It still blows the Q's mind every time I say it, but perhaps the best elementary school in our District 17 is quite a few blocks East of Lefferts. PS770, the New American Academy, burst onto the scene four years ago to disrupt the typical public school model. With few strong choices nearby, Lefferts parents started making the trek to the modernist looking building shared by failing school PS398.
Here's a former post I did on the school. I visited a bunch and love it and the school leader Shimon Waronker. And here's their campagin to raise money for a proper arts program. Yes, 70 students per class, four teachers, teachers running the show, master teachers getting paid handsomely, slashed bureaucracy, big open spaces that can become small groups for specific lessons...and a teacher body that gets universal praise from local parents. Sure it's practically Brownsville, but so what? People travel much farther distances for schools west of here. West, East, North, South. What are they but directions on a compass? (Not Compass Charter School mind you, which is also a bit of a hike and in another district.)
Link to the campaign.
PS770 LET'S GET THE ARTS
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