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3-K through Grade 8 · A Harlem community school
Our school’s vision is to empower life-long learners and leaders.
301 West 140th Street, Harlem (212) 342-6200 A CRASEL and RULER school
About us
Our school is located in the foothills of City College.
Our experienced staff embrace each student as they enter our school. We make personal connections with our students and provide levels of academic and social emotional preparedness.
In essence, we are preparing students to become independent, lifelong learners and productive citizens to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. We use individualized and flexible groupings to enhance learning experiences to meet each student’s academic needs.
The PS 123 community prides itself in being an institution of learning as well as a safe haven for our students.
We engage students through a hands-on approach to learning. We believe all students are accelerated learners and need to explore their talents. We offer a comprehensive arts education so students can explore their talents, build confidence, self-esteem and develop their voice.
Our teachers are devoted to teaching our students and families. Families are welcomed and offered wellness, professional services, and academic support. We plan yearly calendar events to ensure that we involve our families in all aspects of learning.
To ignite each student’s passion for learning and cultivate critical thinkers in a caring, supportive, and diverse environment, preparing them to impact the world.
A message from our principal
“Harlem is not just a place; it is the MECCA of history, a beacon of culture, resilience, and innovation.”
Dear Students, Families, and Community Members,
As the proud principal of our school in the heart of Harlem, I am thrilled to welcome you to a new school year filled with endless possibilities and growth. Our vision is clear: to empower life-long learners and leaders, and it is our mission to ignite the passion for learning within each student. We are committed to cultivating critical thinkers in a caring, supportive, and diverse environment, preparing them to make a profound impact on the world.
From the Harlem Renaissance to the present day, our community has been a crucible of creativity and leadership. As Langston Hughes so beautifully reminded us, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” At our school, we hold fast to the dreams of our students, nurturing their creativity and curiosity through dynamic partnerships and engaging academic activities that promote success and achievement.
In our halls, students are not just learners; they are scholars, artists, scientists, and future leaders. Through our strong community partnerships, we bring the rich legacy of Harlem into the classroom, ensuring that our students are connected to the history that surrounds them and inspired to contribute to it.
We believe in the boundless potential of our students, and together, we will soar to new heights.
Dr. Melitina Hernandez, Ed.D.
Proud Principal
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Portrait of Dr. Melitina Hernandez, Principal. A photograph supplied by the school goes here.
Our signature wall
PS 123 Mahalia Jackson is a CRASEL school and a RULER school. The Mood Meter is not a poster we bought — it is a mural on our wall, made by students and families, with its emotion words lettered in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Words for the feelings that arrive loud — and the strategies that answer them.
The quadrant our hallway mural fills with the widest vocabulary.
Naming a quiet feeling accurately is the first step to regulating it.
Calm, settled, ready. Where the school day is designed to begin and end.
Builds and sustains positive emotions by creating norms for how students want to feel.
Supports self- and social awareness and develops a vocabulary of emotions and strategies for controlling them.
Provides a process for responding to emotional situations with strategies.
Supports the development of empathy and conflict resolution skills.
Culturally-Responsive and Affirming Social-Emotional Leadership (CRASEL) is a district-wide initiative developed through dissertation research conducted by Dr. Dawn Brooks-DeCosta, Deputy Superintendent of Harlem Community School District 5. All our staff and students were trained and are actively practicing CRASEL methodologies.
On the calendar
Date: September 10
Date: September 16
Date: September 21
Date: September 22
Date: September 24
These five entries are exactly what the school’s calendar was publishing when this preview was made. Nothing has been added to fill the list out.
Studio in a School
We offer a comprehensive arts education so students can explore their talents, build confidence, self-esteem and develop their voice. The school’s own gallery runs from self-portraits and wire sculpture to painted cityscapes and rows of Harlem houses.
Photo placeholder — Studio in a School art show
Photo placeholder — student paintings of flowers
Photo placeholder — self-portraits in mixed media
Photo placeholder — wire sculpture in the hallway
Photo placeholder — painted cityscapes
Photo placeholder — rows of painted houses
Every frame above is a labelled placeholder. The school’s real gallery photographs currently sit on the previous website vendor’s file host; they are the school’s own work and would be carried across rather than re-shot, but the URLs are a dependency on the old host and are flagged in provenance.md.
From the district
Attendance
New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) is excited to welcome your child into our schools each and every day! Our schools are safe and supportive environments, and the classroom is a better place when your child is here. More time in school means your child will get the social-emotional and academic support they need to thrive, learn, and be happy.
Enrollment
In New York City, children begin Pre-K in the calendar year they turn four. There is a Pre-K seat for every four-year-old in New York City. Children who attend free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K learn through play, build skills, and work together.
Newsletter
An informative newsletter with announcements and messages for families. Available in various languages. You can sign up to have the newsletter sent to your email.
For families
Opportunities offered to parents and students by New York City Public Schools.
Family corner
Families are welcomed and offered wellness, professional services, and academic support. If you wish to email the faculty, you can go through ClassDojo.
Breakfast, lunch and after-school meal service is free for all NYC public school students.
Our school-based mental health partner is Graham Windham. Ask your Parent Coordinator, School Social Worker, or School Counselor for more information about the school’s mental health programme.
Painted on the wall
Nine organisations work inside this building alongside our teachers. They are the “dynamic partnerships” our principal writes about — the reason a PS 123 school day can include a professional artist, a dance company, a reading tutor and a museum scientist.
Coming to the building
The primary objective of the Safer Access system is to ensure that all doors remain locked outside of the morning-entry and afternoon-dismissal periods. When school doors are locked, visitors wishing to gain access to the building will ring the intercom at the main entrance door and identify themselves before access is granted into the school building. All visitors to our school will continue to be treated with courtesy, professionalism, and respect while awaiting entry into our building.
| Day | Doors locked |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8:30 AM – 1:45 PM · 2:45 PM – 4:15 PM · 4:45 PM to close |
| Tuesday | 8:30 AM – 1:45 PM · 2:45 PM – 4:15 PM · 4:45 PM to close |
| Wednesday | 8:30 AM – 12:45 PM · 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM · 2:45 PM – 4:15 PM · 4:45 PM to close |
| Thursday | 8:30 AM – 1:45 PM · 2:45 PM – 4:15 PM · 4:45 PM to close |
| Friday | 8:30 AM – 1:45 PM · 2:45 PM – 4:15 PM · 4:45 PM to close |
— Dr. Hernandez, Principal. The school published this notice in English and in Spanish.
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An interactive map of 301 West 140th Street, between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Eighth Avenue, goes here.