User:M.S.137

''MS 137 opened in 2002 in a sparkling new building designed to accommodate 1,500 children. Today, with close to 1,900 students, it's a school where everyone is getting acquainted with everyone else. Students come from around the world and teachers are mostly young and new to the profession. Because of zoning changes in District 27, MS 137, located in Ozone Park, is the designated school for Richmond Hill students, who are bused in. The clean and bright four-story building, which sits next to an athletic field, houses a welcoming, attractive library with high ceilings and lots of resources.

With about 10 percent of its population learning English -- there is one bilingual Punjabi class -- the school hosts multi-cultural celebrations featuring native dances and costumes, some made by teachers at home. We stopped into a 6th grade class where kids were taking a poll and preparing a debate about whether school should be taught in English only.

Science appears to be a strength at MS 137, which has five science teachers and nicely equipped labs. We saw displays of different ecosystems built of cardboard boxes and aquariums. We also saw efforts at cross-disciplinary study. Sixth graders studying ancient Egypt in social studies learned in science class about medical techniques in the age of the pharaohs, such as how cuts were treated by having a slab of meat applied to them. In another 6th grade class, kids were preparing to create Egyptian charms called amulets out of flour, salt and water. "It's like a science and art project. It's fun," one boy told us.

The school reported an unusually high number of "incidents" to police in the 2002-03 school year, but the administration told us this was more a measure of administrators' reporting zeal than student rowdiness. "We reported everything our first year," an administrator said. Clearly there is an emphasis on order in the building, where administrators seek to keep disruption to a minimum by such practices as having 6th graders stay in the same classroom for most of their subjects. When 6th graders do move about the building, teachers lead them from one area to another.

Class cutting seemed to be an issue. On our visit, a dozen or more children were caught in a random hall sweep and sent to the auditorium while their parents were called. Some efforts to keep control struck us as heavy-handed. School aides and administrators blew whistles and used loudspeakers to tell kids to keep quiet in the cafeteria. Children who continued to talk after the whistle blew were put into detention. Several students told us that kids are routinely kept in the cafeteria during lunch as punishment rather than being allowed to go out into the spacious schoolyard.

There is an honors program - called Advanced Regents - for students who score in the highest levels on the standardized exams -- five honors classes in the 6th grade, fewer in the upper grades. A music room was equipped with recorders and many different kinds of drums.

Special education: The school has a very large special education population. There are 11 "self-contained" classes for special education students only and one team-taught class where kids receiving special education services learn alongside those in general education. MS 137 is a wheelchair accessible school.

After school: The school offers band, a basketball team and chess club, as well as a literacy program for low achievers.''