Ella Baker School

317 East 67th Street

School District

New York City Geographic District # 2
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
Type

public

School Map for New York City Geographic District # 2

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on June 07, 2024

Nightmare experience for my kindergartner which caused a steep incline in his academics. Administrators and coordinators are inept. I am the child of a public school teacher in early education and even with that bias this school experience would make me pro charter school. Complete lack of commitment to my child.
Submitted by parent on August 09, 2020

My daughter started kindergarten in 2019/2020 school year at Ella Baker and the experience is amazing so far especially with the remote learning after COVID-19. They were so fast and ready to switch to virtual learning.
Submitted by parent on December 22, 2018

We have loved our experience at this school and feel lucky to have found out about it.
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2017

My daughter absolutely loves this school. This is her second year at EB as she seas in pre-k last year and now she's in grade K. Every single morning she wakes up thrilled and eager to learn, experience and meet her peers and teacher. Taz and Mady are simply two fantastic teachers. Very organized, caring and attentive to your child needs and cognitive inclinations. Kids continuously work on projects and explore/discuss new subjects and ideas. Each child is allowed to be as creative and unique as he/she wishes to be. There is a sense of team work among children , compassion and respect towards each other. The new principal Josh is very involved and present! Reading and math are practiced daily and kids thrive simply because there is a continuous enthusiasm applied toward every single activity. A huge plus this school also has is the outdoor space! It's huge! Dance, art, Spanish and gym are weekly classes kids look forward to . I simply love this school and as another mom commented above, he Ella Bake school is one of Manhattan's best kept secret!
Submitted by parent on June 24, 2017

I am grateful for Ella Baker's creative and cooperative approach to learning and the generosity and perceptiveness of its teachers. Also the ample active outdoor time and the many field trips that mine all the city has to offer! My kindergartner has absolutely thrived in his first year at this wonderful school. He looks forward to going to school - that, to me, says it all.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2017

It's our second year here and we are very excited our younger child will be starting in the fall. We feel very fortunate to have found a progressive learning environment that fosters a love of learning and citizenship in a supportive cooperative enviornment and develops the whole person rather than just a 2 dimensional metric. The diversity of the school is an essential element.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2017

My son has been at Ella Baker for 5 years and I feel so lucky to have him there. The school provides a warm, safe, nurturing environment. The diversity of the school is celebrated and the teachers are thoughtful, caring people who genuinely want what is best for their students. They work very hard to get to know the children as individuals and teach to their strengths and interests. My son has thrived! He is well rounded, tolerant, kid who problem-solves and has a wealth of information!
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2017

My kids are happy here. Their teachers are thoughtful and kind. Yes there is homework, appropriate to age (less in kindergarten, more as they move on). We are very satisfied.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2017

Being product oo f progressive education, Ella Baker was the perfect fit for our family. Our family joined Ella Baker in 1998 and we have loved it since. Like all school experiences we've encountered some pumps in the road which were handled extremely well. Ella Baker has taught my children lessons I'm which they can carry through out life. The relationships they mad with their teachers are ones we will never forget. My fourth child is now at EB and we can't wait for our youngest to join the family community at EB in a few years.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2017

In addition to being a parent I'm also an educator/school Director so came to Ella Baker with realistic expectations but they have been exceeded. My daughter and I are thrilled with her experience there.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2017

The leadership at this school is the worst I've seen. They do not follow DOE guidelines nor keep parents informed. I am a very active parent who cares about her child's education and safety. To have my son in a school that neglects to report in incidents and issues worries me. This school only cares about money and what you can contribute. This school is a joke and should be shut down. I have reported this school to the DOE for negligence and unsafe policies.
Submitted by parent on February 15, 2017

We joined Ella Baker with great hopes. We loved its mission statement. Unfortunately, my son was bullied (verbally harassed, intimidated and hit quite violently several times) by the son of teacher, long time colleague of the principal. The principal declined to follow mandated DoE guidelines properly. No documents were ever filed with the aggressor's name. Principal Laura Garcia just tasked the teachers with more "monitoring". My son kept being threatened. We had no option but to leave and they recorded the transfer as "my choice".
Submitted by other on November 17, 2016

Absolutely the very worst in education, they sing, dance, act, paint and draw but what about the real academic needs of the kids. They tell you they will do all sorts of things to help your child but it's all lies, they pretend that they a cash strapped and that's a lie too. So many struggling students I have never seen before. They have no control over indiscipline and they continue to keep these types of students in classes where they continue to disrupt classes. The teachers that really care are powerless to function effectively because the leadership keeps them quiet, hence so many effective teachers have just packed it in and fled in horror and disgust. Run fast past this school if you truly value your children and their future.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2016

If listening to children is important to you. If singing in the classroom is important to you. If diversity is important to you. If happiness in the classroom is important to you. If loving school and preserving childhood is important to you. If progressive education that attracts incredible teachers is important to you. Ella Baker delivers -- on all fronts.
Submitted by other on September 01, 2016

EBS is a great school evironment with an open community of admin, staff and families that work collectively to accomplish long term and short term goals for the betterment of our children's educational experience and development.
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2014

My child absolutely loves The Ella Baker School. The progressive education model that this school offers is a wonderful way for students to learn. We feel extremely grateful to have our child enrolled in this school. It is a school deeply immersed in the Arts and common core is not center stage in the cirriculum. The Ella Baker School is Is a very special place, a rare find in the NYC public school system.
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2014

This is a small school where children are allowed to make choices and follow their interests. The teachers have been there a long time and the principal and assitant principal are warm and caring. Students stay with the same teacher for two years in a row and classes combine two grades, k/1, 2/3 etc. The whole student body goes ice skating at central park throughout the winter and grades 2 and 3 have weekly swim lessons. Ella Baker is a gem of a school. See inside schools.org for more info.
Submitted by other on June 25, 2014

This school is a great school I am a sister and my brother has developed so much from this and he reads big words like its nothing and he used to struggle a bit with it. My cousin is coming soon and I feel that this school can help her get her grades up. Ella baker is a school with hands on activities, thorough work and exersice with josh on a daily basis. Everyone is so welcoming you would want to stay here until 8th grade which I am. And so is my brother and my cousin and so many people that have been here since day one. Josh may be a little harsh on fairness but it's all for the better he walks throughout the hall giving high five telling people to have a good day etc. overall Ella baker is an awesome school that everyone should consider
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2014

very community based and knows each child very well. I feel lucky that my child goes to this school.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2013

Ella Baker follows a progressive educational model, is small, and brings students together from across New York City. You really have to want this for your child to be here with joy. We live in a school district that does not have this type of school available. We consider ourselves quite fortunate to have discovered Ella Baker. Our daughter (pre-k) loves this place. In the mornings, she leaps into school and runs down the hall happy to be there. At home, she casually talks about what she has learned. Her teachers have been so welcoming and supportive. We like the trips which support the learning taking place in the classroom. We like that staff want to be there. We like that the schools co-located in the building have a good relationship with each other. Unfortunately, I think the change in recent years by DOE in how pre-k seats are distributed has affected the school's stability between pre-k and k. I hope the school can manage this change. I also wish the overall parent body was more active. There is a strong core of parent leaders, but the city wide reach of the school may impact the level of overall involvement.