By Gus Saltonstall
In some neighborhood pride, an Upper West Side school was named among a select group this week as a Blue Ribbon award winner by the federal Department of Education.
On Monday, P.S. 166 The Richard Rodgers School of The Arts and Technology, at 132 West 89th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, was one of 21 schools in the state, and just eight in Manhattan, to receive the coveted recognition.
In total, 356 schools across the United States were named as Blue Ribbon schools, which recognizes a school’s excellence in academic performance or a significant progression toward closing achievement gaps.
P.S. 166 specifically earned its recognition as an “exemplary high performing school.” The Blue Ribbon recognition does not come with any financial award, but as the publication ChalkBeat described, does “offer bragging rights.”
“The National Blue Ribbon Schools Award is a testament to the exceptional achievements of students and educators at each of these schools,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, in a news release. “The 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools are raising the bar for our nation’s students, serving as models for effective teaching and intentional collaboration in their schools and communities.”
P.S. 166 has 606 students from kindergarten through fifth grade, and is led by principal Debra Mastriano. The Upper West Side school was founded in 1898.
“Students are encouraged to strive for excellence to their best ability through rigorous instruction in all content areas, and through social emotional learning constructs,” reads a description of P.S. 166 on the Blue Ribbon’s website.
You can check out more about the school — HERE.
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Now if one of these years they could get the scaffolding out.
Scaffolding on West end and W 82nd school there forever. It came down once thsn was put back up a week later.
Its amazing what can be accomplished with the demographics of ps 166
My kid did PS 166 to MS 54 for middle school and is now in the SUNY just named by US News as in the top 75 overall nationally and one of the “best value” public universities in the entire country.
Let’s hear it for local public education!
I’d chalk it up to good parenting as much as good school.
Congratulations to PS166. Seems like a great school.
I do not understand why it houses a G&T program. G&T seats should be reserved primarily for those who do not have a good zoned Gen Ed option. G&T programs should be housed in those buildings. I have issues with elementary school G&T to begin with, but this just makes it worse.
It was bad enough when G&T admissions was based on a test given to four year olds. Now it is even more arbitrary.
My daughter attended the G&T at PS 166 and had wonderful teachers. We did not live in an area with a good zoned school, so very thankful for the opportunity. She is now at the specialized High School for Math, Science, and Engineering. I agree, the testing is not ideal at four. My son was in a G&T elsewhere, and they were chosen by second grade by teacher recommendation and a psychological test. Students were sent to accelerated classes they needed to be challenged in, but not completely segregated. Every school could offer that more easily for more equity.
I understand the ambiguous feelings about G&T. But as the mother of a G&T student who graduated from 166, I can tell you that for us it was vital. My daughter started at a school with no G&T available, and her kindergarten and first grade teachers didn’t know what to do with her, so they had her “tutoring” the other students. I guess it was great for those students, but not so great for my daughter. I didn’t send her to school to be a teacher. And for those two years, she learned nothing that didn’t already know, when she should have been expanding her learning and reading books more appropriate to her abilities. G&T was a godsend for us. I acknowledge that it’s not fair for kids who can’t get it. But you don’t cure an inequity by making things worse for everyone; you should cure it by increasing the quality of education for all students, no matter where they stand academically.
Yes, it is now even more arbitrary because there is no G&T test, so no criteria for determining “giftedness”. Everyone thinks their child is gifted, but not all kids can do work more advanced than grade level.
As for the test being given to 4-year-olds, NYC has an extensive network of special needs testing beginning with toddlers and preschoolers which does broach intelligence. For the G&T test to be problematic to some, while so many little kids are being assessed on a daily basis in this city, is hypocritical.
As for the location of the school, maybe what you are advocating is tracking, which would be welcome by many public school parents throughout the city.
As a proud graduate of PS 166 in 1949 I was a member of the Crossing Guard Flag Patrol. I then wen to Joan of arc JHS and as a 7-8 SP student graduated 2 years later and went on to graduate 3 years later from Stuyvesant HS. Would you believe that in 166 all the girls wore dresses and the boys shirts and ties??NYC was a great place to live in then, not so much now, unfortunately. I remember Mayor LaGuardia, NYC could use him now……