Michael J. Petrides School

The Michael J. Petrides School is a school located on 715 Ocean Terrace in Staten Island, New York. It was created by Board of Education officials, and named after Michael J. Petrides. It opened in 1995. The school was created on the former College of Staten Island campus. Students apply to attend the school through a lottery system. However, 8th graders going into high school, who are in the top 2% scoring people for the ELA 7th grade test can get auto-admission if they put Petrides first on their application. Its current principal is Joanne Buckheit.

Petrides educates students from Kindergarten through 12th, or senior year in high school. It has an assistant principal for each grade category (early childhood, elementary, middle school, high school). They are:

The Petrides School, like many other New York City public schools, also has paraprofessionals, speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists, lunch deans, school aides, and a widely used bus transportation system.

Set on what was once was the College of Staten Island campus, P.S. 80 has college-level resources like studios, labs, lecture halls, and performance spaces while serving students from kindergarten through high-school graduation. The school opened in 1995, had its first graduating class in 2001, and has graduated its first group to complete all 13 years of schooling in 2008.

The school enrolls about 90-100 pupils per grade from kindergarten through middle school and about 125 per grade in high school. Joanne Buckheit, the principal, said, "We get to know our kids and meet their needs", which is notable in a school that doesn't select applicants for aptitude or achievement. Close to 1,000 students apply for about 75-90 kindergarten seats, and the school receives more than 1,200 applications for the 40 to 50 seats that open in 9th grade. Teachers work at every academic level, from the youngest grades through high school, and the "seamless" curriculum promises a smooth progression from year to year, with ample opportunity for arts, music, Advanced Placement classes, and electives. Students in grades 6 through 12 are assigned personal laptops and may also take advantage of a wealth of technology resources in the school.

The school features hallways named with street signs for famous artists, architects, and inventors. Students also get consistently high test scores, and parents are heavily involved within the school.

High-school students have the opportunity to travel overseas. A notable example of this was/were students of Italian and Spanish with grades of 90 or better going on school trip to Italy in 2006. The cost, $2,700, was borne by parents. Other destinations have included Hungary and Austria, and states including Vermont, Michigan, and Hawaii. Fundraisers are also held to help finance the high school's annual trip through Habitat for Humanity. In addition, high school students can work with younger students in the elementary school, as classroom student mentors.

...
Wikipedia