WHAT'S GOING ON NOW:

2009: "Turnaround" Middle School

Middle School Makeover
Helping students feel safe, secure and ready to learn

The darkness was the first thing Pedro Santana noticed when he stepped into Angelo Patri Middle School, M.S. 391. Santana, born and raised in The Bronx, had worked in other schools before coming to M.S. 391 as principal in 2006. But the blank bulletin boards and closed classroom doors made him realize that this school was unlike the others.

“There was sort of an eeriness to it,” he said.

Santana was not alone in his observation. Katje King, research associate for the Turnaround program, had noticed as well, observing that the school, located in a high-poverty neighborhood, was victim to disruptive behavior and gang violence.

“[The school] was not a happy, welcoming place,” she said.

Turnaround is a non-profit organization that works with low-performing public schools to promote change, and M.S. 391 was one of the first schools to work with the group. The Turnaround program and its staff entered the school in 2005, but the arrival of Santana a year later gave the program what was needed most to be successful: someone who shared their vision for the school.

Santana concedes that he was skeptical about Turnaround at first, as the program had not made much progress in its first year at M.S. 391. But after meeting with the Turnaround staff, “I fell in love with them immediately,” he said.

Santana and Turnaround worked together to develop strategies that would help children on both an academic and behavioral level. By identifying children who would potentially act out at school, administrators were able to prevent outbursts and to reeducate students on why following rules is important. The school also began offering mental health and crisis intervention services to students, in addition to programs to help teachers learn how to best work with students.

Five years later, the efforts have paid off.

The school has seen an increase in students’ overall scores on state assessment tests, and the Department of Education gave the school an A on its 2008-2009 progress report. Students are more aware of following the rules, they know where to turn for help and there is less school violence. M.S. 391 students have also started to show an interest in how they perform in the classroom.

“At other schools, it’s a given,” Santana said, but at M.S. 391, “it’s a wow factor.”

Santana’s work with Turnaround, which he refers to as his “partner in crime,” has transformed the school into a welcoming place where children and teachers want to be. “Instead of saying, ‘Empty out your purse,’ [the school officials] say, ‘Good morning,’” Santana said.

The physical space has also evolved. M.S. 391’s classroom doors are open, flat screen televisions appear in the hallways and the school even has pet guinea pigs. Now when people enter, they don’t comment on the dark hallways.

“They say, ‘I love your building. It’s so light,’” Santana said. “But I didn’t install new light bulbs.”

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The Angelo Patri Middle School, M.S. 391
2225 Webster Ave.
Bronx, N.Y. 10457
718-584-0980
Pedro Santana, Principal
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— Christine Werthman