School Year 2024-2025

Dear PS 160 Families,

Welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year! I am forever grateful to be in this role as I enter my 12th year as Principal of the Walter Francis Bishop Magnet School of the Arts. This year, we are all on a mission. A mission is an important assignment and my assignment is IMPACT. My work this year will focus on school culture, teaching and learning, and increasing parent engagement. This will be done by establishing school wide morning routines and celebrating student’s academic and personal successes. Teachers will be engaged in professional learning cycles to norm their understanding of explicit instruction and strengthen their practices around MTSS. We will continue to bridge the home-school connection by hosting open classrooms, inviting you in as guest readers, and achieving our goal of one class parent assigned to each classroom.

Curriculum & Instruction

In ELA, we will continue to use HMH Into Reading to offer a balanced approach to literacy instruction and support teachers in explicit instruction.

In mathematics, we will use enVisionmath2020 to deepen our work around building conceptual understanding and solving multi-step word problems.

We will help our students explore and understand phenomena through the use of Amplify Science and engage them in Project Based Learning units of study aligned to the NYS Social Studies Scope & Sequence.

As a professional learning community, we will strengthen our practices in the following areas: Explicit Instruction, Developing Math Fluency, Foundational Literacy & Student Discussion Protocols.

As we aim to transform the well-being of our school, we will incorporate SEL within our daily practice and provide students with a daily mindful-minute to get refocused and centered.

There will be a strong focus across the NYC Public School system as it pertains to the Chancellor’s Big Goals.

• All students will learn to read well.
• All students will be physically and emotionally safe.
• All students will have a high-quality academic experience.
• All students will graduate with a strong plan and pathway to economic security.
• Families can easily access the information and support they need from NYC schools and be empowered to help their children succeed.
• The NYC school system will reflect the diversity of the city it serves.

With that being said, I ask for your continued support and I hope you know that you are deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tiffany Hicks

Principal