You Told Us is a regular feature where we highlight comments from users in the communities DNAinfo covers.
UPPER WEST SIDE — Current parents, former parents and residents familiar with a local elementary school designated "persistently dangerous" by state officials expressed their reactions to the news — with many claiming the label was overblown and incorrect.
P.S. 191 was designated "persistently dangerous" this summer based on the past two years' worth of incident reports from the school, the state said.
DNAinfo later uncovered that the DOE hadn't informed the principal or the superintendent that the school was in danger of receiving the designation and did not share incident data from the previous year with them.
People with experience at the school took to social media to oppose the designation:
► "@jenchung @efrost1 I know the school. It's not dangerous. This needs to be corrected. The data might b unreliable, doesn't tell whole story."
— CriticalClassrooms (@lapham_katie) August 20, 2015► "@efrost1 my daughter went to 191 for 3 yrs&we never felt unsafe there. We love that school. incredibly warm&caring. Shocked by that ranking."
— Jill Tatara (@jilltataraworld) August 14, 2015
► One Facebook user described the state's designation as a "BS ranking."
► "Never did I feel that PS 191 was unsafe. The students were well behaved and the staff friendly and helpful," said a Neighborhood Square user who had been a substitute teacher there.
► "At no point did I ever fear for my own safety nor the safety of my 4-year-old son who attended pre-school there. While there are certainly challenging students who attend the school, as there are in every public school, there is no way it could be one of the most dangerous schools in Manhattan," said a Neighborhood Square user who'd taught there.
Some were confused about what was happening at P.S. 191:
► "Thought that school was turned around after the investment from Lincoln Center and The Museum of Natural History????" asked a Facebook commenter.
► "If most of the 'disturbances' were caused by just a few 'students,' why were these students not removed from the school?" asked a Neighborhood Square user.
Others felt the designation was merited:
► "A personal opinion ... PS 191 has had an unsatisfactory reputation for a long time...at least for the past 35/40 years. Disgraceful. And it's ranking, whatever that may be was probably well earned. And take a long look at the photo...looks like a prison," wrote one Facebook commenter.
► "I think they need to get rid of the Principal and half the staff. That's a union stronghold. Turn it into a charter," said another Facebook user.
