We all know about the city’s holiday trees–but here are four lesser known spots for holiday lights that are totally worth visiting.

By Meredith Greene

One of the best parts of the holiday season is the glittering lights and snazzy decorations, and we all know about the city’s plethora of holiday trees. But here are four under-the-radar spots to see holiday lights that Manhattanites might not immediately think of that are definitely, totally worth seeing:

1. Holiday Light Spectacular
South Slope’s Holiday Light Spectacular is the amazing two-man show of homeowner Chris Schneider and friend Ryan Powers, who make all their displays by hand. Each annual show features a different theme and storyline—think “The Grinch House” to 1950s styles–and this year it’s North Pole’s Got Talent. Shows are every 20 minutes from 5-11pm daily. 310A 22nd Street, Brooklyn.

For the complete list, please visit newyorkfamily.com.

By D.J. Duckworth

These days, Wendy still runs the Epiphany Community Nursery School, but 74th St. Magic is run by someone else in the family. Can you guess who? After years of acting as a mix of hard-working apprentice and appreciative co-pilot, Evan Levey now oversees much of Magic—and his joy and passion for the job is as evident as his mom’s has always been.

“I love kids myself, and, because I grew up here, I’ve never had any doubt about the importance of what we do,” says Evan. “We’re not solving world peace, but we have a place where kids can go that’s fun, clean, safe—where they’ll learn a few things and where we’ll be able to help them, not just physically or emotionally or intellectually, but in all ways.”

“It’s worked out really well,” Wendy adds. “Not only does he have my full confidence and trust, but, even more importantly, he gets along well with kids, parents, the staff—he really gets it.”

Epiphany Community Nursery School and 74th St. Magic are both housed in a cheery and colorful low-rise building on East 74th Street between York Avenue and the East River, where the signature big red awning pops out like a hug for all the children who treat the place as their home away from home. When I visited 74th St. Magic in the early fall, Evan proudly toured me around the facility—from their popular children’s gym to the expansive roof-top play space—and also made sure I had time to sit in on some classes. That’s where the real magic happens, of course. In a Double Time class, which combines time in the gym and classroom, I was duly impressed by the determined little kids, in their pint-sized chairs and tiny smocks, painting versions of fall leaves that would soon be placed along the walls of the room. There was a mix of the overly enthusiastic (moving gobs of paint around like they were spreading butter) and the overly cautious (looking as if they’re scared of what will happen once the brush hits the paper).

But the thing that most impressed me about the class was how organized and orderly it was. While most of the students worked on their art projects, others were busy playing with toys and blocks and even doing some make-believe cooking. There was an overall feeling of fun being had by everyone. At the same time, the children were so well-behaved for their age that I kept wondering, What kind of magic fairy dust had been sprinkled on them?

Evan and Wendy, however, had a more tangible explanation. Early on in her career as an educator of young children, Wendy found that the single most effective way to help students learn and grow was the process of “sequencing.” The basic idea, as they described it, is that to teach a young child any task—whether it’s applying paint to paper or walking on a balance beam—you must break it down into a sequence of age-appropriate steps so that the child is more likely to enjoy the process and master it. Sequencing is the backbone of every class at 74th St. Magic, underpinning what happens in a particular day as well as across an entire semester.

“It’s a very intuitive approach for kids,” Evan says. “There’s always a beginning, a middle, and an end to every class. And there are steps that enable to you to progress. If you want to learn how to jump on the trampoline, you first have to learn how to climb up there, and then you have to learn how to do a seat drop. It’s granular but it’s also grand.”

Of course, the typical parent is less interested in the nitty gritty of the education process than in whether their children seem like they’re having fun and learning as they grow. Beyond that, parents want options and flexibility and lots of early enrichment. To that end, the “magic” part of 74th St. Magic stands for Music Art Gymnastics Instruction Center. Those are the pillars of the program for infants through kindergarten-age kids, with some gymnastics classes extending through the tween years. Parents can enroll their children in individual semester classes, combo classes, or the “alternative preschool” track, which has been newly classified under the rubrics of Mini MAP (ages 2.3 to 3.5) and MAP (ages 3.5 to 5 years).

Though 74th St. Magic is administered separately from Epiphany Community Nursery School, it certainly helps that Magic can devise the MAP and Mini MAP curriculum based on classes at Epiphany. In fact, a big bonus for Magic kids is that some of their classes are taught by favorite teachers from the nursery school.

Since moving into their present home in 1996, the nursery school has grown to teach 160 families while Magic serves about 800 children a year. In addition, the Leveys also offer a summer day camp and a varied menu of birthday parties ranging from their staple Gymnastic Party to Kitchen Wizardry.

Evan officially joined the team in 2004 when he was just 22 years old. These days, he functions as Magic’s Director of Operations—less involved in the day-to-day goings on in the classrooms than in the overall health of the brand, making sure that Magic delivers for families as it did when his mom was at the helm.

“One of the great things about Evan being here is that it gives a current vision to what we’re doing,” Wendy says. “It enables us to evaluate not only what we’ve done but also what we should do. So we have all these great and popular classes in place, but, at the same time, we’re always mindful of being current with technology, child development, and the changing needs and interests of parents.”

If enrollment is the ultimate indicator of success, then Evan is doing really well. 74th St. Magic has never been busier. But if the well-being of children is the true barometer, then Evan’s doing even better. I heard it in the voices of those little artists who concluded their class time with a rousing rendition of “The Wheels on the Bus.” And I saw it in their happy faces as they bounced and tumbled around the gym.

Over the years, Wendy Levey has helped lead thousands of little kids to the big kid world of kindergarten and beyond. Her son, Evan, clearly took many of her lessons to heart.

By Kathleen Culliton

Photo By Dale Eisinger

The fourth graders learn to play trumpets. The kindergarteners grow vegetables in Battery Park. The middle-schoolers play chess at lunch. This is PS/IS 276, Battery Park City School, an elementary school that goes beyond test prep.

Battery Park City School has already earned an excellent academic reputation among New York City parents since opening in 2009. It is one of the few schools to receive a 10 out of 10 rating on GreatSchools.com and has been named this year’s Rising Star in Manhattan Media’s Blackboard Awards.

“The emphasis is on the whole child. So many other schools emphasize math or science. We emphasize the student,” PTA co-president Matt Schneider said.

Schneider credits Principal Terri Ruyter with the school’s success. Ruyter has been a dogged advocate for the school. “She is very well respected and able to attract the best and the brightest teachers. And over time, those teachers have loved being here,” he said.

Ruyter encourages teachers to engage students both mentally and physically. The art classes take field trips to the Guggenheim, the science classes have urban farming projects in Battery Park, and the music department is developing a marching band.

“We try to get the children outside a lot to get their bodies moving, ” parent Michele Zarrario said.

PTA co-president Howard Sadowsky is currently developing a new program he calls Saturdays at 276, which will offer classes and recreational activities in the gym on weekends. PTA members are currently discussing how to include yoga and fencing into the program’s curriculum.

The school’s commitment to its student also extends beyond academia and athletics. Battery Park City School is the first school in New York City to qualify for LEED certification. The school’s many classrooms, art studio, music room, science lab, library and two gymnasiums are powered by solar panels on the roof. Students are encouraged to compost after lunch.

And while parents and faculty are enthusiastic about the school’s progress, it also faces problems. According to Schneider, the main challenge for Battery Park City School is overcrowding. The city has repeatedly increased class sizes, and the school struggles to keep up. “We have a beautiful art room with a kiln. That could become a classroom. The music room? That could become a classroom.”

But Ruytner is working ceaselessly within the community to address the problem. She’s working with city officials and parents to find balance. Schneider believes the answer will come from the teachers.

“Parents automatically say let’s get another teacher in there who will be constructive. We thought it would be better to let the teachers decide. It may be by a multifaceted system. What’s needed in kindergarten may be what’s needed in seventh grade.”

But regardless of how many students attend Battery Park City School next year, those accepted will be welcomed by Ruyter. That’s because she genuinely likes and appreciates her students. Her eyes lit up when she told parents about the new school slogan, “The Chargers—The Spark of Battery Park.” It was coined by the students.

“They’re so sophisticated in their thinking,” she said.

Photo By Dale Eisinger

It’s all a part of the “international mindedness” students are expected to learn at Léman.

“International mindedness means you are aware of the problems and ready to be involved in the solutions,” said Drew Alexander, head of the school. “It means you truly believe in community service as it relates to your own world and other parts of the world.”

Léman, a research-based school, has been a part of the Meritas international family of schools since last year, and the upper campus opened two years ago. This year, Léman has their first senior graduating class, and first exchange student program this year. Students regularly exchange with other Meritas students across the world via Skype in a program called Touchpoint, to discuss global issues, says Alexander.

“We want our students to see themselves as participants in global discourse,” says Emily Khan, the head of the English department at the upper school.

The Léman campus is impressive, with two pools, two gyms and a cafeteria staffed by classically trained chefs. The lobby of the school is a horseshoe-shaped room lined floor to ceiling in glass that overlooks the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. The view, Khan says, is meant to inspire the visual arts students.

As part of the Meritas group, Léman high school students can have the opportunity to study philosophy for two weeks abroad in August at Oxford. As a growing school, students have access to an increasing number of clubs on campus including sports, robotics, fencing and music. Each lower-school student is required to take piano.

In the Léman classroom itself, class sizes range from 10-18 students, and teachers do not take on the “typical” teaching methodology, Khan says.

“We are student-centered, so we avoid lecturing in front of the classroom,” Khan says. “The students work together and achieve independence.”

Léman teachers try to take learning outside of the classroom as well. Khan recalls one instance this year when the class was studying gravestone epitaphs, and one of the students suggested visiting Trinity Church to look at the gravestones there, and they did.

Many of the learning experiences at Léman come from mixing cultures, and introducing the international students to the American lifestyle. This year, many of the exchange students celebrated their first Halloween, says Alexander. For the school’s Halloween party, the international students were excited and bought costumes.

“For them to experience that for the first time with students who grew up with Halloween, it is really an interesting moment,” Alexander says. “But at Léman, it happens every day.”

By John Friia

Photo By Emily Johnson

The motto of PS 199—Jessie Isador Straus Elementary School, located at 270 W. 70th St.—is “Work hard. Be kind,” and Principal Katy Rosen explains the school strives to fulfill those words. Named after the former ambassador to France and president of R.H. Macy & Co., Jessie Isador Straus Elementary School offers a wide range of programs for children to broaden their horizons.

There are a few basic qualities that the school wants to impart to its students by the time that they graduate, including creating lifelong readers and writers and making students strive for the best. The school aims to do this in a warm learning environment.

“As a community, we place value on knowing our students and families on an individual basis and to work as a school to make sure each and every student achieves their full potential,” Rosen said.

Rosen has been the principal of PS 199 since September 2006 and explained that it is a great community where everyone gets along. “When I come to work, I feel like I am working with my extended family,” Rosen said.

One of her favorite aspects of the job is when she receives mail from students. “Their letters are always engaging and sometimes persuasive. It is gratifying to see the fruits of our daily labor in a well-crafted essay asking for more recess time,” Rosen said.

Seeking to enhance the quality of education for the students, the school partners with different organizations to expose them to fine arts and culture. Rosen explained that the school is currently partnered with Vital Theater, the New York Philharmonic, National Dance Institute, Landmark West, Lincoln Center Institute, Center for Architecture Foundation and Asphalt Green. In addition, there are parent-run programs, including a chess club and lunchtime book talks.

“PS 199 is a barrier-free school and as such, has a long history of educating children with special needs of all levels,” Rosen said. “We have an exceptionally outstanding group of dedicated and caring teachers who love their students and their jobs. They work closely together among themselves and with families to ensure that our students have meaningful learning experiences.” Many of the teachers remain there until they retire, Rosen said.

As is the case at many schools throughout the city, government aid to the school has been drastically cut, and parents of the community want to help maintain the programs provided by PS 199. Rosen explained that the school is fortunate to have the PTA it does. The active parents’ group hosts numerous annual events, including a walk-a-thon, wine tasting, holiday boutique fair and talent show. She also said that the school wouldn’t be what it is without the dynamic and talented teachers and others who work there.

“Thank you for this award and the recognition of our very hard-working staff, which allows PS 199 to be the wonderful school that it is. I am thrilled to share this award with them,” she said.

Photo By Bess Adler

For Kelly Shannon, the principal of PS 41’s Greenwich Village School, there was a question early on as to whether she might lead a group of constituents instead of grade school students. “I initially wanted to go into politics,” said Shannon, a Brooklyn native who has been an educator for 18 years and principal at PS 41 for the last eight. Shannon, who has taught both fifth-grade history and math at the school, recalled taking a course in early childhood education and immediately falling in love with the idea of teaching.

“I’ve always felt as if teaching has been a career and not just a job,” said Shannon, who emphasized the importance of liking what you do professionally. “At end of day, you want to enjoy what you’re doing.”

And, Shannon said, teaching is not all that far removed from politics anyway. “There’s already a strong political aspect to being a principal in New York City—dealing with community boards, the Department of Education, the mayor’s office,” she said. “All of it makes me glad I didn’t go into politics. I made a good choice.”

Discussing the recent Hurricane Sandy, which hit Lower Manhattan particularly hard, Shannon said that despite the fact that all public schools were closed afterward due to a variety of issues from flooding to power loss, PS 41’s faculty demonstrated its caring and supportive nature.

“One thing that epitomizes people at PS 41 is how well everyone came together,” she said. “We had multiple relief efforts going on in Rockaway to help many families of faculty and students hard-hit by the storm.” Shannon said the school was sure to reach out to other local PTAs in the area that also needed help.

“We made people feel at ease during the storm.”

She also said that the storm brought back uneasy memories of Sept. 11. The hurricane was a “different type of tough experience,” she said, but “people once again came together to help each other out.”

Shannon noted that good leadership is where everyone takes on a leadership role.

At the heart of PS 41’s success, said Shannon, is being an academically rigorous school that simultaneously manages to support the arts. “Our students get what they need but also get the arts. We never forget how important the arts are.”

Shannon underscored the importance of giving kids a real sense of community as well as a solid education. “We help our students understand how important it is to be a good part of the community.”

In addition to focusing on core subjects such as reading, writing and social studies, Shannon said the school’s GELL program, or Green Roof Environmental Literacy Lab, is a first-of-its-kind project to teach kids about interacting with the outside environment. The GELL program is an outgrowth of the school’s already functioning garden program, which began in 2003.

“The GELL program started as a grassroots effort, and we’ve put a lot of time and energy into the project, which features a full green roof. The whole project has been six years in the making,” she said.

Shannon explained that students grow plants and herbs and learn to work with farmers’ markets, thereby helping teach kids about how foods get to their table, about distribution systems in place and how foods play a large part in society vis-à-vis restaurants and even supermarkets.

“It’s really interesting to watch how the body language of kids changes when they go up on the roof to study and work in the GELL,” Shannon noted. “It shows a different side of kids when they’re up there; it’s like they’re in another world.” She also pointed out the school has received substantial support from city politicians such as Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer as well as organizations including the Whole Foods Market Union Square, Organic Valley Farms and the National Wildlife Federation.

Still, the most important type of support the school continues to get is from the local community. “We have about 803 students in all now, and there’s now a lottery to get into school,” Shannon said. “There are no empty seats. In fact, we’re struggling to take the kids that are local at this point.”

Many people know Mario Batali as the energetic TV chef and restaurateur, but some are unaware of his role as a philanthropist. In 2008, he launched the Mario Batali Foundation, aiming to make sure children are well read, well fed and well cared-for.

Since then, the foundation has worked with numerous organizations that share the same goal. One of those, Books for Kids, has as its mission the promotion of literacy among children in low-income, high-risk communities across the country.

Their latest collaboration is helping to bring a new and improved library to the children of Goddard Riverside. Nearly 70 percent of children enrolled in Goddard Riverside’s daycare center, at 114 W. 91st St., live below the poverty line. The new library will serve almost 100 children in the neighborhood.

“To be able to help children read, to give them this fundamental building block to a successful life, is remarkable. I am ecstatic that my foundation is able to help create a Books for Kids library and champion literacy programs for all children in need,” Batali said at the opening on Sept. 13.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony included a dedication ceremony, book reading and tour of the new library. An animated Batali read the children the Dr. Seuss story “Green Eggs and Ham.” Prior to the reading, the preschoolers showed their own interpretation of the story to Batali and sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” for guests.

The new library includes a much larger selection of books and a colorful reading space that invites children in to read and learn. The children will now also have the opportunity to take books home.

“Books for Kids is once again thrilled and honored to have the continued support of the Mario Batali Foundation in the creation of a Books for Kids library in a community in great need on the Upper West Side,” Shawna Hamilton Doster, Books for Kids executive director, said.

Doster explained that Books for Kids wants to bridge the gap for low-income children and give them the same opportunities as other children in the city.

City Council Member Gail Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, attended the event and explained that she is happy to see the new and improved library, and that Goddard Riverside has always been trying to help the residents.

“There is no question that a library of this magnitude will go far in supporting our school readiness goals for our young children and be a major resource for our families,” stated Stephan Russo, the executive director of Goddard Riverside Community Center.

By Cristina Dimen
For city parents who suspect their child has a developmental delay, there’s good news: The city offers a wealth of free services for children with special needs, and there are also many experienced professionals in private practice in the city who work with children with special needs. But the bureaucracy around special needs can be confusing and overwhelming, so we asked a few local experts for their guidance.

Trust Your Instincts
Many children reach developmental milestones within a typical timeframe. For example, experts will tell you most children are sitting up between 4 and 7 months old. While it’s important to remember that each child develops differently, parents who suspect their child may have a delay “should trust their instincts—they know their child best,” says Dr. Daniela Montalto, clinical director of the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement at the NYU Child Study Center (aboutourkids.org). Montalto advises parents to pay attention to potential delays, such as difficulty saying single words by 2 years old, which can indicate a speech or language-learning weakness.

Other warning signs for infants and toddlers include children who do not smile by 3-4 months, children who are not feeding themselves by 8 months and those who are not walking by 15 months, says Dana Rosenbloom, a child and family therapist who works with all types of families but focuses on families with children who have special needs (danaskids.com). She advises parents to talk to their child’s pediatrician about their concerns. If still concerned, parents should have their child evaluated. In NYC, a child can be referred for services by doctors, teachers, child care agencies, social workers and other community-based agencies. Of course, parents can always get recommendations by calling 311 and asking for Early Intervention.

Get Evaluated
New York City’s Early Intervention Program is funded and regulated by the NYS Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Early Intervention Program evaluates children up to age 3 for a variety of home-based therapeutic services. From ages 3 to 5 years, the Committee on Preschool Special Education, also regulated and funded by both NYS and NYC, assesses eligibility for both home- and facility-based services. Once the initial evaluations are complete, you will find out if your child is eligible for services. At this point, an Individual Family Service Plan is created. In CPSE, it is referred to as an Individual Education Plan.

Eligibility criteria differ in the two programs, whose services include speech, physical, occupational and special education therapy. Evaluations and services for eligible children are free in both programs. Within the private sector, organizations like the NYU Child Study Center offer comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations of a child’s attention, memory and social and emotional development. (See sidebar for more on where to get evaluated in NYC.)

Consider Your Options
Many public and private school options exist for children with special needs. Rosenbloom explains that in Early Intervention, each child is given a case coordinator who will work with parents to determine which programs and services will best meet their child’s needs. In CPSE, the committee will help a parent evaluate choices. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that children be educated in the “least restrictive environment.” This means that CPSE will consider providing special education services in an environment with age-appropriate, typically developing peers. (Rosenbloom cites YAI/Gramercy and Child Development Center as a popular and well-regarded early childhood program for children with special needs.)

Once a child has reached age 5 (and up to 21 years old), the Committee on Special Education (CSE) provides evaluation and services. If your child has been receiving CPSE services, during the year prior to kindergarten, the committee will decide if your child will continue to require special education services. The CSE will recommend that your child either receives these services in a public school environment or in another educational setting. In public school, Collaborative Team Teaching classes taught by two teachers, one trained in special education, are increasingly common. Children who are struggling in specific areas, such as math or reading, receive small group instruction, while the rest of the class listens to the general education teacher. Afterward, all students engage in mainstream learning.

“Evaluations indicate if children will benefit from CTT classes, where half of the kids have no learning disabilities,” Montalto says. “Observing general education children who perform in a stronger way enables some kids with special needs to adapt what they see to their own style.” CTT classes can also be beneficial for typically developing children “whose self-esteem is built while they are helping others,” Rosenbloom adds. But she also points out that CTT classes aren’t the best fit for everyone, especially students with more significant developmental needs.

Seek Legal Counsel
Parents choose to forego public school options for various reasons, including the absence of programs equipped to meet their child’s specific learning needs. Upon enrolling their child in a private school, these parents often seek tuition reimbursement by filing a lawsuit against the Department of Education, stating that “the DOE failed to offer their child the statutory right to a free and appropriate public education,” explains Regina Skyer of the Law Offices of Regina Skyer & Associates (skyerlaw.com), a firm that specializes in advocating for children with special education needs. While there’s no guarantee that families will win the case and recoup tuition costs, Skyer recommends parents work with an attorney specialized in advocating, mediating and litigating for kids with learning disabilities. She notes that the multi-step process is complex, and it’s best if the child has been privately evaluated. Also, unless parents choose a private program from a list of approved schools, they’ll have to reapply each year. She recommends parents attend workshops on the subject such as those hosted by private schools or the JCC in Manhattan.

Neufeld Playground

“This playground was originally built in 1937,” Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said at the ceremony. “By the 1990s it had fallen into disrepair, and [Henry Neufeld] stepped forward, and as one of his last acts of philanthropy, he funded the reconstruction and provided the endowment. That was 20 years ago; it’s amazing what can happen to a playground that gets heavy use in 20 years, and it needed another fix-up.”

The biggest change to the playground was the installation of new play equipment, which has already proven popular with local kids. There are separate sections, designed for toddlers and for older children, as well as a space in the middle with benches that surround the park’s iconic elephant statues that spray water from their trunks, allowing parents and nannies to keep an eye on both areas of “Elephant Playground.” The department added a ledge surrounding the giant sandbox so kids and parents can sit on it, as well as a handicap-accessible sand table so that disabled children can get into the sand too. There is also an ADA-accessible swing on the new swing set, new safety surfacing, and new plantings in the gardens surrounding the equipment.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, whose office allocated $500,000 in capital funds for the renovation, praised Benepe and the Riverside Park Fund for pushing for the revitalization of the park and getting it done.

“I went this past weekend to P.S. 199 to the playground with my wife and my little guy, 8-month-old Max, and for the first time put Max on the swing in the park, and it was this overwhelming experience,” said Stringer. “It really is an amazing experience when you realize that this really matters to kids and parents, because, let’s face it, we live in this big urban center.”

Council Member Gale Brewer, who channeled $400,000 of funding to the renovation, hailed the project’s landscape architect, Margaret Bracken, for designing such a beautiful new play area.

“Every dollar of your money … that we can allocate to Riverside Park is well spent, because it is thoughtful, it has soul and commitment and it’s something that we can be proud of for generations to come,” Brewer said.

Bracken said that when she was redesigning the playground, she wanted to preserve some original elements like the giant leafy trees that shade the toddler area, and pay homage to long-lost parts of the original design.

“In the early designs from the 1930s and 1940s, those Moses-era playgrounds, they actually had little playhouses in them,” Bracken said, explaining why she decided to include a modern playhouse in the toddler section.

For the older kids, parent feedback drove her to create a more inventive structure.

“The unit that was there before wasn’t really challenging enough,” Bracken said. “Parents now become very involved in the selection of the units, and they wanted something that had a lot more climbing, swinging, upper body components, as well as, of course, good slides and all the traditional elements.”

Benepe, who paused frequently during speaking to joke with the kids at the playground, is leaving his post as commissioner to become the Urban Programs Director at the Trust for Public Land. He acknowledged this was most likely his last ribbon cutting as parks commissioner and said he’ll miss events such as this.

“What I do love about this job is that I have a great excuse to go hang out in playgrounds,” Benepe said.

While the neighborhood, part of Community Education Council District 3, enjoys some top-notch public schools, overcrowding and budget tightening are constantly threatening the balance.

The biggest concern in the district is the lack of middle school space for future classes. All last year, parents pushed to get the Department of Education to look at projections that show severe middle school overcrowding in just a few years, adding 1,500 names to a petition asking for a middle school in the district, but so far the DOE has no plans to create one.

“District 3 needs middle school space to meet the needs of the growing numbers of students entering middle school starting from the class of 2013, and the increased need for schools that have a curriculum to meet the growing needs of students who are scoring at proficient levels,” said Christine Annechino, president of the district’s CEC, which encompasses the Upper West Side as well as parts of West and Central Harlem.

Council Member Gale Brewer also said middle school space is the biggest concern for Upper West Side parents.

“There are so many kids that there’s going to be no place for them,” said Brewer. “The school at Riverside is not going to be able to handle all of them, and it’s not going to be ready in time. People worry.”

The new K-8 school will be P.S. 342, slated to be built over the next several years at the Extell Riverside Center development on West 61st Street and West End Avenue. It is expected to teach 600 elementary and middle school students when it reaches its full capacity, but that will also be accounting for the influx of children moving into the new development, and won’t necessarily solve in the overcrowding problem. Still, it will help, and advocates agree that a new school is a positive step.

“It was an incredible process that led to an incredibly valuable asset for the community,” said Mel Wymore, who was the chairperson of Community Board 7 when the board negotiated with Extell to agree to build the school. “From here, we as a community should continue to work with the DOE, the [School Construction Authority] and the developer to ensure that the school built best serves the community as a whole.”

But while the prospect of a new school is a bright spot for parents, there are still more immediate realities to contend with. Many Upper West Siders still feel they are pitted against charter schools in the district, and that the placement of charters within traditional school buildings is adding to overcrowding problems.

Charters are public schools that are privately run.

“When the DOE cheers for schools like Success Charter, don’t they see that they are not cheering for any public schools? Is this fair if they don’t work with the schools who are not charter schools and try to make them better?” said Annechino. “The disparity within the public, free school system is alarming, and District 3, which has been assaulted by this disparity, will continue to correct it. And it doesn’t mean that we are fighting against charters, we are fighting for all of these kids who are not getting the education they need in the schools they attend.”

Noah Gotbaum, an outspoken critic of charter school co-location and a member of the CEC, also said that it’s an increasingly severe problem for traditional public schools.

“Charters basically get the run of the building and the public schools are the stepchildren. It really is separate but unequal,” said Gotbaum. “It’s overtaxing not just the public school but the entire system.”

Gotbaum added that a lack of resources and budget cuts are making it more difficult for teachers and principals to do their jobs. “We’ve had 15 to 20 percent cuts to the classroom over the past five years, and our schools have had to make do with less, and they’re basically cut to the bone,” he said.

“The DOE is spending more and more on testing, assessment, charter schools, large scale tech projects, but parents don’t want that. We want our kids to have teachers in the classrooms, gym, special programs.”

One special program that was recently cut but quickly reinstated, giving parents a small victory, is the Wellness in the Schools program, which pairs professional chefs with public school cafeterias to create healthy, scratch-made menus for the kids. Earlier this week, DOE officials said that they would have to cut the program to ensure that all schools would be able to meet more stringent federal school lunch regulations or risk losing federal money.

Thanks to an immediate outcry from parents and elected officials, including Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Brewer, the DOE announced that it would keep the program and work with the schools and chefs on keeping the menus within guidelines.

For the Upper West Side community, all agree that despite some seemingly uphill battles between parents and the DOE, it’s a good thing to have such an involved community.

“The ray of light is that we have amazing parents in this district, involved and active parents, and we have phenomenal educators, principals and teachers who really, really care,” said Gotbaum. “They are making do and they’re picking up the slack where administrators are putting roadblocks in the way.”