WHY CHOOSE EAST SIDE?

• We have received an “A” on our Middle School and High School Report Cards each year grades have been assigned. 

• Our Advisory system (12 – 14 students) provides for frequent communication with families, which ensures that no student is overlooked.

• Our 6-12^th grade comprehensive college-preparatory curriculum ensures that students begin their college and career readiness from their first days of middle school.

• All students develop graduation portfolios in the core subjects.  Students present and defend their work to committees twice a year through our portfolio roundtable presentations.  Students cannot graduate without completing this rigorous process.

•  All students graduate by completing performance-based assessment tasks, such as, a college-level history research paper and a student-designed science experiment.
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•  All of our students take a studio arts class every year. Artwork and performance arts are highlighted and celebrated in our art gallery, assemblies and special performances.

• Our independent reading and literacy program has been a model emulated across the city, state and country.

• Our school greatly values students’ social-emotional well-being. We have an extensive counseling department and offer various student and family support services.

• Our College Bound program provides personalized and intensive college counseling, awareness and preparation to each student in grades 6-12. Over 90% of our high school graduates attend college.

•  We have an average class size of 18-24 students and an 8 to 1 adult to student ratio.

•   We are a highly collaborative professional learning community.  All teachers receive extensive professional development, support and common prep/planning time. 

•  We handpick and selectively screen all of our teachers in order to provide one of the strongest teaching staffs in New York City.  Teaching matters and we hire only the best.

•  We are a New York University partner school, a Columbia University-TCR&WP mentor/model school, Facing History in Ourselves model school and New Visions model school visited by hundreds of educators from around the city, state, country and world every year.

• We offer an extensive and free academic, arts, athletics, service and social extra-curricular after-school and Saturday program for all students and families. 

• We are named one of the city’s best public schools in the books Public Middle Schools: New York City’s Best and New York City's Best Public High Schools: A Parent's Guide by Clara Hemphill.