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2009: Outstanding Public Elementary School

Eclectic Approach to Education
Multidisciplinary projects and ‘cluster’ studies capture students’ imaginations

Since opening its doors in 2001, New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math—more popularly known as NEST+m—has aimed to create a learning environment that exemplifies the school credo: “Love and Respect for Knowledge.”

A K-12 school on the Lower East Side, NEST+m is one of the city’s public gifted and talented schools. Students, who come from across the five boroughs, must pass Department of Education tests before being accepted into kindergarten.

The school’s PTA co-president, Katy Stokes, has two children, Will and Eloise, who attend the lower school. She said the NEST+m curriculum provides the extra challenge for gifted students that prevents the onset of boredom. But she also likes the communal feel.

“NEST+m is a unique K-12 opportunity for students to get to know kids from different boroughs, which is a special experience lots of New York students don’t [have],” Stokes said.

Events like “Fright Night,” which took place October 24, help keep parents involved and updated on school activities. Families got a chance to don costumes and enjoy Halloween festivities, like a pumpkin decorating contest and haunted house, as well as dancing, games, and arts and crafts. The principal, Dr. Olga Livanis, also hosts monthly coffee talks to maintain an open dialogue with parents and update them about school happenings.

Livanis said one of her main goals since she arrived at the school four years ago has been to support an eclectic curriculum, starting in the elementary grades. To that end, students study Spanish, chess, dance, physical education, art and music, along with the core curriculum. On Wednesday afternoons for two periods, the children also have the opportunity to study an elective in small groups called enrichment clusters. Teachers think of topics they’d like to teach and students choose which cluster they’d like to join. Current topics include Korean, the Rubik’s cube and crime scene investigation. At the end of each cluster series, parents are invited to the school to celebrate students’ accomplishments and see what they’ve learned.

“People are multifaceted,” Livanis said. “They are inspired by different things at different times, and in order for us to reach as many students as possible or to excite as many students as possible about learning, I’ve always felt it’s very important to offer to them a curriculum that was rich.”

NEST+m also focuses on building a strong foundation in reading comprehension and writing skills, which Livanis sees as the cornerstones for academic achievement. Last year, she introduced into the lower school the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System for measuring reading comprehension. She says it’s a big reason why NEST+m students typically exceed expected reading levels. The system, created by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell in 1996, is a systematic, small-group approach to reading assessment. Teachers determine students’ reading levels through independent and instructional reading situations, and then chart progress throughout the year. The focus, Livanis explained, is on reading comprehension rather than just students’ abilities to recite text.

NEST+m also uses the Singapore Math method, which relies on timed responses and repetitive exercises. The approach has been so successful that students using Singapore math materials are learning at 1.5 years beyond their grade level, according to Livanis.

Another way teachers keep students engaged is through interactive studies that span a number of weeks. Studies cover many topics, but all are multidisciplinary, involving in-class work, projects, field trips and a presentation for parents. The hallways at NEST+m were recently lined with artwork and writing samples relating to one such project, focused on transportation. Students wrote about their favorite form of transportation and made charts showing how they get to school—bus, train, car or walking. Children were also planning to visit a Manhattan bus depot as part of the project. Another study that focused on trees culminated with a trip to Central Park to explore and identify different species of trees and leaves.

The average class size in NEST+m’s elementary division is 25 students, and Livanis said the school’s ability to offer such a diverse curriculum is largely due to the efforts of teachers. There are 33 teachers in the lower school: 27 classroom teachers and six who focus on special needs students.

“One of the things that makes me feel good coming to work everyday is the people that I work with,” Livanis said. “They’re quality people, quality teachers that I’ve selected for their scholarship and pedagogical skills. The environment is one of academic rigor. It’s OK to be smart here.”

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New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m)
111 Columbia St.
New York, N.Y. 10002
212-677-5190
www.nestmk12.net
Dr. Olga Livanis, Principal
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— Jordan Galloway

ABOVE: Top-One-on-one instruction. Middle-Students measure water temperature for a science experiment.Bottom-Dr. Olga Livanis, principal. Photos by Andrew Schwartz