Our School
PS 8, also known as The Robert Fulton School and The Magnet School for Exploration, Research and Design, opened in 1846 at 65 Middagh Street between Hicks and Henry (now marked with a brass plaque). As the population of Brooklyn boomed in the late nineteenth century, the school outgrew its building, and construction began on the current red brick building, which opened 100 years ago in 1906. Previously, the address was the residence of John A. Roebling, chief engineer and principal designer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The school once held grades K-8, but in 2004 it settled on its current enrollment of pre-K through 5th grade students. Like the community it serves, PS 8 is both historic and modern.
Our Principal
Seth Phillips
Mr. Phillips was named Principal of PS 8 in May 2003. His mission coming in? “To build a place where people would want to send their children.” At the time he arrived, enrollment had dipped down to 245 students. By 2006 it had soared to 428, and New York City Mayor Bloomberg had declared the school a success story and role model.
Mr. Phillips lives with his wife and three children in Cobble Hill, the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up. He graduated from Haverford College and earned his master’s degree in education at Fordham University. He began his career in education as a classroom teacher in Washington Heights, teaching 1st grade for one year and then 2nd grade for eight years. “I never really planned to be an administrator,” Mr. Phillips says, “but after 10 years in the classroom I needed to do something different, to learn in a different environment.” He took a job as a staff developer for the Dept. of Education, which entailed visiting struggling schools throughout the city and working directly with teachers to help them to be more effective in the classroom. During that time he earned his certification in school administration.
In 2000, Mr. Phillips became assistant principal at PS 94 in Sunset Park. When he was appointed to take the helm at PS 8, the District 13 was being reorganized as part of a new Region 8, and Carmen Farina–a vocal champion of PS 8 whose own grandchildren were zoned for the school–was the incoming regional supervisor (she was later named Deputy Chancellor and retired in 2006). It was a heady time; prospective parents who had been accustomed to asking, “Is this school right for my kids?” started asking the tour guides at Open House, “How can I be sure that my kid will get in?” The tremendous turn-around–and, notably, the receipt of a three-year magnet grant in 2004–has garnered much media attention for the school, including several articles in the New York Times and other local newspapers, as well as featured spots on ABC’s Good Morning America and in local TV news reports.
Mr. Phillips says the coverage has been great, generally speaking, because “it has been so positive” and acknowledges everybody’s hard work. But the flip side, of course, is the added pressure that comes with being under a microscope. “We’re seen as an example of how a school can turn around,” he notes, “but that also raises expectations.” All in all, Mr. Phillips says, “I think we’ve done a pretty good job.” He hastens to add: “And I didn’t do it alone.”
