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Harlem Public School Gains Exclusive International Baccalaureate Status

By Emily Frost | October 1, 2014 4:41pm

HARLEM — A local public elementary school just joined the ranks of some of the city's most elite private schools as a certified International Baccalaureate School, according to the school's principal and the district's superintendent. 

P.S. 242 on West 122nd Street spent thousands of dollars and three years working toward the certification, paid for by the school's federal magnet grant, said Principal Denise Desjardin. 

"We are the pioneers of the public school system," she said. "We’re very happy that we were able to accomplish it."

Three private schools — Dwight School, International School of Brooklyn, and the British International School of New York — also have IB programs for elementary students. P.S. 242 is the first public elementary school to be officially certified in the primary years program, according to the organization's list

The IB system is more of a philosophy, with an emphasis on project-based learning and inquiry, rather than a set curriculum, Desjardin explained. Teachers had to work on combining that philosophy with the Common Core curriculum and seamlessly integrating the two, she said.

In order to be authorized as an IB school, the 25 teachers at P.S. 242 had to get certified, meaning they had to take multiple courses that cost $600 each online or fly to cities across the country where the courses were offered, over a three-year period. 

It was an uphill battle that brought the entire staff closer together, Desjardin said.

During the process, the school's grade fell from a "B" to a "D" in its 2011-2012 progress report, a disheartening turn of events for the staff, she noted. The school is currently back up to its B rating.

"We’re figuring this out as we go along," Desjardin said. "We weren’t going to quit." 

The school also had to contend for more than a year with broken clocks and a broken PA system, according to parents and the DOE. Desjardin declined to comment on the situation and the DOE did not immediately respond regarding the status of repairs, which were supposed to be done over the summer. 

Through the IB philosophy, students learn that "we really need to be globally minded," Desjardin said. "We can’t be a bystander. We have to take action."

For example, fifth-graders learning about homelessness realized some of their classmates were living in shelters and couldn't always afford the school's uniform. They petitioned a local dry-cleaning business to help by agreeing to wash uniforms from the lost and found so that students who arrived and couldn't afford one would have an option. The cleaners agreed to do so three times a year, Desjardin said.

In another instance, first-graders created their own museum within a classroom, charged admission and used the money to help save an endangered species. 

Being listed as an IB program will mean the school will have both international and local exposure, Desjardin said. 

The nonprofit Harlem Children's Zone, which uses educational programs to help families struggling with poverty, has agreed to pay the $7,500 yearly fee for the school to maintain its IB authorization, she said.

Neither officials from HCZ nor the main IB office immediately responded to a request for comment.

In the coming months, the school will focus on teaching parents more about the IB model and will host a celebration, likely in November, Desjardin added.