complexities of all identities, especially those that have been historically marginalized.
Vision:
Through the strategic design of an inclusive community with high-quality instruction and support, the members of PS 958 will create a replicable school model in which every student is celebrated for their strengths, challenged at the highest level and graduates with the skills needed to be advocates for themselves, their peers and their community.
PS 958
CORE VALUES
"Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects."-Gandhi
*Core Values are aligned with the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing *
PS 958
Respect
Students will learn to build respectful and just relationships with their peers, teachers and communities. Each project-based learning experience will include opportunities for students to consider the many ways we can respect our bodies, minds, communities and planet.
Include All
At PS 958, students will learn how to support one another and will understand that achieving equity in our community starts with ensuring that everyone has what they need to be meaningfully included in both learning experiences and decision-making.
Partner
Learning how to collaborate with and rely on one another in service of our goals will be a key foundation of our school and will be embedded in every learning experience. Instructional design will encourage groups of students with similar passions and interests to work together across grades and classes.
Be Peaceful
If we want to see peace and justice in our communities, we need to model this for and with our children. Through restorative justice and social/emotional learning, students will learn to “walk the walk” and will become model community members who’s impact outlasts their time at PS 958.
Listen
To truly understand the experiences of others, we need to learn to hear one another openly. Through this work, students, teachers and families can ensure that the experience at our school is responsive to everyone’s needs and that students develop empathy for one another and can extend out into the community.
Expect the Best
As a school, we will set high expectations for every student and we will instill this same level of expectation in each student for themselves. In addition, we want our students and families to expect the most from our school and their community and to use the tools they learn at our school to be advocates for themselves and others.
PS 958
ENROLLMENT PLANS
We will grow and change every year!
Pre-K
3k
K
SEPTEMBER 2022
All class sizes will be capped to accommodate flexible and inclusive learning.
We will add one grade each year. By third grade, we expect that all students will succeed in an ICT setting with additional support as needed.
PS 958
…So Far
THE PS 958 LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Please tell us what you think!
The Inquiry Process at PS 958
3K and Pre-K: Students will lead their inquiry work as they make discoveries in their school and larger community. They will be invited into the thematic studies as appropriate and based on demonstrated strengths and interest.
K-2: Students will engage in thematic project-based learning that centers the needs of the community and teaches them how to be engaged citizens. Within each theme, there will be opportunities for students to select a “course” based on their strengths and interests.
3-5: With a foundation of activism, students will begin to self-select their PBL topic and will be charged with planning and collaborating with peers to answer their questions and/or achieve their goals.
All of our inquiry learning experiences will encourage students to think about their impact and our impact as a community.
Pre-K
3k
Key Instructional Practices
K
--Student-led “PBL courses”
All students will participate in regular community meetings where we will focus on building our community identity, addressing themes related to equity and inclusion and inviting students, classes, parents and community members to share.
Students will also participate in fully inclusive Music and Physical Education. Arts will be integrated across subjects.
PS 958
A Day in the Life
The school day will be 6 hours and 20 minutes (8:00-2:20 or 8:30 to 2:50)
3K
Pre-K
K
PS 958
STUDENT SUPPORT
What else would you like to see?
PS 958
PROGRAM SUPPORTS
And some examples of how they can help every child
Multilingual Families at PS 958
Social Emotional Learning at PS 958
PS 9585
LEARN ABOUT UNIVERSAL DESIGN
https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
FACILITIES FEATURES
PARENT ENGAGEMENT at PS 958
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Sunset Park is so rich with community support and we want to bring it all together to ensure success. Do you have other ideas? Please let us know!
PS 9585
How to Enroll
*If your child is going into Kindergarten and you are interested in the AIMS, Horizons or iRead program, please e-mail me directly.
PS 958
Thank
you!
Questions?
Follow us @PS958SunsetPark on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
www.ps958.org
PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK!
https://forms.gle/rtm5AqzxLZJSRCRCA
Join the Design Team
A unique opportunity to build the school of our dreams together!
PS 958
FAQ from Our 1st Session
No. PS 958 is a choice school. It is open to all children and students will be offered spots based on the ranking of their preferences and random selection.
Yes! All of our classrooms on the first floor have bathrooms inside and were designed for early childhood use.
This is exactly the type of decision that we will work together to make! While research shows that children as young as 3, 4 and 5 do not benefit from homework, many schools offer families choices in homework activities or interactive optional activities. As children get older, in line with our plan to individualize, we may want to use homework as an opportunity for practice around specific goals.
BCBA stands for Board Certified Behavior Analyst. A BCBA will support our AIMS program and ensure the team is aligning their instruction with principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). BCBA's observe students, collect data about their actions and analyze that data to make recommendations about behavior plans, instructional practices and physical environment to help students be successful.
We are anxiously awaiting this, too and we will send an e-mail and put it on social media as soon as it is added.
PS 958
FAQ from Our 1st Session Continued
Yes and yes! In 3K and Pre-K, we will be spending the vast majority of the day in student-centered, play-based and exploratory activities in the classroom, on the playground and out in the community. As students get older, we will maintain this culture as we integrate the academic components we know students need to be successful. Project-based learning will offer students an opportunity to learn content like social studies, math and science through exploration.
One system for progress monitoring that we are interested in is Work Sampling. In this process, teachers and school staff observe and engage with students, collect evidence and collaborate to plan instruction around their needs. We will also utilize specific assessments like Web-ABLLS for students in the AIMS program (and for other students for whom it might be appropriate) . This is another decision we will work on as a design team!
We are planning for early arrival and are working on securing after-school programming that is affordable and meets the needs of the community. We got great feedback last night about considering a dual language after-school. We will let you know once it is confirmed but we are confident we will make it happen!