Students went back to school on Sept. 8 in what many officials and parents have said was a particularly easy first day. “It was probably one of the smoothest school openings in anyone’s recollection,” said Joel DiBartolomeo, a local instructional superintendent for the area, last week.

That accomplishment was noteworthy given the number of local schools and students, and that 30 new principals started at Region 1 schools this fall. But many new leaders have been working since the summer.

The following is a list of what’s new at area elementary and middle schools. Those who failed to respond are not included. Developments in local high schools will be featured next month.

PS 8
PS 8 is home to a fleet of fledgling administrators and teachers this year. The Briggs Avenue school is hosting two principals in training and 12 student teachers from Fordham University, Manhattan College and St. John’s University.

“I’m thrilled that those colleges have sought us out,” said Maria Quail, the school’s principal.

PS 8 will continue to assign students to small groups for specific skills work, creating smaller learning environments within the school’s full classrooms. Around 1,200 students are registered this year, a similar number to last year.

Quail is excited that after-school programming, provided by the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, will be free this year. The school will again host a choir and a year-end play.

PS/MS 20
Behavior and character development is a big focus at PS/MS 20 this year.

Kindergarten through sixth grade students at the Webster Avenue school will use Tribes, a program where students, working in groups, are asked to take more responsibility over their learning. Older children will use “The 7 Habits for a Highly Effective Teenager,” a new interactive guide to foster more personal accountability. Parents will also receive training in the methods, according to Lisa Kogel, a staffer who is coordinating the effort.
PS/MS 20 plans to host assemblies every Friday by grade, and a variety of other school events. There are roughly 10 new teachers and 1,300 students.

PS 33
Lynnette Vasquez may be new at the helm, but she is no stranger to PS 33. She started teaching science at the Jerome Avenue school 11 years ago after working at District 10 since the ‘80s. “I have been in the community for quite a while,” said Vasquez, 37, who lives on Park Avenue in the Bronx.

Following in the footsteps of former principal Elba Lopez, Vasquez is now homing in on student test data. PS 33 was just removed from the state’s list of schools needing improvement after its phenomenal test scores last year.
The school is emphasizing nonfiction reading across the subjects this year, and holding monthly writing competitions. DreamYard is continuing their longtime relationship with PS 33, and The Youth for Real after-school program has also begun.

For some time now, PS 33 has offered a variety of workshops for parents, including ESL, literacy and parenting skills. The school is adding a technology class this year on Mondays and Saturdays.

Eleven new teachers came on board, along with a new assistant principal, Leonardo Castro. Enrollment is at 1,087, which is similar to previous years.

PS 46
After 21 years as PS 46’s principal, Aramina Ferrer retired last spring. Iris Lim, an assistant principal, is now overseeing the East 196th Street school.

“She has a long history with the school and District 10,” said Sonia Menendez, a local instructional superintendent who oversees PS 46. Lim taught at PS 46 for a number of years before overseeing the district’s gifted and talented program for bilingual students.

Menendez said that Lim will continue to strengthen instruction at PS 46, which did see a spike in its state test scores last year. The school was awarded a federal Comprehensive School Reform grant this year to focus on literacy in the younger grades. PS 46 is divided into five mini-schools, all of which use literacy as a theme.

Work was done on the school’s floors this summer, and several new teachers were hired.

PS 51
Bronx New School students have many new ways to express themselves, with the Jerome Avenue school now offering singing, dance and music classes after school. The school will continue to offer its club program during recess.
Staff is putting extra attention into making sure that students are reading books that are interesting and appropriate for them. “We’re looking at the needs of struggling readers,” said Paul Smith, the school’s principal.

Roughly 250 students are enrolled at the school, similar to last year. The school hired a new parent coordinator, Alina Ortiz, as the previous staffer is now working at the Jonas Bronck Academy full-time.

PS 54
PS 54 is focusing on safety this year. The school is closing off entrances on Decatur Avenue and traffic will flow through one door on Webster Avenue. “We have too many exits and entrances and only one safety officer,” said Carmen Aleman, the school’s parent coordinator. Students are also being asked to wear uniforms.

PS 54 is home to several new teachers, and Aleman hopes to get more parents involved through ongoing talent shows and other events.

PS 94
Diane Daprocida, PS 94’s new principal, has hit the ground running since she started at the Kings College Place school. “I’ve lost weight just walking around the school,” said Daprocida, 46, brimming with enthusiasm. “It’s just one thing after another.”
Daprocida is no stranger to multi-tasking, or the education field. She spent years working in Queens schools, started a family daycare center while she was raising her three children, and led her kids’ parent association. Last year, Daprocida attended the city’s Leadership Academy for new principals. “It was a phenomenal experience,” she said.

Daprocida’s forte is special education, and she plans on strengthening PS 94’s offerings in that area. She also hopes to deepen overall instruction, further utilize her math and literacy coaches, and build a sense of school community across the grades.

A Queens resident, Daprocida says she is growing fond of the local area. She hopes more community members will utilize PS 94’s new library through planned workshops and events.

School registration is hovering at around 1,000. Several new teachers were hired, and kindergarten, third grade and special education classrooms were added.

PS/MS 95
PS/MS 95 students will get to rock out like never before thanks to a VH1 Save the Music grant awarded this summer. The Van Cortlandt Village school purchased woodwinds, guitars, percussion and other instruments with the $60,000 allotted to start a school band for the upper grades and provide after-school classes. “We’ve never had musical instruction on this level before,” said Eileen Rivera, a school assistant principal.

DreamYard is further expanding arts at the school after middle school students won two regional poetry slams last year. PS/MS 95 also received a $275,000 Comprehensive School Reform federal grant for professional development. Additionally, PS/MS 95’s school health center received $5,000 this summer to purchase recreational equipment for a program promoting exercise during recess.

School staff are especially celebrating PS/MS 95’s recent removal from the state list of schools needing improvement. Rivera is also excited about the many renovations to the building this summer, including refinished wood floors and an intercom system.

The school added 11 teachers this year. Enrollment is at 1,400, which is similar to last year.

PS 246
PS 246 is continuing to expand its diverse array of partnerships and special programs with three new initiatives. The Grand Concourse school received a state 21st Century Schools grant, allowing them to start a four-year after-school program. Good Shepherd Services, a nonprofit that previously worked with PS 246, will provide art, drama and other programming to students.

Through two grants, selected PS 246 students will receive screenings at the All Kinds of Minds Institute, which tests for learning disabilities and comprehension issues. Staff will also work on-site to provide support for participating students and additional training for 25 of PS 246’s teachers. “It’s something that’s really going to help our kids and families,” said Shelly Pope, a school assistant principal.

The school will also expand its work with Columbia University’s Teachers College. Staff at the college and a well-performing school in Queens will provide professional development in writing, to PS 246 teachers. “Our writing should really pick up this year,” Pope said.

PS 246 was removed from the state’s list of schools in need of improvement this year. Facility wise, the school received hundreds of new chairs and desks this summer, plus a paint job. Mosaics created by kids in conjunction with the Lehman College Art Gallery are now on display in PS 246’s front entryway.

PS 280
With a history of academic success, PS 280 is getting a bit more freedom from the city’s guidelines this year. The Mosholu Parkway facility was one of 10 school selected for the city’s Autonomy Zone, a pilot program granting certain schools more flexibility in their curriculum. After Region 1 was granted the pilot, interested schools applied last spring for start-up this fall.

The school’s particular approach to math motivated Gary LaMotta, PS 280’s principal, to apply. “We felt we could do better here with the freedom to put together our own math curriculum,” LaMotta said. The pilot will also allow PS 280 to create its own system of professional development.

In addition to extra emphasis on vocabulary development, the school is greatly expanding its arts programming. PS 280 purchased musical equipment this summer with a $4,500 allocation from Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and they will now offer music and drama lessons after school. Dance will be incorporated during the day and LaMotta hopes to begin a chess program this winter.

PS 280 is in its second year of transitioning into a kindergarten through eighth grade school, now with its first seventh grade class. The school expanded into half of MS 80’s second floor and hired nine additional teachers. Enrollment is at about 690 students.

PS 291
PS 291 is happy to welcome several new staff members this fall. The Andrews Avenue school hired another assistant principal, Patty Vulaj, to fill a vacancy from last year. Vulaj has taught at the school for seven years, according to Giovanna LaPietra, an assistant principal. The school also hired seven new teachers and is opening another classroom. Enrollment is about the same as last year, which ended at 600.
PS 291 will continue a book-of-the-month program begun last year where every grade conducts different activities based on the same selection.

PS 340
Students will creatively reflect on Japanese life and aesthetics this year at PS 340. The West 195th Street school’s art teacher recently traveled to the Far East for a three-week fellowship, and will incorporate her studies into the school’s active art program.

Students will further explore multi-cultural themes through a global studies magnet grant.
Last year, students explored the environment and animals of Zambia, for example, and saw the real thing at the Bronx Zoo. “It has real world applications,” said Deirdre Burke, PS 340’s principal.

PS 340 gained three teachers and enrollment is up slightly at 530 students.

MS 45
Principal Joseph Solanto retired from MS 45 last spring after 35 years leading the school. Annamaria Giordano is the Lorillard Place’s new principal.

MS 80
Lovey Rivera, MS 80’s principal, has ambitious plans for MS 80’s small learning communities. The Mosholu Parkway school’s separate academies seem to be taking root, and students can now design robots, grow plants or cover the school’s news. “I predict in two years you’ll see MS 80 on the map,” said Rivera, now in her third year at the school.
MS 80 was divided into houses last year to make the school a bit more manageable.
Students now pick from journalism, sciences and the arts. This year, Microsoft is providing technology assistance for a newspaper and Web site; Fordham University and Cornell Cooperative Extension are helping with robotics and hydroponics; and MS 80 just hired its first visual arts teacher.

MS 80’s enrollment is dropping — now down to 950 from 1,400, when Rivera first started. PS 280 is increasing its numbers, and now shares MS 80’s second floor. Rivera is happy to have a smaller student body. “I’m feeling much more comfortable,” she said.

MS 80’s band is tuning up for another winter concert and Rivera hopes to add drama this year. The school hired 15 new teachers and a new assistant principal.

MS 206
MS 206’s new principal, David Neering, is already feeling quite comfortable at the school — though he’s hundreds of miles away from his longtime home. After over 30 years in Michigan schools, Neering left retirement, picked up his life and family, and came to New York. He has no regrets.

“I’m loving it,” said Neering, 55, who radiates compassion and calmness. “The kids have been a pleasure.”

Neering says his 13 years of experience as a principal in an urban environment prepared him well for the Bronx and he’s thinking of moving to the borough next year. If anything, he thinks MS 206’s students are more manageable. “The kids I’m working with now are taking direction a lot better,” he said.

Neering says he’s glad to be in a school with veteran staff and he is working with them now to build standards of instruction and assessment. Bronx Community College has a partnership with the Aqueduct Avenue school, providing classes in technology and science for eighth graders.

In addition to more scholastics, the Good Shepherds organization will provide arts programming after school. Neering hopes to bring in a music program as well.

MS 206’s enrollment is down a little at 500 students, which will allow the school to give extra attention to its new class of fifth graders. The school’s interiors and exteriors were painted during the summer.

MS 254
MS 254 seventh graders are getting to spice up their Fridays with a new electives program at the Washington Avenue school. Students are in the process of choosing from subjects like art, drama or technology for a once-a-week class. “It’s a good way to end the week,” said Robert Piloco, a school assistant principal.

MS 254 will continue with its morning sports program, which offers volleyball and soccer beginning at 7 a.m. “It has really improved our attendance,” Piloco said. As a magnet school, MS 254 will continue to focus on interdisciplinary studies.

The school has a new parent coordinator and 500 students, which is similar to last year.

MS 399
Yolanda Torres, now in her fourth year leading MS 399, feels like things are coming around for the East 184th Street school. “The school has its issues but we are having a really positive start,” she said.

Key to that turnaround is the filling of many teaching vacancies that, last year, forced MS 399 to utilize substitute staff without the proper instructional background. The school hired 18 new teachers, opened up a seventh grade class and increased its enrollment to 730 students.

MS 399 is expanding its already diverse array of extracurricular programming. The Bronx Arts Ensemble is bringing ballroom dancing classes to the school as part of a larger emphasis on etiquette. An initiative teaching conflict resolution through acting will continue, and this year MS 399 will have its own drama therapist. Through a $65,000 grant, the school will participate in the Public Colors program, which uses art to build cooperation. The Youth for Reel after-school program is already under way and auditions for their chorus are happening soon.

Bronx Dance Academy
The Bronx Dance Academy has a new principal this year. Amy Jones is now leading the school, located on Bainbridge Avenue.

Jonas Bronck Academy
In Principal Maria Esponda’s eyes, the Jonas Bronck Academy (JBA) is finally coming into its own. “We are really taking ownership of the school,” Esponda said excitedly.

JBA is still housed on Manhattan College’s campus, but it was recognized as a freestanding school last spring, granted its own number (228), and awarded an influx of resources. The school now has a full-time guidance counselor and parent coordinator, additional social studies and science teachers and funding for a nurse. They purchased laptop computers this year through funds from the region and $50,000 from Council Member Oliver Koppell. JBA also received 100 new chairs and many kids helped clean and paint the school this summer.

Students also took leadership in choosing JBA’s new uniforms. Six and seventh graders now wear blue while red distinguishes the eighth graders. School enrollment is at 150, which is similar to last year.

Esponda is pushing for more academic rigor this year. Writing will be further incorporated in other subject areas, teachers were given additional training in math techniques, and students will begin to learn Spanish. With support from Manhattan College, JBA will offer 30 minutes of individual tutoring for struggling readers.

The school is also placing additional emphasis on high school selection. Later this month, JBA is organizing a trip to a high school fair in Brooklyn.

MS 143
MS 143 is the process of closing as the New School for Leadership and Journalism and Marie Curie High School for Nursing, Medicine and the Allied Health Professions expand in the facility. The West 231st Street school did not admit a new sixth grade and it will cease to exist as MS 143 by 2006.

The New School for Leadership and Journalism

The kinks are still getting worked out, but according to Principal Delores Peterson, the tone at the New School for Leadership and Journalism is solid. “Our staff, veterans and brand new teachers alike, are energized and unbelievably dedicated,” said Peterson about the new school starting at MS 143.

The West 231st Street school will eventually expand into a seventh through 12th grade school as MS 143 proper phases out. The school will add a journalism focus to its curriculum through a partnership with Fordham University.

“The goal is to start a newspaper as a tool to improve writing,” said Arthur Hayes, who oversees Fordham’s student paper. Hayes also hopes to expand into broadcast and other media as the school develops.

Peterson was most recently the principal of PS 306 on West Tremont Avenue.

St. Ann’s School
Technology will continue to play a greater role in instruction at St. Ann’s School. The Bainbridge Avenue facility is one of five Archdiocese schools that was selected to house an “aerobics lab,” a pilot program targeting literacy skills in the early grades. The school also received a grant to purchase laptops for a technology-based math program in grades three through eight.

Enrollment is up this year at around 290 and the school is welcoming a new second grade teacher. During the summer, new cafeteria tables were purchased and gym mats were installed on the facility’s walls. “You can bounce off the walls now and not get hurt,” said Cecilia Rodriguez, the school’s principal.

St. Brendan’s School
St. Brendan’s School is fast making music its forte. Through a new grant, the school hired professional musicians to teach the recorder and hand chimes to older students, and movement classes for younger kids. The H.W. Wilson Foundation approached St. Brendan’s because of its new, free-standing music school, according to Patricia Gatti, St. Brendan’s principal.

The East 207th Street school also received $10,000 to renovate and soundproof classrooms in the music school, which is in the church’s convent, and eight additional rooms have opened for its 60 students. Additionally, St. Brendan’s art teacher was allotted a classroom and she hopes to hold a spring art show.

Our Lady of Refuge School
With 323 kids in attendance, Our Lady of Refuge School (OLR) is very happy about this fall’s registration. “Enrollment has gone up a quite a bit,” said Marivel Colon, the school’s principal.