Partnerships
We are thrilled to have a longstanding partnership with Studio in a School, one of NYC’s most respected arts organizations. SIAS pairs professional artists with NYC schools, establishing an art studio within the school where students create. Children explore a full range of 2-D and 3-D media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, printmaking, design, and media technology. They study artworks and artists from many different cultures, times, and places. They explore new ways of thinking – analyzing artwork, forming critical opinions, and justifying their ideas with evidence. They also consider the rich cultural resources of New York City and including those in their own neighborhoods.
Our SIAS art teacher is the beloved Mr. Josh!
Our Architecture & Engineering theme is deepened through our partnership with COOKFOX Architects, a Manhattan based firm dedicated to integrated, environmentally responsive architecture.
We are honored to be partnering with such an incredible group of architects, who have hosted us in their offices, visited our classrooms, and built custom bird houses for our schoolyard in connection with our architecture unit.
COOKFOX focuses on projects of any scale that allow them to fundamentally re-think how people interact with buildings and nature.
Photos of PS 256 field trip by Alex Ferrec + COOKFOX Architects
Asphalt Green is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds achieve a healthy lifestyle through high-quality sports, fitness, and aquatics programs. Their goal is to inspire a love for sports and fitness while imparting healthy habits that will improve the lives of all New Yorkers.
Asphalt Green works with nearly 50,000 children and adults annually in schoolyards, gymnasiums, community centers, and pools across New York City.
Our Science curriculum in enriched by visits from Liberty Science Center and their enthusiastic team of educators. Their team brings interactive, standards-aligned workshops to PS 256, through which students explore life science, physical science, and engineering.
Liberty Science Center's mission is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers and excite learners of all ages about the power, promise, and pure fun of science and technology.
Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet’s mission is to use the artistic expression of dance and other integrated art forms to uplift communities through education, performance and cultural programming. The soul of our work is rooted in social justice and connecting to one another through the arts.
Teaching artists offer a rich array of cultural learning experiences in dance, music, art, and theater including drumming, mask making, African dance, and Horton dance technique. Other arts classes include filmmaking, photography, scriptwriting, and production.
Photo credit: Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet
City Technology
With City Technology, students learn how to design, make and troubleshoot cars, pop-ups, and kinetic toys using everyday stuff!
City Technology’s current programming “Physical Science Comes Alive” includes two sets of four curriculum units each: Force & Motion and Energy Systems. These units integrate engineering, science, math, literacy and art, in the context of children designing their own toys, cards and books.
The Salvadori Center partners with schools to provide push-in STEAM programs. Their curriculum uses the built environment - buildings, bridges, parks, and communities - to show students how what they learn in school is part of their everyday lives. Salvadori’s approach is collaborative, hands-on, and project-based, instilling teamwork, effective communication, critical thinking, and creative problem solving, vital skills students need to succeed.