P.S. 158 Baylard Taylor

I have two children at this school and we love it. The teachers are outstanding and the administration has a clear vision on goals and curriculum...and they are willing to make the tough decisions to remove ineffective staff (which of course creates controversy, but in my opinion keeps the teaching levels consistently high). The children are safe, happy, and we are very satisfied.
—Submitted by a parent

this is a great school that gets a lot of flack because it is big and has an effective but demanding PTA . My granddaugher needed some special attention, got the whole schools attention and is now doing excellent . The extra reading and after school progams are great . The kids, teachers , parents and administration are all enthusiastic and it just spreads . They seem to strike a great balance between discipline , education and creatvity .

My son has just started K at PS158...what a disappointment! The good: The teachers are sweet and firm. My son loves them and seems to be happy about school in general. The bad: Every kid picks up a book from the same bin to take home. My son reads F books so I have no idea why the teacher is sending him home with A books. Every kid is at a different reading level! There is NO homework at all! Not even a worksheet! I have to make up homework for my child who is happy to spend 15 minutes a day on it. The teacher was showing Cars 2 movie to the kids during choice time. Seriously?
—Submitted by a parent

We are so excited to send our little girl into the 1st grade at this school. Her K year was outstanding and her teacher was terrific. I find many of the support staff to be very helpful, though they are often quite busy. I think the principal runs a no-nonsense tight ship; however, she has been very helpful when I've needed to call upon her. My daughter LOVES school. Oh yeah, the PE teacher and after school program Tai Kwon Do teacher are both awesome, too.
—Submitted by a parent

GREAT SCHOOL..TEACHERS AND STAFF ARE UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE WITH TEST SCORES. UNFORTUNATELY, A GOOD EDUCATION IS ONLY DETERMINED BY TEST SCORES IN TODAYS WORLD. I HAVE ALSO WITNESSED PARENTAL ATTITUDES TOWARD STAFF AND IF YOU ARE GETTING ATTITUDE FROM STAFF, YOU NEED TO SEE WHAT YOUR GIVING IN RETURN. MY FRIENDS AND I HAVE FOUND THEM NOTHING BUT CARING AND RESPONSIVE.
—Submitted by a parent

My children have been in the school from 1st grade to 4th grade now and graduating next year. I am very happy and I feel blessed to be able to send my kids to this wonderful school. They are getting a great elementary education.
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers are great. The community of parents is wonderful. The principal is very bad. Although she seems to do a good job focusing on test scores, she is a terrible communicator with parents and has managed to alienate many of us with her often rude and offensive style. The school does not thrive because of her. It thrives despite her. If she could just get past her defensiveness or whatever it is that drives her inappropriate and counterproductive behavior, she would probably see that just a little effort to demonstrate respect for the concerns of parents would go a long way.
—Submitted by a parent

The best teachers in the country!
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers are wonderful and focused on the children's future. The children receive a complete education plus extras like art, music and after school activities.
—Submitted by a parent

my daughter loves going to school everyday and learning, what could be better than that!
—Submitted by a parent

PS 158 is a nurturing, challenging, and stimulating environment to grow in both academically and personally!
—Submitted by a parent

I have had two children graduate from PS 158 over the past 5 years. The first one graduated with a very solid education. I can not say the same for the second child. Luckily, she did well on her own, but since she wasn't considered a struggling student they just left her alone. Most of the money that the PA works so hard to raise goes directly to the principal to hire staff to work with the struggling kids. The principal is interested in one thing and that is the test scores. This school has gone down hill and unless they change the focus and teach kids what they need to know instead of all the test prep. I was just told by other This years fifth grade class did poorly being accepted to the District 2 selective middle schools.....interesting???
—Submitted by a parent

Unfortunately, I will have to agree with the negative reviews of this school. PS 158 has been disappointing! The principal is aloof, detached, defensive, unresponsive, and ineffective. There are some excellent teachers however horrible and ineffective teachers are allowed to continue at the school in spite of protests from parents. The parents association is the one bright star in this scenario. This highly motivated and dedicated group of parents work hard to enrich the school. If you can get a variance...go to any other District 2 school!
—Submitted by a parent

Beware if you are considering this school. First the good - the teachers for the most part are excellent. The administrative staff however is rude and extremely unprofessional. The principal is out of touch. For school lunch, they scream at the children with a microphone and regularly run out of food. Twice my son was served only french fries and chocolate milk!!! The science and music program are extremely poor. Overall this is a very unhealthy environment.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree entirely that the staff, including some teachers, are very rude and unprofessional. That being said, I feel my child is still receiving a top education for a public school.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is not clean, the staff, from the principal on down is rude to both children and parents, and there is way too much focus on test prep to the exclusion of any other instruction.
—Submitted by a parent

Ive had one child graduate, and go on to a top notch middle school. i have a fourth grader who is getting a solid education, and a ton of enrichment thanks to a hyperactive pa. its a large school, but no child falls through the cracks. ive been happy with all teachers, except 2, for the last 9 years. its very diverse, which is a good thing:)
—Submitted by a parent

I agree that the principal is tough and defensive and the office staff is rude and unprofessional.
—Submitted by a parent

This is WORST school I've ever been in the world! The school staffs are amazingly unbeliveablely RUDE!! Be careful.
—Submitted by a parent

Agree! The standards at the school are low in many respects- academically and professionally not to mention that the building is filthy. The principal is defensive and rude to parents.
—Submitted by a parent