Our Story
PS 270 has been an important staple within the Clinton Hill community for over 60 years, serving several generations of students and their families since the school’s inception in 1959.
As one of a few public schools in this arts and culture rich neighborhood, PS 270 has nourished exciting partnerships with local organizations and built a creative learning environment for its students. Pia Micoli joined the school as Principal in August of 2021, and brings a “we are crew, not passengers” approach. Our PS 270 crew focuses on building community both within our diverse and talented staff of educators and with our surrounding community. Each educator, student, caregiver, and community member is part of our crew, contributing ideas and strengths to help build the PS 270 we believe in. Explore more about our school’s story below.
Part of District 13’s Commitment to Integration & Antiracism
PS 270 is an inclusive learning community striving to represent the beautifully diverse neighborhood of Clinton Hill. We are an active partner in District 13’s efforts to create schools more representative of the communities they serve. Through community engagement and neighborhood partnerships, we are collaborating to re-design our instructional approach to promote student voice, critical thinking, and connection to the arts and outdoors. We plan for this process to engage more families from the neighborhood and encourage our school community to become more diverse-by-design with time.
Core Values
In Fall 2021, we brought together multiple stakeholders in a design-thinking process to collectively envision our hopes and dreams for our PS 270 students. In community with each other, staff and families articulated their priorities for our students' educational experience from 3-K through 5th Grade. Then we distilled these ideas into the following foundational Core Values: Community, Advocacy, Curiosity, Creativity & Joy. We believe these five guiding principals should underlie all of the work that we do and the relationships that we build, both within our school walls and beyond.
Transition to Project-Based Learning
In Winter 2022, we began the process of transitioning our curriculum to a more inquiry-focused, student-centered program. We are partnering with a school designer from NYC Outward Bound to develop culturally-responsive, interdisciplinary Learning Expeditions. These project-based Learning Expeditions connect standards, literacy instruction, culturally-relevant topics, and community partnerships. Each grade engages in three Expeditions per year, and this curriculum is now the foundation of our instructional approach.
Community Partners
We believe that partnerships with vibrant organizations inspire and enrich our curriculum in exciting ways. We have active partnerships with:
Pratt Institute | Visual Arts/Design Classes
NYC Outward Bound | Project Based Learning Curriculum
Artshack Brooklyn | Ceramics Instruction
City Growers/Brooklyn Grange | Outdoor Garden Education
Groundswell | Our Mural Project!