Dual language co-teacher @ PS9 Brooklyn Review

My son attended the dual language program for first grade. His first language is Spanish however he was only one of two children in the class who were native Spanish speakers the rest of class had been placed there by parents who wanted to give there children an enriched educational experience. My son s Spanish went from great to terrible in that dual language class. My son has a late birthday and had only completed pre-k. I requested that he be placed in kindergarten however I was told that kindergarten is not required in NYC and so because of his birthday he was placed in 1st grade, little did I know that reading and writing is taught in kindergarten and he would be starting the year extremely behind the rest of the class. It took me only a few weeks to realize he was behind. I approached his teacher Ms. Morales requesting that we meet to develop a plan to bring my son up to speed with the rest of the class. She was dismissive of me and kept promising to meet however would never return my phone calls or emails when I tried to schedule a meeting. My son previously happy go lucky son began to display signs of depression. He stopped laughing and smiling and would only draw in black and would draw faces crying or faces without a mouth. I requested again that he be moved from the class and was told he could not be moved because there wasn t any space.

Things came to head when he was accused of bullying by one of the other children. When the school investigated the allegations he was found to have not been bullying the other child however it quickly became clear the other child was bullying my son. I tried to approach the parent of the child to suggest outside play dates to get them to get along at which point I was informed by the other parent there was obviously something wrong with my son because he was spending all day facing the wall!!!! I was extremely upset and insisted that I visit the classroom. Ms. D Avilar and Ms. Valezquez told me to calm down and not overeact . They then called Ms. Morales to inform her that we would be visiting the classroom, when we got there sure enough my son was sitting by himself at a desk crowded with classroom supplies facing the wall while she gave instruction to the rest of the class. Ms. Valazquez removed him from he spot of penitentiary, I left the classroom furious. When I met with Ms. Valazquez she was barely apologetic and said I will need to let Ms. Morales that is not my educational philosophy, clearly missing the point that Ms. Morales treatment of my son bordered on child abuse and denied him a right to an education. Miraculously later that week they found a spot for my son in the dual language class. Overall the school is overcrowded and the education is subpar. I worked very hard and got my son out of that school. The ridiculous thing is that with all that happened with Ms. Morales when I received the class placement list for 1st grade, he had been placed back in her class. The apathy of the principle is unbelievable. My main regret is that I did not take what happened to the superintendent.

Other issues are that lead was found in the water because of aging pipes..., solution run the water for ten minutes in the morning. Sorry can we learn from Flint???? Lunch is only 20 min and at 10:30 AM because the school is forced to share the building space with a charter school.

What I can t believe is what a good rating this school has!!! I truly fear for the NYC public schools that have a worse rating!!!!

My grandchildren have studied at PS 9 and they have enjoyed every program they have and the teaching is excellent

I have actually been in Ms.Chong's class last semester

P.s.9 is the best way for children to enjoy their education. There is different types of classes for all types of children in different grades.

The teachers are nice and the quality is great. All the students get a good education.

Ps.9 is a great school that I would recommend to anyone

Excellent school, location. Very diverse group of students. The best principal, Mrs. D'avilar, and teachers are awesome! Their after school programs offer something for everyone. Most of them are paid but very affordable, and they have very good free ones too. And the best, is that they have dual language from pre-k to 4th grade.

Ps9 is a good school has excellent teachers, students and a good service