Patrick Henry Preparatory

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year at PS/IS 171.  Our school is dedicated to providing its students with a high quality education that focuses on continuous academic achievement and the social and emotional development of each student. Our school strives to establish a strong partnership with parents and members of the community. We take great pride in all of our students and work diligently to encourage, nurture and motivate them to achieve optimum success in our challenging learning environment.  I know that the faculty and staff join me in expressing our excitement and anticipation for the upcoming school year.

I am extremely proud of the many fine accomplishments of both students and staff at PS/IS 171.  Our school has received numerous awards from the State Department of Education and we were named a ‘Top Ten School on the Upper East Side’.  Our middle school students scored in the top 7% of all students in New York State last year and we were recognized for top student achievement of all K-8 schools in New York City. Our eighth-grade students did extremely well on their Algebra I and Living Environment Regents exams given in June and were accepted to top-tier high schools.  

The core curriculum at our school goes beyond state standards.  At PS/IS 171, we continually strive to prepare our students with the essential skills, attitudes, and motivation to achieve success in high school, college and career.  We provide differentiated instruction to ensure that we meet the diverse learning needs of all of our students and we engage them through discussions and authentic learning experiences to help them to become independent learners.

Our goals for the 2018-2019 school year will focus on the following areas:

• Using standards-aligned curricula to engage all students in rigorous critical thinking through inquiry-based instruction leading to high levels of student independence
• Implement well-established systems and structures to support our students academically, socially and emotionally including partnerships with community and civic organizations
• Through professional learning communities, collaborate in teacher teams to analyze data and student work to inform instruction and positively impact student achievement
• Utilize technology to enhance curriculum and instruction, maintain strong links with parents and to community-based organizations and prepare students for next steps in their education. In addition, continue to work collaboratively to refine the format for the integration of parent involvement into our PLC studies\theme nights

These are challenging but achievable goals that will take the synergetic efforts of our entire school community.  On behalf of the faculty and staff, I look forward to working with you and your families in the coming year.

Sincerely,
Dimitres Pantelidis