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Public School #33
Built in 1909, P.S. # 33 is located on Union Street between the avenues of Mallory and West Side. It draws its population of nearly 400 students from neighboring streets in the West Bergen section of Jersey City. A primary all-inclusive school, P.S. # 33 is a home for Pre-Kindergarten through Fourth Grade students. We are looking forward to having our school naming ceremony in June, 2008. Our centennial celebration will be scheduled in 2009; notifications will be sent home and published.
Curriculum
The foundation of our learning institution begins at the Pre-K level. The children enter a warm and nourishing environment based on sound educational philosophies focusing on a researched based curriculum. The Pre-K department implements the High Scope Curriculum, which emphasizes the framework of language and literacy building blocks crucial to promote early learning growth. The New Jersey Early Learning Assessment System (NJ ELAS) is a tool used to evaluate early learning progress and performance required to drive daily instruction.
We are proudly an all-inclusive school. At each grade level we offer a classroom with Special Education students learning in the same classroom as General Education students. Teaching the class is a collaborative effort between a General Education teacher and a Special Education teacher. The Special Education students are expected to follow the grade level curriculum with supports such as lesson and behavior modification, adaptations and accommodations. We also offer on-site Child Study Team, Counseling, Speech Therapy, Project Raise, Reading Recovery, Resource Room, Occupational and Physical Therapy. We are also fortunate to have a School Nurse, Technology Coach, a Library Media Specialist, Reading, Art, Music and Inclusion Specialists. Our school is culturally diverse and often we receive transfers from other countries. We feature an Ell Program, which is aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and offers in and out of class support. Our pupils’ works of art are part of the panorama of displays in the business district. Other works of art are part of the Jersey City Permanent Student Art Collection.
P.S.#33 fully implements our district’s Balanced Literacy curriculum, which provides differentiated instruction in all areas of Language Arts. Students receive instruction in reading/writing skills and applying effective strategies through demonstrations/modeling in large and small groups. Students are guided through application of these strategies in small groups and through individual conferencing. Components of the Balanced Literacy curriculum include read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, shared or interactive writing and independent writing.
As part of a district-wide literacy program, students in P.S.#33 participate in the 100 Book Challenge. Each day, students read at their “just right” independent reading level, which is determined through conferencing with their teacher. Students are allowed to choose books from their independent reading level, which are labeled by letter(s) and color. They are given time to read independently in class and at home. Every 15-minutes read is equal to one line, and by the end of each marking period, students should have read 100 lines (i.e. by the end of the year students should be at 400 lines or more). Students keep a log of which books they have read, which is signed by their teacher and their parents. Every time students reach a benchmark level (100, 200 lines, etc..) they receive an incentive and their names are announced over the PA system by the principal. The Principal’s Reading Club is designed to address the needs of those students who struggle with maintaining the pace at which the program progresses. There are a team of professionals available during students’ recess to accommodate students identified as “struggling”.
LLTeach/Communicator Math is the program being used by our third and fourth grade teachers and students. The program is a hands-on, high interest program. The children use a Communicator, a see through, plastic pocket that the children write on with markers to perform math activities. The children hold up their Communicator so the teacher can view their work. This allows for daily assessment of the students’ math skills. Each daily lesson is broken into several different activities that address a number of math skills as well as the different learning styles and intelligences. LLTeach/Communicator Math is a program that teaches math in a fun and effective manner focusing on building each student’s approach to solving problems.
Everyday Mathematics is the Math curriculum used in the Kindergarten, first and second grades. It places an emphasis on a problem solving approach based on everyday mathematics that develop critical thinking. Students develop Math skills and concepts such as Numerations, Operations, and Computation, Data and Chance, Geometry, Measurement, Patterns, Functions and Algebra through a hands on activities approach using manipulative and educational games. The Math concepts are spiraled throughout the year to ensure full concept development. Cooperative learning is utilized through partners and small group activities. A home-school relationship is established with the home link component of the program.
Our extended day program offers rigorous support in the areas of Literacy and Mathematics for all students in grades 3 and 4. The Accelerated Math Program serves as additional support to help to embellish the cognitive domain. The morning tutoring progranm is designed to assist students from Kindergarten through the second grade.
We continue to focus on skill proficiencies that are directly linked to the district’s curriculum and correlated to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. The District Code of Conduct, our disciplinary document, is effectively implemented and enforced with positive and negative incentives.
Student attendance is above the state average. Students are recognized daily for their strong attendance record. The classes who have 100% attendance for the day are announced over the PA system as an incentive to improve attendance.
Outstanding Performance: At P.S.#33 success is attributed to a data driven approach directly linked to standardized testing results, state standards and in-house assessments. Our school features a Data Analysis Team whose function is to analyze and interpret available data in an effort to generate school-wide and grade level action plans. Our diverse community contributes to our school consistently being ranked at or above the state standard (75.0% for Language Arts and 62.0% for Mathematics) as measured by the yearly achievement tests. Over the years, students at Public School #33 have scored at or above the state and national norms. Our school holds Project Fairs three times a year that allow visitors to view and celebrate the students' achievements. Parents, community members, and district personnel are invited to join in the festivities. There have been many examples of the literacy and math initiatives incorporated in the students’ displays. Observers are often impressed with the innovative practices employed at our school.
The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, Cross Content/Workplace Readiness Standards, and the No Child Left Behind Legislation will direct the district’s curriculum modifications, adoption of future instructional materials, assessment procedures, scheduling practices, and student progress reporting. These high expectations for student achievement are reflected in the District Strategic Plan and are the benchmark for student achievement goals at P.S. #33.
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