Admissions Events

2024 OPEN HOUSES
(Held in-person: Oct. 2, 8, 17  Nov. 6, 15, 21 and on Zoom: Dec. 4)

The recording of our Dec. 4, 2024 virtual Open House can be viewed HERE.

Thank you for your interest in East Side Middle School! Our staff and students were happy to share the special things about our school with the hundreds of 5th grade families who visited or joined us on Zoom this fall.  

Watch a short, student-made video HERE to what the inside of our building looks like.  Some things have changed since the filming, or are about to: our former library has been divided into a Graphic Arts room and a math classroom, with books moved to the classrooms. The dance room is currently being renovated for Sept. 2025 use. 

Notes from the Open House presentations and Q&A:

CONFIGURATION: 

  • ESMS enrolls a maximum of 150 students per grade. Last year, we made 0 offers to our 6th grade waitlist
  • Each grade has 5 homerooms, 3 of which are ICT classes. 
  • Historically, 6th Grade ICT classes have had 28-29 students and Gen Ed classes have had 32 
  • Students travel to their classes as a homeroom most of the day, with half-size groups for Advisory and mixed grade groupings for Electives.

SCHOOL DAY: 

  • Our school day is 9:00am-3:20pm
  • There is no early dropoff.
  • The 92nd Street student gate opens at 8:40am. Free breakfast is available in the cafeteria until 8:55am. 
  • Homeroom begins at 9:00am. Students arriving after that time come in via 91st Street.
  • Dismissal is out 92nd St. at 3:20pm; students staying for afterschool first go to the cafeteria at 3:20 for a snack.
  • Currently, our day contains eight 42-minute periods, one of which is lunch.
  • We do not have a yellow bus for commuting unless it is mandated on your child's IEP. Students who are determined eligible by the DOE receive OMNY cards for travel to/from school
  • ESMS has no uniform and no dress code, beyond the DOE Guidelines

CURRICULUM:

  • There is a sample 2024-25 6th grade schedule HERE. 
  • Students are not tracked or grouped by ability.
  • All 6th graders take Accelerated Illustrative Math, Science, Humanities (ELA & Social Studies), Graphic Arts, Dance, and PE. We also have periods for Advisory, Computer Science, Independent Reading, and Friday Electives (a list of recent electives is found just below the sample schedule.) In Computer Science, students are currently learning to type properly; the class will move to basic coding later in the year.
  • 7th and 8th graders take Spanish, culminating in the NY State Proficiency Exam for HS credit
  • Accelerated math in 6th & 7th grades leads to Algebra I in 8th grade (a 9th grade class). Students take the Algebra Regents in June. This year, they will also take the Biology Regents for the first time.
  • We do not have a music program.
  • ESMS has robust mental health supports, including a comfort dog program, a guidance counselor, social worker, small advisory groups, and restorative justice training for teachers

LUNCH:

  • Cafeteria lunch is free for all students; some students bring food from home
  • The 6th grade is grouped by homeroom at lunch for the first few weeks of school. After that time, with parent permission, they will receive a pass for Out Lunch privileges. Students who go out for lunch may buy food, bring food from home, or take a free, bagged cafeteria lunch. Some students do not receive permission right away, but eventually most do. 
  • Approximately 1/3 of students stay in for lunch on any given day; they have recess in our yard for 20 minutes of the period.
  • Students who go out for lunch do not have distance limits, but they must return by the end of the period to retain their lunch privileges; they may not go to a residence at lunch or take any kind of transportation. 

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES:

  • Our student council has reps from each homeroom and meets weekly at lunch; it has several committees that do food, toy and coat drives, and actively support our food insecure neighbors throughout the year. In the past members have interned with our city council member and have testified (with success!) at the city and state level in support of additional school counselors and more mental health services in schools.
  • Other clubs that take place during school are GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) and Care to Share (cafeteria food waste reduction and food sharing)
  • Electives are last period on Fridays, and allow students to try new things like embroidery, yoga, ukulele, 

BUILDING:

  • ESMS has a basement plus 5 upper floors. 6th grade currently uses the 2nd floor for their core subjects.
  • We have an elevator for use by adults, students whose IEPs or medical needs mandate it, and by the staff and students in the D75 school that shares our building
  • We have a recreation space outside, with a basketball hoop and assorted balls, jump ropes etc., as well as a beautiful gymnasium for PE and team sports.
  • Our hallways are too narrow for lockers, so we utilize the closets in homerooms.
  • While we do not have an auditorium or music program, we do have an annual musical production that traditionally takes place at Wagner. 

AFTERSCHOOL

  • Manhattan Youth runs our FREE sports & after school activities, which take place in trimesters, 5 days a week. While some activities do fill up, there is always some sort of space for everyone who is interested. 
  • After a quick snack, there are 2 sessions of activities: 3:30-4:45pm and 4:45-5:45pm. Current offerings and our  afterschool director’s contact info are on the ESMS website, with a list of sports on the back of the sample schedule linked above.
  • Teams play in the Middle School Athletic League/MSAL, and ESMS has had several recent Division and City Champions in Table Tennis, Soccer and Volleyball. 
  • Examples of current/recent non-sports activities are Musical Theater, Debate, Lego Robotics, Filmmaking, Art, Photography, E-gamers, Knitting, and Study Lab. 
  • Separate from Manhattan Youth’s free offerings, the PTA brings in an outside organization to provide optional, fee-based prep classes for the Specialized High Schools Test (SHSAT) from April through Oct.

PHONES & TECHNOLOGY

  • Classrooms contain Chromebooks for student use, and students use Google Classroom
  • Parents can see gradebooks and communicate with teachers through the Jupiter Grades system
  • We require that cell phones, smart watches and ear buds be locked in a YONDR pouch while in the school building; students may unlock their phones for Out Lunch

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

  • Our large PTA organizes both family events and fundraisers throughout the year. There are student dances, ice skating evenings, a year-end auction, bake sales and family celebrations like Fall Fest & International Night (our favorite event, where families from 2 dozen countries host tables to share aspects of their cultures with the whole school). Volunteers step up to give time whenever they can!
  • The School Leadership Team (SLT) currently has seats for 4 elected parents.

Though any student in NYC may rank us on their application, those students living or attending 5th grade within in District 2 will receive admissions priority in the admissions lottery. Those D2 students will fill our 6th grade in Sept.

Questions? 

Beth Servetar
Parent Coordinator
esms.bethservetar@esmsnyc.net
212.360.0114 #1