PS 249 - The Caton School - Brooklyn, NY

At P.S. 249, The Caton School, we believe that college begins the moment prekindergarten students walk through our doors. We believe that every student deserves high quality instruction, and we are committed to providing an education that allows students to thrive. This means that we focus not only on traditional subjects like math and literacy, but also in areas like the arts, foreign language, social-emotional learning, and computer science.

Our teachers aren't held back by beliefs that students can't succeed because they come from high poverty neighborhoods, often with languages other than English that are spoken at home. We foster a culture grounded in collective teacher efficacy, or the idea that teachers believe that collectively they have the ability to positively impact outcomes for ALL students. We nurture this climate by building a strong culture, grounded in effective professional learning. We have high expectations for our staff, but we honor their work and give them the time and resources needed to support growth.

One of the most effective models of growth has been collaborative protocols where teachers can learn from colleagues in a safe, growth-focused team setting. Our educators collaborate and learn from one another through the Achievement Teams model. Here they meet regularly to review student data, make instructional decisions, and review their performance as educators, all with the common goal of increasing student achievement. Overall, we know that these high expectations coupled with our focus on professional learning has allowed us to achieve great things as a school community.