Ps 59 Beekman Hill International

My boys have been at Beekman from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The education they received has been exceptional from day one. Teachers go above an beyond, communication with them is easy and clear, and as a parent, I have always felt that parents and teachers are on the same team. The school has a strong PTA that offers many additional resources such as after school activities (art, athletics, and more), test-prep, and a bunch of little perks throughout the year. This is an awesome school!

Once second grade hit, it was obvious that the education of my child was going downhill at PS 59 Beekman School Int’l. There is more emphasis on activities not relating to learning the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. One example of this was the highly anticipated "Bloomingdales Mentorship Program" by many of the school faculty and PTA. It is ongoing and takes much time away from classroom academics on specific days. When I asked my child what he had learned from it, he said "We ate ice cream and hung out in Bloomingdales for 2 hours". The PTA is always asking for money, but I’m unsure where it goes to benefit the education of the children who attend the school. Some great teachers that really want to do their best but their hands are tied by a controlling principle and board of education, both focused more on bureaucracy than students. There are very large class sizes, where overachievers get lost. The school website still says "Coming Soon" when you click on "curriculum/overview" and "last updated 3/23/2010". That summarizes how the school is run. No set curriculum/outline for the teachers to follow and for the kids to learn from. Supplementing from outside resources i.e. tutors is the only way to keep your child at grade level.

It is a pity that there wasn't enough space at PS 59 when my son started kindergarten. I put him in the pricey Ecole Internationale de NY but he wasn't happy there finding the teachers and other staff cold and didn't find the students diverse enough. Although I had hoped he would learn to read and write in French as well as English, unfortunately, he didn't learn either. I moved him to PS 267 until there was space at PS 59 which we are zoned for.

He has been at PS 59 for first through fourth grades and loves it. Also he has learned a lot about reading, writing and arithmetic at this school and I am very impressed with his vocabulary. He also enjoys the science and computer technology classes. He has also benefited from a wide variety of afterschool activities including lego modeling, minecraft edu, hip-hop dancing and puppetry. They also arrange interesting field trips such as to learn about Native American culture in Manhattan 400 years ago and about the different types of architecture in Manhattan. In addition the principal, deputy principal, teachers and parent coordinator as well as counselors and social workers are very caring people who provide moral support to the children attending the school and their families during difficult times. They also notice if children need extra help and offer it to them. The early bird classes they had to improve reading and writing skills of kids in first, second and third grades were great. I think this public school is every bit as good as private schools in Manhattan and may even better than some private schools. It is also very diverse with children from various races and cultures as well as countries. I highly recommend this school! I only wish it went beyond 5th grade. I hope we can find a middle school as nice as this school when my son finishes 5th grade.