Ps 165 Robert E Simon

234 West 109th Street

School District

New York City Geographic District # 3
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for New York City Geographic District # 3

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 July 25, 2022

The lack of socio-emotional support for problems with children in his class have not been actively addressed by the school and have progressed to the point that my child has fears about attending class and cannot productively engage with work. He does not feel safe and supported in his class by their peers. Children in my child's class often do not include him, and speak badly about him with each other within earshot. The teachers in his first grade, second grade, and third grade classes have been consistently absent and unable to appropriately engage the class in positive discussions around supporting each other. Instead, substitutes are rotated in the class, and there is no consistency throughout the school year. My child does not have a positive and supportive mentor in the school. There is no consistency with teachers.The guidance counselor has changed every year. The school psychologist is not at all involved in the school.The social worker does not engage with parents and has also changed every year.The school leadership victimizes other children without thinking about the needs of my child. The lack of support for my child from the school principal, Ms. Castellano, is apparent. She often uses phrases like "my teachers" and "my students" in front of my child, without including him in the class and the school. This is hurtful as a student--to not feel included in the school community by the principal. As a parent, I was highly involved in the school with absolutely no gratitude or respect reciprocated. The leadership at this school is terrible, and has been consistently challenging throughout my time there as a parent and as an involved volunteer.
Submitted by other on January 24, 2022

My daughter currently attends PS 165, she looks forward to school daily & is excited to see her teachers and classmates. The teachers are warm, knowledgeable & easy to reach. When I reach out to the teachers they respond quickly & provide feedback. We feel fortunate to be here.
Submitted by other on January 05, 2022

My son started Pre-K in September and we are so happy with PS 165. He's learning, engaged, and every morning he wakes up excited to go to school to see his teacher and classmates. This is a very solid community of educators and parents, and I'm continually impressed with their kindness, hard work, and enthusiasm. I feel so lucky and enormously grateful that we landed here.
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2021

My first child started at PS 165 at PreK and we had no doubts sending our younger to the same school. The school is well balanced overall and is not too big so as each classroom size. We love it warm and all teachers and staff remembering students faces and names. Homeworks are given decent amount for older. In my opinion in the Pre-K, it's more academic than three years ago without pressures which I love. Most importantly, families are diverse and sweet! We as parents made so many friends including family like friends and enjoy inviting to birthday parties and little gatherings (safely outside since covid).
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2021

Our child has been at PS 165 since PreK. The teachers are all very skilled in addition to being very warm and caring! I feel the instruction is rigorous yet progressive in ensuring strong positive relationships within the classroom. With a very diverse student/family body (culturally and socio-economically), there is a strong culture of inclusion which we value as a family. The parent community is strong, open and collaborative. The only constructive criticism I would give to the school is the up and coming nature of the administration. I would expect more communication surrounding the direction and vision for the school, plans for upgrading the library, as well as improving science education through curricular initiatives like hiring a science teacher and/or building out a science lab.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2019

This school is great! The teachers are excellent and the curriculum is really wonderful -- excellent STEM (with coding and robotics starting in Kindergarten), a Showcase school in Math, a rigorous approach to literacy and really rich Art (we have a pottery kiln!) and Music (kids learn guitar) programs. The community is warm and friendly and children are really engaged in the classroom. We've been there for two years now and I highly recommend touring the school -- most online reviews I've seen of PS 165 are outdated. I can't comment on what the school was like 6-10 years ago but now it's pretty fantastic!
Submitted by parent on April 20, 2019

Very unfortunate that a national site like greatschools publishes out of date and inaccurate data. PS 165 is a preK – 5th grade school, it does not have 6/7/8 grades. Insideschools shows the current, accurate percentage of students scoring at or above proficiency in ELA (51%) & Math (53%), here: https://insideschools.org/school/03M165I am a parent of a 2nd grader at PS 165, and our principal has tried repeatedly to address these two issues which lead to the 4/10 rating. She has been stymied by an utterly uninterested customer service representative type response from greatschools. Makes me wonder what other data they are publishing which is wholly inaccurate.
Submitted by other on November 15, 2018

Our child is attending the G&T Kindergarten classroom and absolutely loves school. The homework is age-appropriate -- in terms of difficulty and volume (about 10 minutes/day), and my child has blossomed while attending PS 165.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2018

My overall experience at the school has been great. I I have two children that go to the school . My oldest daughter is currently graduating from the school in their gifted and talented program . My younger daughter is in her fourth year of the dual-language program and is doing exceptionally well . Teachers have always been receptive and open to discussion as to the best needs of my children. The program are very in tune with the academic and social needs of Elementary children.
Submitted by parent on June 30, 2017

The teachers at 165 are dedicated and work hard to do right by their students. They are sadly limited by lack of basic supplies and lack of strong leadership. The principal has been seen arguing loudly with parents, she doesn't support her staff and is a bully in general. It's very upsetting.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2014

This is my child first year in the G&T program at PSMS165 and can only have words of gratitude to the staff and specially to the teacher. We were concern at the beginning because of the struggles my child was having in General Ed in previous schools. However, we have found a loving and caring environment and an outstanding teacher. I do not have any experience with the general education but for the G and T program PSMS165 is fabulous.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2014

If your child is an average student who tends to need extra help with instructions, it's a horrible choice. Many of the general ED students are falling through the cracks. There are simply too many students in each class, 30-31. This makes it impossible for the teachers to provide ANY kind of personalized attention. With the new Common Core state test the teachers are even more frustrated, because they are just learning themselves,. But the horrible part is that they blame all the lack of understanding on your child, rather than helping them. My child and many others are falling through the cracks, and it's killing me. If we had more teachers in these big general education classrooms it would probably be a different ball game. They also need to hire more new, qualified teachers who have patience. Many of the older teachers are just too tired, and run on auto pilot. Pre-K to 2nd grade classes are descent, but from 3rd grade up it's haywire from there. However, If your child is a very smart student this school may be good for him/her, considering they have a Gifted & Talented program. But then again, very smart kids may strive in most schools.
Submitted by parent on November 30, 2012

This is our 2nd year in the school - Kindergarten and 1st grade. We are very happy with the teachers who have been teaching/working with our child. Lines of communication remain open throughout the year. Memos,notes, emails, class websites, phone calls etc are all frequently used to share info with parents. They are welcoming to ideas, suggestions, and open to discussing any concerns the parents have in regards to the kids or overall classroom environment. The classrooms are bright, colorful and stimulating and inviting. In our class, the parents are all very involved and help whenever possible, whether it be chaperoning field trips, story time in the classroom or volunteering at bake sales, book fairs, etc. We also communicate with each other to keep everyone up to date on what's happening in the class and the school Your child's success in this (or any school) is largely dependent on the administration, teachers and parent involvement. Overall, PS 165 is a great school, as is the neighborhood and community. Our child is well adjusted, learning a great deal and overall very happy in this school. We are thrilled with her teachers and are happy we chose this school.
Submitted by other on November 16, 2012

hi,,i used to study in this school 13 years ago.. in class 4 and mrs hoffman was my teachers name if anyone could give me any contact like phone number or email id i would appreciate it