PS 196 achieved Magnet status last year. This certification communicates that the school maintains high standards in innovative curriculum, professional development, academic excellence, plus family and community partnerships. The school is additionally known as The Williamsburg Magnet School for Communication and Mixed Media Arts.
Rob Burstein, Roseanne Randazzo, and Anthony Zalak make up the Magnet Resource Specialist team at the school whose efforts garnered the grant, which amounts to slightly over $1M. This has allowed the school to increase their focus on art and communications with more project based learning. For example their 3rd graders are the only ones in the city to participate in a special class in how the media affects communication hosted by The Paley Center. They are also the only Brooklyn school to have Rosie’s Theater Kids, a very selective program which provides performing arts instruction, life skills development, academic tutoring, and guidance that can continue throughout high school plus the potential of a college scholarship.
Miss Kate’s Theater Stars opened the show with entertaining theater exercises. Next the 4th graders in the ADEMIX program bridged the worlds between music and education with their two music videos. One featured math lessons and the other promoted green energy choices and a cameo from Principal Colon.
Rosie’s Theater Kids performed a salute of Jerome Robbins for his Centennial with selections from “Funny Girl” and a “West Side Story” medley as the grand finale.
Having past the first anniversary of becoming a Magnet school, PS 196 invited local partners, politicians, and parents to share in the year’s achievements. Enrollment interest in the school is on the rise, and as a Magnet school they can accept students from outside the district.
The Greenline 