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Williamsburg Principal Aims to Be Daytime 'Mommy' for Middle Schoolers

By Serena Dai | September 21, 2015 7:52am
 Principal Maria Masullo of MS 577 in Williamsburg talked to DNAinfo about her school.
Maria Masullo of MS 577
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WILLIAMSBURG — Enrollment has nearly doubled and applications have skyrocketed at Middle school M.S. 577 in Williamsburg since it opened in 2004.

Principal Maria Masullo, who helped found the school at 208 North Fifth St., credits the success with the trust she said she and her teachers are able to build with students and parents.

Masullo, the mother of five children, aims for a culture of treating students as if they are her own. It's a tactic intended to establish a comfortable environment that will help children build self-esteem, she said.

"I'm your mommy for eight hours of the day," Masullo said. "I would never want my child to go into a classroom and not feel warm and welcome and learn to the fullest extent."

When the school debuted more than a decade ago, fewer than 250 students were enrolled in the sixth through eighth grade school.

Now, nearly 500 students attend.

It does mean that space is limited at the school, but tailoring lesson plans for individual students helps to mitigate the class-size challenges, Masullo said.

DNAinfo New York sat down with Masullo and Assistant Principal Karen Stevenson as the school year started to discuss her philosophy, challenges and programming at the school. This interview has been edited for clarity.

Why is part of your philosophy to treat the students as your own children?

Masullo: Children learn best in the most comfortable environment. It's important that the parents trust us with their children. We really want to build high self-esteem with the kids. If they're in a threatening environment, they'll shut down. They're going to feel that warm, nurturing feeling. They're going to open up and really benefit from the learning that's going on in the room.

What is one of the challenges you face at M.S. 577?

Masullo: We have such a large group that wants to attend 577. We can only take 165 [sixth graders]. Last year, we had 800 applications, with 500 putting us first. We even try to push the bar, take in more. But there's no room. We anticipated being a little overcrowded, but I don't fear the overcrowdedness because the children are so well-behaved, and teachers have such a good handle on curriculum and instruction.

How do teachers deal with having many students?

Masullo: We differentiate instruction for all of our students. Each teacher looks at the student's profile. They make sure the instruction is tailored to their learning needs. We take our lesson plans, and we create multiple entry points. They're learning at their own levels. And they’re reaching standards.

Do you do test prep?

Masullo: No. I firmly believe through our rigorous curriculum that our students will be prepared. It's built in. It's about asking students to be critical thinkers and learners and applying those skills to answer those questions analytically and critically.

M.S. 577 has many clubs, with BMX bike building, track, cooking, sewing, guitar and more. What's the importance of the required afterschool club programming?

Masullo: It builds trusting relationships across all grade levels. All the kids get to know each other. They respect each other more. The eighth-graders take care of the sixth-graders. It brings a close bond with our students and teachers. They get to see the teachers in a different light: They’re cooking pasta, they’re doing arts and crafts, they’re having fun. We have a lot of fun here.

Stevenson: They’ve already been exposed to all different kinds of student and learner populations [with clubs]. That’s a really good foundation to build above, for us to go on throughout high school and also have the confidence to make gains in an activity. At the end of the first semester, they have the confidence to sew a shirt together — little things they never experienced before, and maybe they’re less hesitant to join something else.

Masullo: Our philosophy is to be lifelong learners, to make sure they are more than capable young adults when they leave the eighth grade.