P.S. 25 Bilingual School

Founded in 1968, PS 25 is the first Spanish-English bilingual school in the city. The school uses hands-on science lessons to teach children English. Children in all grades learn vocabulary and science concepts in the school’s Exploration Center, an interactive space where students tend to small animals, cultivate plants and examine artifacts from around the world. The school offers Spanish-English dual-language instruction.  

Principal Carmen Toledo took the helm in 2008. A Bronx native, Toledo herself started school not knowing any English and uses her personal story to inspire her students. “I tell students when they’re arriving that not only are they lucky to be in a school like this and have this opportunity, but I went through the same experience and I’m the principal now,” she told DNAinfo.

PS 25 does a good job of conveying high expectations to students, according to the school’s most recent Quality Review. It highlighted the use of enrichment activities to help prepare students for the “next steps in their educational journey,” such as visits to the Exploration Center as well as engineering activities and the Girl’s Empowerment Club.

A Saturday Academy provides enrichment for the whole family. Parents join children in hands-on science and art projects as well as activities that focus on reading and language-building strategies, computer science, health and cultural awareness according to the school’s annual Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP).

Teachers use visual cues in lessons to help English language learners; they tailor tasks for different skill levels, according to the Quality Review. For instance, during a fourth-grade math lesson students worked with M&M candies to create arrays—groupings that help students visualize multiplication. They also were given “differentiated task cards” to help them practice division at their own levels.

Overall, test scores run similar to the citywide average and the data shows that the school does a good job of helping students of all levels gain ground.

One challenge for the school is getting children to attend regularly. Attendance falls below the citywide average.

SPECIAL EDUCATION:  In addition to ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes, there are small, self-contained classes—some taught in English only and some in Spanish and English. There is also a Horizon program, which offers self-contained classes for students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who need more specialized support than would be offered in other general or special education class settings.

ADMISSIONS: Priority to students living in the northern portion of District 7. (Laura Zingmond, DOE data and reports, December 2019)