The Anderson School

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The Anderson School PS 334, is a New York City public school — K-5 elementary and 6-8 middle — that uses a gifted pedagogical approach to teach students from the City’s five boroughs who have met specific criteria for being intellectually gifted. Acceleration of NYS curricula, particularly mathematics (beginning in kindergarten), and enrichment (tailored to strengthen higher thinking skills), delivered with a progressive and traditional mix of styles, are components of a broad, flexible pedagogical matrix used at Anderson.

Founded in September 1987 as The Anderson Program under the stewardship of PS 9, the New York City Department of Education relaunched it in July 2005 as a stand-alone school — PS 334. Anderson's enrollment has been filled to capacity since inception, which, for K through 8, is approximately 506 (two classes per grade). As of fall 2006, Anderson's students hail from 72 ZIP codes.

Contents 1 Admissions 1.1 All G&T Programs, Citywide 1.2 Anderson K-5 1.3 Anderson Middle School 2 Students Recently Honored for Academic Excellence 3 AMS Class of 2006 — Matriculation 4 AMS Spirit, Interscholastic Sports, Student Life 5 Alumni 6 History 6.1 Early Gifted Education & Gifted Education Research in New York City 6.2 Hunter College Elementary School 6.3 The K-5 Anderson Program at PS 9 6.4 Anderson Middle School 6.5 The Anderson School PS 334 6.6 NYC DOE Gifted Programs 7 Principals, Program Coordinators, Anderson Chairs, PA Presidents 8 School Name & Physical Plant 8.1 The Names 8.2 The Former Plant at 466 West End Avenue 8.3 The Current Plant on West 84th Street 9 Parent & External Organizations 10 Anderson's DOE Network 11 External Links 12 School Architecture, Facilities & Design Resources 13 Notes

[edit] Admissions

The Anderson School admits children from all five boroughs.

[edit] All G&T Programs, Citywide

For the school year beginning fall 2007, the APPLICATION DEADLINE for all G&T programs in the City, which includes Anderson, was December 1, 2006, 5PM. The citywide application process for K-2 G&T programs requires:

1. The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT®),^[1][2] which is administered by the G&T Coordinator in the DOE Region of residence at an appointed time in January - February 2007;
2. The Gifted Rating Scales assessment,^[3] which is administered by the preschool, if applicable. The DEADLINE for teachers to submit the GRS was March 1, 2007.

The OLSAT accounts for two-thirds of an over-all score. The GRS accounts for one-third.^[4] The score is calculated by doubling the OLSAT and adding it to the GRS.

[edit] Anderson K-5

Anderson applicants whose combined OLSAT and GRS scores meet criteria (a cut-score) will be invited for an onsite evaluation — an extra step in the application process used only by Anderson and the two other citywide G&T programs.

• District G&T programs rank applicants using the combined OLSAT and GRS scores. They then fill available slots, by rank, at schools in order of preference indicated by the applicant. At this point, the District G&T application process is complete.
• By contrast, Anderson requires an additional step in the application process — an onsite assessment. Anderson commences the onsite phase blind to the combined scores.^[5]

Anderson's fall 2007 kindergarten class will be the first Anderson class assessed by the OLSAT & GRS. For the nineteen years prior, Anderson required the Stanford Binet (an IQ assessment) and an onsite evaluation — the same assessment methodology that was, and still is, used for kindergarten admissions to Hunter College Elementary School, a school that Anderson regards as a peer with respect to students.

• Kindergarten (50 spaces): An admissions committee will determine an OLSAT/GRS cut score allowing approximately 400 candidates (author's guess) to participate in an onsite evaluation. For the 2007-08 year, Anderson will notify the parents of applicants during the week of April 16, 2007, of their onsite appointments. Onsites will take place the weekends of April 21 and 28. The DOE will send out acceptance letters May 14, 2007. Ms. Anna Commitante is Director of the Department of Gifted/Talented & Enrichment for the DOE. According to the DOE, approximately 12,000 children applied to DOE G&T programs.
• Grades 1-5: Only one or two additional spaces are added in the first grade; any other openings are by attrition.
  

[edit] Anderson Middle School

• Grades 6-7: Admissions are based on scholastic achievement and a demonstration of academic ability. Applicants must show:

1. A strong academic record
2. A level 4 on the fourth grade NYS English Language Arts Test
3. A level 4 on the fourth grade NYS Mathematics Test

   (or a combined NYS ELA/Math score of 1385)

4. Strong teacher recommendations
5. Strong academic ability via onsite assessment

If an applicant has not been attending a New York City public school, Anderson will assess their available records.

Openings are subject to attrition of Anderson students. For the 2007-08 year, the 6th has 12 openings (author's guess based on an unofficial preliminary straw count). About 500 students are applying for AMS 6th grade (author's guess).

• Grade 8: New students are not admitted into 8th grade.

[edit] Students Recently Honored for Academic Excellence

May 14, 2006, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth:

PLUS Academic Abilities Assessment

• Verbal: 5th Grader — FIRST in the State & FIRST in the U.S.
• Verbal: 5th Grader — SECOND in the State
• Quantitative/Math: 5th Grader — SECOND in the State

PLUS Assessment Distinguished Honors

• Three 5th graders and one 6th grader

[edit] AMS Class of 2006 — Matriculation

Of 51 graduating from the 8th grade who applied to competitive NYC public schools, 8 were accepted to Stuyvesant, 18 to Bronx Science, 3 to Brooklyn Tech, 6 to Eleanor Roosevelt, 6 to La Guardia, and 10 to Beacon.

[edit] AMS Spirit, Interscholastic Sports, Student Life

Anderson's mascot and colors are unofficial. But, in the fall of 2005, by way of a Student Council sponsored mascot-logo art competition, the AMS students chose a Dragon designed by Lisa Howell from the 8th grade. Anderson adopted red and white as the only unused color combination in a middle school basketball league.

• Boys Baseball:

Robert Schleissman, Coach (AMS PE & Health Teacher)

Charlie Conway, Coach (AMS 8th Grade Teacher)

In its inaugural year as PS 334, AMS fielded a baseball team in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Middle School Sports & Fitness Baseball League for Region 10. On June 16, 2006, on Randall's Island, the AMS Dragons won the Middle School Baseball Championship for Manhattan, beating IS 195 (The Roberto Clemente School) from Region 10, and IS 45 (The John S. Roberts Alternative Education Complex) from Region 9, both formidable opponents.

• Co-ed Basketball:

Kai Simeon, Head Coach

• Co-ed Tennis:

Angela N'desanjo & Robert Schliessman, Coaches

• Soccer

• Debate Team:

Asha S. Cherian, Coach

• Student Council:

The AMS Student Council is composed of twelve elected members, three of whom are officers.

[edit] Alumni

David Vigliarolo Bauer is among the notable Anderson K-5 alumni. While a senior at Hunter College High School, Intel Corporation awarded him a $100,000 scholarship as first-place winner of the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), America's oldest and most prestigious high school science competition. Upon completing K-5 at Anderson in 1998, Mr. Bauer matriculated to the Delta Honors Program at MS 54, Booker T. Washington Middle School. Mr. Bauer is also an alumnus of Hollingworth Preschool at Teachers College.

[edit] History

[edit] Early Gifted Education & Gifted Education Research in New York City

The Speyer School, PS 500, opened in 1936 at 514 W 126th Street for exceptionally intellectually gifted students, ages 7 to 9. While not the first, it was the City's only existing public program for intellectually gifted students and was operated collaboratively between Teachers College and the Board of Education. Speyer was the brainchild of Leta Stetter Hollingworth, PhD, (1886-1939)^[6] a clinical and research psychologist, educator, and professor at Teachers College. She served as Speyer's executive director.

The pedagogical objectives for Speyer were a culmination of research from a groundbreaking "Special Opportunity Class" for gifted students that opened in the early 1920s at PS 165. Expanding on the work of Lulu May Stedman (1876-1960)^[7] and other pioneers in gifted education, Dr. Hollingworth spearheaded the project at PS 165, which yielded over 40 papers and a textbook. Before PS 165, the BOE had introduced gifted classes at PS 15 and PS 64. However, these were small-scale and had scant documentation.

The project yielded valuable data. In its first year, Professor Hollingworth reported that, because bright children progress quickly, they need only a half day to master a full day's work. And, unless their courses were revised at an early age, they would learn to be masterful time-wasters.^[8] Professor Hollingworth posited that students who progress quickly on the wrong channel can be caustic.

Her untimely death, November 27, 1939, ended the Speyer project — Speyer eventually closed its doors January 31, 1941. But, as a legacy to Professor Hollingworth, the Board of Ed. launched classes for bright students in twelve public schools.^[9]

[edit] Hunter College Elementary School

Before Speyer closed, Hunter College saw a public need and an opportunity. In the fall of 1940, Hunter College Model School, an elementary school in existence since in 1870, added a pre-K and transferred its 7th and 8th grades to Hunter College High School and began operating as an experimental and demonstration center for intellectually gifted children. In September 1940, the administration changed the name to Hunter College Elementary School (HCES).^[10] Even then, HCES, the only elementary school in the city operated by the Board of Higher Education, had a waiting list and required an IQ test.

Beginning fall 2003, HCES discontinued pre-K. Until then, nearly half of the forty-eight kindergartners admitted to its kindergarten were matriculating from its pre-K, which made admissions seem impossible. For decades before Anderson, HCES had been turning away kindergarten applicants who met criteria as intellectually gifted. In the mid 80s, HCES used a computer random selection system for admitting students meeting its criteria, which frustrated parents all the more.

[edit] The K-5 Anderson Program at PS 9

In 1986, frustrated over enrollment limits for applicants meeting criteria for admissions to Hunter College Elementary School, dogged parents organized an outreach, galvanizing other like-minded parents from several Community School Districts.^[11] Ms. Natale even sought assistance from a reluctant Associate Dean of HCES, Evelyn Jones Rich, PdD, to (i) provide a list of candidates for a mailing, (ii) host a large open house, and (iii) convene in a follow-up meeting — to help reach the parents of children who had met criteria as intellectually gifted. A defining moment came when a parent, Ms. Dee Estelle Alpert, succeeded in having a resolution placed before the Community School Board in her District (Dist. 3) to create a zoned program for such children.

The resolution passed. Ms. Bernadette O'Brien, then Principal of PS 9, welcomed The Anderson Program into her school. At the time, PS 9 had only 197 students. The building, though structurally sound, was poorly maintained and underfurnished. There was no playground equipment — only a yard.

Anderson began with two kindergartens and two 1st grades in September 1987, comprising eighty students. The founding teachers were Ms. Alicia Ruddy (kindergarten), Ms. Gail Goldweber (kindergarten), Mr. Robert (Bob) Moy (1st grade), and Ms. Beatrice (Bea) Asnes (1st grade). Mr. Moy, a decorated educator, is still at Anderson. As the inaugural classes advanced, adding two classes per year, Anderson grew into a a full K-5 Program by fall 1991.

Sometime around 1989, Ms. Susan Natale (parent) chaired a committee to (i) secure a Program Director and (ii) persuade the District to fund a Program evaluation. Then District 3 Community Superintendent Anton J. Klein (1929- ) approved the evaluation and, together, with the committee selected Lisa Ruth Wright, EdD, of Teachers College, Columbia University, carry it out. Dr. Wright delivered a comprehensive and seminal report that served as an operational and educational framework going forward. In that report, she recommended, among other things, that (i) Anderson appoint a Program Coordinator, which Supt. Klein approved and (ii) Anderson establish a Parent Advisory Board, which the Anderson community enacted. Dr. Wright is the Director of the Hollingworth Center^[12] at Teachers College.

Anderson was built by dint of sheer hard work of parents. Under sponsorship of the Friends of Anderson, the parent support group, Parents Advisory Board chairs, teachers, and administrators have attended annual national gifted education conferences. They have participated in workshops — learning and sharing to help others. During the 1992-03 year, the National Association for Gifted Children recognized The Anderson Program as a national model for parent-initiated gifted programs.

[edit] Anderson Middle School

The DOE has long operated many well-run and popular middle school programs for honor students (particularly the Delta Honors Program), but none specifically for continuing gifted students and none that were mapped well with Anderson. While still a part of PS 9, Anderson launched a Middle School — naming it "Anderson Middle School" — in the fall of 2003, admitting about sixty 6th grade students. As if it were choreographed by an invisible hand of symmetry, AMS became a full 6-8 school, graduating its first class of 8th graders in the same year that Anderson became a stand-alone school (2005-2006).

Because Anderson K-8 is accelerated, the Middle School "feel" extends to 5th grade. That is, fifth graders have departmentalized classes (they switch classes each period); and, like the middle schoolers, they have lockers. AMS occupies the third floor (the "Blue-Brick Penthouse"). Aimee Terosky, PhD, is the AMS Dean.

Since day one, AMS students have been required to have iBooks.

[edit] The Anderson School PS 334

Managing a K-8 program within a K-5 structure was one of many factors that influenced the DOE’s decision to organize Anderson as its own school. Managing a small citywide program bearing a large outreach mandate while managing a school bearing a catchment priority was another factor. Partly in recognition to the achievements of The Anderson Program and partly as a heightened boost to gifted education and partly as an extension of the Chancellor's smaller school initiative, the DOE upgraded The Anderson Program as its own school in July 2005. Anderson became a school on the 40th Anniversary of the school building and in the year of the inaugural graduation of an AMS class.

The DOE promoted Anderson's Program Coordinator, Rachel Schnur, EdD, to Anderson's first Principal Interim Acting, then to full Principal. She served in those two capacities for the inaugural year. In the summer of 2006, Dr. Schnur resigned for personal reasons and the DOE appointed a new Principal Interim Acting, Mr. Brian Culot (pronounced "KOO lot"), who currently oversees the duties of Principal in collaboration with Mara Koetke, EdD, Assistant Principal, and Aimee Terosky, PhD, Middle School Dean. As its own school, Anderson formed a DOE mandated School Leadership Team (SLT). Because of some redundancies between the Parent Advisory and SLT, the PTA provisionally suspended the Parent Advisory Board in the spring of 2006.

During the 2007-08 year, The Anderson School will be celebrating its Vicennial.

[edit] NYC DOE Gifted Programs

As of spring 2007, there were 68 Middle School Gifted Programs and 128 Elementary Self Contained Gifted & Talented Programs (of which, 4 are Citywide).

[edit] Principals, Program Coordinators, Anderson Chairs, PA Presidents

Principals During Anderson's Era as a Program Under PS 9 & as a School Under PS 334

• Ms. Bernadette O'Brien — PS 9
• Ms. Marilyn Savetsky — PS 9 | Approx Dec 1987 - Summer 1989 (Interim Acting)
• Joan Gutkin, PhD (nee Gotlieb; b. 1936 - d. 1997) — PS 9 | 1989 - 1997
• Ms. Diane Brady — PS 9 | 1997 - 2005 Oversaw Anderson spin-off (still oversees PS 9)
• Rachel Schnur, EdD (nee Shavit) — PS 334 | July 2005 - July 2006 (see "Coordinators" below)
• Mr. Brian Culot — PS 334 | July 2006 - Present (Interim Acting)

Coordinators (Directors) During Anderson's Era as a Program

• Rena Bonne, PhD | September 1989 - August 1991

1. Dr. Bonne (pronounced "bo NAY"), Anderson’s first Coordinator, inherited the Program as the inaugural 1st grade had reached the 3rd. When she arrived, she observed young, idealistic, dedicated, and energetic teachers devoid of a curriculum. After implementing staff development, Dr. Bonne introduced curriculum mapping, one that was differentiated, not necessarily accelerated, but more than simply "enriched" — something that she ardently felt all children deserved.
2. Dr. Bonne valued the critical role of parents, not only in creating the Program, but also for its success. This is something she judiciously balanced with her own role as the first Program Coordinator. Dr. Bonne took a giant step towards winning the trust of tight-gripped parents, allowing her to establish boundaries, transferring responsibilities, such as curriculum development, from grassroots to professionals.
3. Recognizing that the integrity and quality of the assessment process was critical to the curriculum, Dr. Bonne strengthened it and worked to ensure that there was a direct relationship between the admissions criteria and the curriculum. Notwithstanding the notion that all children are gifted, she felt that if a school, for example, screened for musical ability, then the school needed to, at a minimum, offer apropos music pedagogy. In the same way, if Anderson admitted students for having strengths in verbal reasoning and problem solving, then Anderson needed to provide them with opportunities to reach their potential in those areas.
4. Dr. Bonne is an alumna of both Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School. During her post-Anderson career, Dr. Bonne served a stint as Vice Principal of HCHS,

• Ms. Nadine S. Antapole | August 1991 - 1992
• Ms. Helen Krasnow | 1992 - June 1994

1. Working with the teachers, Ms. Krasnow refined the onsite stage of the assessment process. The onsite process involved children meeting in small groups, engaging in free play, listening to and discussing a story, and participating in a teacher directed hands-on activity requiring sorting of small objects and sharing. They were keenly interested in cues for social interaction, cognitive ability, and general demeanor. Mindful of a large developmental span over a 12-month period, the team thoughtfully factored for variances between fractional ages and genders.
2. An important ongoing initiative of Anderson was to retain and build a greater dimension of diversity. In addition to direct and indirect outreach, Ms. Krasnow arranged for pre-kindergarten applicants to take the Stanford Binet IV test in their native language, which at that time, included Spanish and Mandarin.
3. Ms. Krasnow, a curriculum mapping expert, helped talented teachers strengthen curriculum continuity, both vertically and horizontally, without stifling creativity.
4. In the advent of personal computers, Ms. Krasnow oversaw Anderson's first ambitious effort to digitize virtually all essential data, particularly that relating to admissions, which, due to surging number of applicants, had become cumbersome for a relatively small program.

• Ms. Wynstelle Nicholson | 1994 - 1998
• Ms. Alice Geismar | 1998 - 1999

1. In Ms. Greismar initiated an effort to improve Program’s database with an eye towards enabling longitudinal studies and research.
2. She worked to introduce more science and technology education to the program.
3. Ms. Greismar advocated student directed, individualized instruction in the classrooms.

• Rachel Schnur, EdD (nee Shavit) | 1999 - 2005

1. Dr. Schnur devoted considerable effort towards increasing diversity. She coauthored a paper, Economically Disadvantaged Students in a School for the Academically Gifted, Gifted Child Quarterly (see cite below), 2000. While the Stanford Binet IQ test was available for free for those identified as underserved through a couple of non-Anderson channels, the Friends of Anderson, in 2005, gave financial support for families who needed getting their children tested using the Stanford Binet.
2. Every coordinator that preceded Dr. Schnur worked hard to identify candidates of diverse backgrounds. But Dr. Schnur took it further. Drawing on her own expertise, she redesigned the final stage of the evaluation — the onsite assessment — ensuring the environment would be welcoming and appropriate for children of any race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background. She considered this one of her biggest accomplishments. Dr. Schnur also carefully vetted the DOE's citywide initiatives for their suitability in a highly gifted program, making adaptations where, based on her expertise in gifted education, she felt it necessary.
3. Rather than relying solely on the draw of the Program, Dr. Schnur encouraged Anderson parents to fan-out around the City — to talk to preschools, community organizations, daycares, nursery schools, religious institutions — all in an effort to help underserved families learn more about the possible special needs of their children and the opportunities available at Anderson. Using her own channels, Dr. Schnur reached deeply into communities that knew little about Anderson. The upshot was that the diversity at Anderson increased.
4. Dr. Schnur oversaw the creation of the Anderson Middle School. Beginning only with a 6th grade in 2003, Dr. Schnur built it from scratch, year-by-year, recruiting, assigning, and coordinating a small team of close-knit teachers.
5. AMS was a 6-8 extension of the K-5 Anderson Program. But because it operated within a K-5 PS 9 structure, funding and resources normally enjoyed by standalone middle schools were lacking.
6. The creation of Anderson Middle School ushered in a particularly busy time in her tenure, as she simultaneously served as Coordinator for the Anderson K-5 Program, Admissions Director for all of Anderson, and Assistant Principal for PS 9, with duties that extended beyond Anderson to PS 9's G&T and Renaissance Programs. Additionally, she presided over The Anderson Program's transition to a stand-alone K-8 school in July 2005.
7. Dr. Schnur is an expert in gifted education with a particularly strong interest and ability in curriculum development and instructional coaching. Viewed by colleagues as a curriculum maven, she spent much of her summers and after-hours on curriculum development; but day-to-day administrative duties demanded much of her time. She was a proponent of sticking close to the NYS curriculum, but with a gifted approach. She identified and implemented enrichment programs from outside the DOE system and was highly selective about the ones she chose. She was especially cautious in allocating enrichment so that it was additive, not alternative, to the NYS curriculum. Her expertise was especially crucial given the fact that Anderson, as part of its gifted pedagogy, accelerates much of the NYS curriculum, particularly mathemathics. As a teaching coach, Dr. Schnur never hesitated to drop-in on a class if she felt the need to fine-tune curriculum-lag or a pedagogical approach. She once reminded parents that Anderson was not as much about being a better school as it was about offering a different approach for children who need it. Everything had to be taught with a gifted approach. This was her litmus test.
8. Dr. Schnur knew all the students by name. She knew their strengths and weaknesses, academically. She enjoyed an excellent relationship with them. In fact, "going to Dr. Schnur's office" tended to be an interesting, not a punitive experience. She read weekly to the kindergartners. She introduced Socratic seminars to AMS. She introduced Shakespeare into both elementary and middle school grades. She introduced independent study projects, where students were allowed to follow their own authentic interests. She departmentalized fifth grade.

Anderson Middle School Dean

• Aimee Terosky, PhD

Anderson Chairs, a Subcommitte of the PS 9 PTA

• 1988-89: Michael Oliver (cofounder and first chair)
• 1989-90: Angela Schmidt (cofounder)
• 1990-91: Carol Kushner
• 1991-92: Angela Schmidt
• 1992-93: Avis Alexander
• 1993-94: Carol Kushner
• 1994-95: Barbara Goullet
• 1995-96: Barbara Goullet, Bea Zagury
• 1996-97: Betsy Armstrong, Robin Aronow, Shelby Tahlor Levine
• 1997-98: Betsy Armstrong, Robin Aronow, Shelby Tahlor Levine, Stephen Kaminsky
• 1998-99: Stephen Kaminsky, Shelby Tahlor Levine, Maria Traversa, Janice Berchin-Weiss
• 1999-00: Maria Traversa, Janice Berchin-Weiss, Vicki Sentner
• 2000-01: Vicki Sentner, Mary Barnes, Jocelyn Scher
• 2001-02: Melinda Moore, Donna Smiley
• 2003-04: Donna Smiley, Peri Muldofsky
• 2004-05: Peri Muldofsky

PS 334 Parents Association Presidents

• 2005-06: Christine Cirker, Melinda Moore, Mort Schuster
• 2006-07: Jessica Sabat, Lyron Andrews, Kate Levin

[edit] School Name & Physical Plant

[edit] The Names

The Anderson School (PS 334) inherited its name from its former foster parent, the Sarah Anderson School (PS 9), a K-5 catchment school that offers two programs: (i) Renaissance and (ii) Gifted & Talented. Both schools share the building at 100 West 84th Street. Sarah Anderson (b. 7-31-1922 Birmingham AL - d. 2-2-1981 Griffin GA) was a beloved school paraprofessional for whom the school community, backed by full honors from the Board of Education, renamed PS 9 at a May 1981 memorial dedication.^[13] She was a single mother (never married).

In 1993, under Principal Joan Gutkin, PhD (1936-1997), PS 9 received magnet school funding for music and art and henceforth adopted the name, "Renaissance School of Music and Art." Upon the departure of Dr. Gutkin, and with the ebb and flow of funding for the arts, PS 9 uses both names, interchangeably.

[edit] The Former Plant at 466 West End Avenue

The school that became PS 9 was originally organized by the vestry of Saint Michael's Church (Episcopal) in the early 1800s. The vestry continued to operate the School at Bloomingdale until a law was enacted November 19, 1824, barring church schools from participating in public school funding. On May 22, 1826, the Public School Society of New York^[14] acquired it; and, in July 1827, the Society paid $250 for a 100 x 100 foot tract at 82nd Street between 10th (Amsterdam) and 11th (West End) Avenues. On July 19, 1830, the Society completed the construction of a one-story clapboard school for $1,500, accommodating about 50 children. The Society transferred jurisdiction of PS 9 to the Board of Education in July 1853.^[15]

In 1889, The New York Times disclosed a letter to Mayor Hugh J. Grant (1857-1910) citing grim conditions of a PS 9 structure in the same location that housed 1,100 children:

There was no visible plaster in the entire building. The wooden staircases and wood-lined stairways were only 29 inches wide. Large stoves and stovepipes beneath the stairs and elsewhere, used for warming the building, were dangerously close to the woodwork. The so-called passages were 30 inches wide. The building was devoid of any means of escape from the rear and devoid a fire escape. Means of egress from the front was insufficient.^[16]

The next year (1890), the Board of Education demolished the building and in 1894, erected a modern school building on the same site (466 West End Ave at 82nd St) — equipped with electricity and ventilation — Charles B.J. Snyder, architect. The new building inherited the name "PS 9." Designed to blend with the neighborhood, the ecclesiastical English gothic structure was a style prevalent of schools built by Trinity Church.

On January 26, 1916, during a graduation ceremony, PS 9 was named after the late John Jasper (1837-1915).^[17] Mr. Jasper was an educator who had served at PS 9 as (i) a teacher in 1857 and (ii) its principal from 1867 to 1897. He went on to become Assistant Superintendent of Schools; then, in 1898, he became Borough Associate Superintendent of Schools for Manhattan and the Bronx.

As a marker for how times have changed, in 1961, David H. Moskowitz (1903-1962), the Deputy Superintendent for Research and Evaluation for NYC Schools, reported a high transient rate at several elementary schools, including PS 9, which ranged from 90 to 99% during the 1959-1960 school year.^[18]

The former PS 9 building is now the home of The Mickey Mantle School PS 811, serving children with disabilities.

[edit] The Current Plant on West 84th Street

The School Board and Superintendent John Jacob Theobald, PhD (1904-1985), approved the West 84th Street site for PS 9 on July 18, 1962, at a School Board meeting held at Headquarters, 110 Livingston Street, Brooklyn.^[19]

Building the campuses of Brandeis High School and PS 9, simultaneously, was also a concerted pilot project by Mayor Wagner’s "All-Out War on the Forced of Crime." West 84th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus, had been dubbed "The Worst Block in New York." The City relocated 800 of 1000 families from that block so that 20 condemned buildings could be demolished. Those buildings represented the recent filing of more than 2,300 recent building violations $4,100 in fines to 18 landlords by the Housing Court.^[20]

For a cost of $2.4 million, Rand Construction Company, Inc., erected the current three-story building at 100 West 84th Street at Columbus. Under Arthur G. Paletta (1909-1984), Director of Architecture, the BOE Bureau of Design drafted the architectural blueprints. The facility opened March 12, 1965, to 800 children, pre-K-5. Retaining the name, the BOE dedicated the new building as the "John Jasper School PS 9."

Building Floorplan (see pg. 6)

Sometimes referred to as PS 174 during the planning and construction phase, the building had been slated to open September 1964. But while preparing the foundation, the BOE engineers and general contractor, Rand Construction, "discovered" an underground stream. They had overlooked two critical historic maps: (i) the Egbert Ludovicus Viélé map of 1865 (zoomable map) (zoomable map with flash)^[21] and (ii) the Townsend MacCoun (1845-1932, surname rhymes with "raccoon") map of 1909,^[22] both showing an underground stream that starts at the school site, joining other streams, flowing southeast under Central Park and emptying into the East River between 74th and 75th Streets.^[23] Failure to check the Viélé and MacCoun maps is considered a cardinal sin for construction engineers. According to Eugene E. Hult, Superintendent of Design, construction and Physical Plant for the BOE, the underground stream was "more like a pond," about two feet wide; there was earth but no rock, which required the redesign for a new foundation. Construction was held-up from March 15 to August 6, 1963; and, along with a change-order, the whole ordeal cost the BOE an extra $100,000. The underground stream flows in an opposite direction to the surface watershed, which flows to the Hudson.

In the 1950s, many architects used the older red brick for apartment buildings — although its use in public housing projects gave it an unwelcome tinge for the luxury market. Nonetheless, all-white brick buildings became standard for supposed elegance, but there was also a chromatic undercurrent. The architects of public schools in the mid-1950's began incorporating color into their buildings, like the yellow-glazed brick on PS 41.^[24] The use of blue bricks at PS 34, erected in 1956 at 12th Street and Avenue D, outraged City Controller Lawrence Ettore Gerosa (1894-1972), who, in well-publicized hearings in 1958, accused the BOE of wasteful extravagance.^[25]

Transforming the block, without any effort to blend in, white bricks on the new PS 9 face east to Columbus Avenue and west to the schoolyard. Facing the north and south to the streets the blue glazed bricks frame the classroom windows — inviting, perhaps subliminal of the Santa Fe blue-framed windows that keep evil spirits from entering, the white bricks suggestive of stucco.

The unsightly blue cages on the first floor windows are a post-design add-on legacy of an anti-vandal initiative instituted in 1959 by Michael Luke Radoslovich (1902-1975), director of architecture for the school system.^[26] To make it look even worse, someone painted the white bricks between the windows blue, in an apparent ill-fated attempt to match the glazed blue brick.

[edit] Parent & External Organizations

• Parents of P.S. 334, Inc., a New York non-for-profit corporation, serves as the official Parents Association. While incorporating the PA is not required by the DOE Chancellor's Regs, having a PA (or PTA) is. Nonetheless, the founding parents incorporated the PA on November 29, 2005, four months after the DOE spun-off The Anderson Program from PS 9 as its own school. Its status as a tax exempt public charity is in the application stage with the IRS.

• Friends of The Anderson School, Inc., a New York not-for-profit corporation, operates independently as a fundraising body for the benefit of Anderson. Mr. Steve Duffy founded FOA in 1988 and served as its first President. The Board incorporated FOA August 14, 1992. In 1996, the IRS deemed it a public charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3).

• Anderson Alumni Association — formed in the mid 1990s by (i) Susan Natale (parent of K-5 1993 and 2000 Alumni), (ii) Ariela Heilman (original parent), and (iii) Elaine Kirsh (parent K-5 2000 Alum).

[edit] Anderson's DOE Network

In April 2006, the DOE invited principals to turn their schools into Empowerment Schools. Dr. Schnur, Anderson’s principal at the time, accepted the offer. Of the some 332 principals who opted for it, Anderson became the only citywide Empowerment School at the K-5 level. There are fourteen Empowerment School Networks. Ms. Judi Varnai Aronson is the Empowerment Network Team Leader for twenty-one schools, which includes Anderson. Mr. Eric Nadelstern is the Empowerment Schools CEO. Principals of Empowerment Schools, essentially, have greater autonomy from the DOE, in terms of management, instruction, and budget — if they agree to meet performance goals.

The intent is to transfer substantial management duties from the DOE to the schools, which allows the schools to operate with less bureaucracy, which saves the DOE money. The DOE offers fewer centralized services, but passes the savings onto the Empowerment Schools in form in an increased budget, much of which is discretionary. If the schools need any of the discontinued services, they can purchase them à la carte.

PS 9, Anderson's building co-tenant, is also an Empowerment School, but in a different Network. Mr. Laurence ("Larry") Harvey is PS 9's Empowerment Network Team Leader.

Empowerment Schools must adhere to NYS Laws and Union Rules & Contracts. Unions represented at Anderson include:

Custodians

Service Employees International Union Local 74 — Mr. Sal Alladeen, President

Teachers

AFT, United Federation of Teachers — Ms. Rhonda ("Randi") Weingarten, President

Principal & Administrators

Council of Supervisors and Administrators — Ms. Jill Sondra Levy, President

School Aids

DC 37, Local 372 NYC DOE Employees — Ms. Veronica Montgomery-Costa, President

School Safety Agents, Patrol Services Bureau, NYPD

Teamsters Local 237 — Ms. Carroll E. Haynes, President

[edit] External Links

• The Anderson School PS 334 — official Parents Association website

City and State Resources

• New York City Department of Education — official site
• University of the State of New York, State Education Department — official site
• NYS Gifted Education Funding Law
• NYC DOE Office of School Support Services — official site
• NYC DOE School Construction Authority — official site

Teacher Certification

• Center for Gifted Studies & Education at Hunter College (Certification)
• NYS Part 80 Requirements for Gifted Ed Certification
• 2005 Expansion of NYS Requirements for Gifted Ed Certification
• NYS Gifted Ed Extension Resource Site
• NYS Teacher Certification(TM), Gifted Ed Test Framework

Regional Education Advocacy

• insideschools.org | Advocates for Children of New York, Inc. (lookup schools)

National Associations

• Council for Exceptional Children
• National Association for Gifted Children — official site
• Davidson Institute Search Page (lookup schools)

Regional Scholastic Talent Searches

• Denver University | Rocky Mountain Talent Search (RMTS)
• Duke University | Talent Identification Program (TIP)
• Johns Hopkins University | Center for Talented Youth (CTY)
• Northwestern University | Center for Talent Development (CTD)

Local Scholastic Talent Searches

• Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students (C-MITES)
• Stanford University | Education Program for the Gifted Youth (EPGY)
• University of California | Academic Talent Search (ATS)
• University of Iowa | Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS)
• University of Washington | Washington Search for Young Scholars (WSYS)

History

• History of Gifted Education in the U.S.

Journals

• Gifted Child Quarterly — National Association for Gifted Children
• Journal for the Education of the Gifted — The Association for the Gifted
• Gifted Child Today — Prufrock Press Inc.
• Gifted Education International — Belle Wallace, ed., c/o A B Academic Publishers, Bicester, Eng.
• Roeper Review | The Roeper Institute
• Creativity Research Journal — Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. (Taylor & Francis Group)
• Exceptional Children — Council for Exceptional Children

Papers by Anderson Administrators

• James Hammerlee Borland, PhD, Rachel Schnur, EdD, and Lisa Ruth Wright, EdD, Economically Disadvantaged Students in a School for the Academically Gifted: A Postpositivist Inquiry into Individual and Family Adjustment, Gifted Child Quarterly, 2000 pdf.
• Rena Bonne, A Partnership Venture: Introducing Theme-Based Instruction to Teachers and Parents, Gifted Education Communicator, Vol 21 No. 4, September 1991, California Association for the Gifted: Briefly describes parent participation in New York City's Anderson Program (one of a collection of twelve articles).

[edit] School Architecture, Facilities & Design Resources

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities

[edit] Notes

1. ^ The copyright for OLSAT® is owned by Harcourt Trade Publishers, a Reed Elsevier company
2. ^ Reed Elsevier to sell education arm, Reuters, February 15, 2007
3. ^ Special Music School of America, PS 859 does not use the OLSAT. SMS instead uses assessment criteria tailored for music.
4. ^ The copyright for GRS is owned by Harcourt Trade Publishers, a Reed Elsevier company
5. ^ Knowledge of Anderson's onsite methodology comes by way of anecdotal hearsay from past onsites; ergo, reliability of the statement is limited, at best. The editor of this footnote does not know factually whether Anderson sees merit over disclosing this or other aspects of current onsites.
6. ^ Nee Leta Anna Stetter, b. May 25, 1886, to Margaret Elinor Danley and John G. Stetter, near Chadron, NE.
7. ^ January 1918, Miss Stedman played a key role in establishing an "Opportunity Class" for gifted students at Los Angeles State Normal School (now part of UCLA).
8. ^ Half Day Wasted by Bright Pupils, The New York Times, March 5, 1937.
9. ^ Speyer School Closed by City, The New York Times, February 2, 1941.
10. ^ Hunter Renames Its Model School, The New York Times, September 22, 1040.
11. ^ All 39 Community School Boards were abolished June 14, 2002, and in their place, Community District Education Councils, were enacted to serve, among other things, as advisory, as liaisons to School Leadership Teams.
12. ^ The Hollingworth Center at Teachers College is not affiliated with The Hollingworth Center for Highly Gifted Children, a suspended nonprofit Maine corporation, founded by Ms. Kathi Kearney.
13. ^ In May 1981, Abraham Goldman was the Principal and Richard Vasquez was the President of the P.S. 9 Parents Association.
14. ^ In New York City, the Free School Society was chartered in 1805 and changed its name in 1826 to the Public School Society of New York. It was a private corporation that (i) managed schools for immigrants and the poor and (ii) distributed city funding to those schools. It remained private until it was, in effect, disestablished in 1842 and supplanted by an elected Board of Education.
15. ^ Bourne, William Oland, A.M., History of the Public School Society of the City of New York, George P. Putnam's Sons, 1873
16. ^ Much Needed Changes Ordered in Public Schoolhouse No. 9, The New York Times, March 8, 1889.
17. ^ Education Notes, The New York Times, January 26, 1916.
18. ^ ’’Pupils’ Turnover Found Here’’, The New York Times, May 25, 1961.
19. ^ City Schools Get $90,000 Ford Aid, The New York Times, July 19, 1962.
20. ^ Worst is Over on West 84th Street, The New York Times, January 10, 1962.
21. ^ Viélé, Egbert Ludovicus, Sanitary and Topographical Map of the City and Island of New York Showing Original Water Courses and Made Land, Ferdinand Mayer & Co. (New York lithographic firm) (c. 1865); the Viélé map is a revision of a 1609 map of Manhattan's topography when it was relatively unaltered by man.
22. ^ MacCoun, Townsend, The Island of Manhattan at the Time of its Discovery, Half moon edition, L.L. Poates Engraving Company, NY (c. 1909); the MacCoun map, among other things, supereimposes streets over the Viélé map. L.L. Poates Publishing Co. & L.L. Poates Engraving Co. merged to form Poates Corp. (Manhattan) January 27, 1925.
23. ^ Hidden Stream at School Site Causes $100,000 Delay in Work, The New York Times, October 14, 1963.
24. ^ Streetscapes/27 East 65th Street; A 1960's Statement in Blue Is Turning Red, The New York Times, January 5, 2003.
25. ^ Education Board Cites 'Economies' in Reply on Costs, The New York Times, November 28, 1958.
26. ^ Window Size Cut for New Schools, The New York Times, November 19, 1959.