As PS 676 continues its transformation into a maritime themed Middle School, it’s neighbor, PS 15, will become the only public school choice for kindergarten starting next September.
PS 15, located at 71 Sullivan Street is a small 394 student elementary school with a progressive approach to education. They take a holistic approach to education that nurtures the child by offering a safe and stimulating education.
“We are going to have a lot of seats to fill,” parent coordinator Melissa Campbell said. “We wanted to start our enrollment and maybe have families come in two days a week to start our enrollment. I want families to know how important it will be to enroll as soon as possible.”
PS 15 will be enrolling students every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am to 1 pm. The majority of its students live in the Red Hook community and the school is very diverse.
“We always get people from outside of the community to apply but it would be good to have people in Red Hook take advantage. We do get people from all over since it is based on a lottery system through the Department of Education,” Campbell said.
PS 15 offers a dual language program. It features one class throughout the day in all subjects that is 50 percent Spanish and 50 percent English. By the time dual language program students graduate they are fluent in Spanish, which is a big benefit to them.
“It is a great program and gives them priority to other dual language schools for junior high,” Campbell said.
Another program that makes the school desirable is a pre-kindergarten for three year olds. Enrollment is also via a lottery system through the DOE.
Sibling preference is offered. The DOE will gives preference for families. Campbell would like to max out on the amount of students.
At full capacity, the school can have 550 students. For 3K they can take 15 students. For the 4K program, they can take 94 kids and for kindergarten they can take 100 students.
The school partners is with NYU Langone, which provides a full service health clinic and dental service for the students. Children have even been able to get their vaccines at the school.
The clinic is more expansive at PS 15 than most schools. NYU Langone does physicals for the kids, they do strep tests, the kids can get dental appointments and they can write prescriptions for ear/throat infections.
NYU Langone does a lot for the kids and helps parents.
“It is so convenient,” Campbell said. “My daughter attends the school and there are days when they wake up not feeling too well you can have them come in and be seen by the nurse, which comes in handy.”
PS 15 also offers the ACES program (Academic, Career and Essential Skills), which are for students with an intellectual disability. Principal Julie Cavanagh spearheaded the program which began a few years ago.
Seats fill up fast. The classrooms are integrated with non ACES program students, and goes through the fifth grade.
For many years the school has had a partnership with Good Shepherd Services as well as Cora Dance.
Through the school’s PTA, they offer a much needed after school programs. Many parents need after school programs since school ends at 2:40. They offer homework help and other enrichment programs like cooking, dance and art instruction.
They partner with Street Soccer USA for a soccer after school program. Street Soccer’s model is to provide an alternative for the pay-to-play model of youth sports with a focus on social impact across the United States.
The elementary school also partners with Extreme Kids and Crew, which is headquartered in Red Hook. It is an after school program for children with intellectual disabilities. They feature a ball pit and other activities.
After school with Extreme Kids and Crew is an arts and play program for children with IEPs (Individualized Education Program) age six and up who attend PS 15. The activities are built on a foundation of creative expression, imaginative play and social emotional learning (SEL). Their program is Monday-Thursday from 2:30 until 5 pm.
“A lot of schools do not have that,” Campbell said. “It is really great.”
The school also has Meet the Writers. Every month a well known author come to the school, someone who has written a book that the students have read. Students enjoy getting to meet the author and getting an autographed copy of the book.
PS 15 partners with Red Hook’s Pioneer Works. Pioneer Works staffers work with the students and families and let them see their evening shows, bring them to events.
Another organization that partners with PS 15, also known as the Patrick F. Daly, is Cafeteria Culture.
They work creatively with youth to achieve zero waste, climate-smart communities and a plastic free biosphere.
An impactful documentary was done with Cafeteria Culture. Through the documentary, which is called Microplastic Madness, students played a huge role in getting rid of foam trays from cafeterias in the NYC public school system. They encouraged everyone to have a plastic free lunch at their school.
“They fought and took it all the way to City Hall–it was really nice,” Campbell said. “They were very passionate about it. They explained the affects of the foam trays and how plastic affects the environment. It was a great documentary.”
Another cafeteria related organization that the school partners with is Garden to Cafe, which partners with schools that have access to a community or school garden to use that garden’s produce in school lunches.
They aim to teach students to grow and harvest produce and to encourage healthy eating. This organization introduces the students to new fruits and vegetables. PS 15 is one of 140 schools registered with the program.
Other community organizations that partner with PS 15 include The Studio in School, Brooklyn Chorus and Marquis Studios.
