Metro

Nearby Bx. schools miles apart

Iris Pena and daughter Esperanza, 10, are less pleased with low-rated PS 89, but blame large class size, and not the teachers.

Iris Pena and daughter Esperanza, 10, are less pleased with low-rated PS 89, but blame large class size, and not the teachers. (Tomas E. Gaston)

PS 86

PS 86

PS 89

PS 89

ON YOUR MARKS: Lydia Garcia and daughter Ariana, 8, are pleased with PS 86 in The Bronx and its high rating. “I love my school,” Ariana gushes. Iris Pena and daughter Esperanza, 10, are less pleased with low-rated PS 89, but blame large class size, and not the teachers. (
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What a difference three miles makes.

At PS 86 in Kingsbridge Heights in The Bronx, 50 percent of the teachers are rated “above average” in how effectively they help students learn math, and 51 percent are above average in English instruction.

But at PS 89 three miles away in Williamsbridge, just 12 percent of teachers are rated above average in math, and zero percent above average in English. That’s well below the citywide averages of 25 percent.

Both schools face challenges.

Eighty-eight percent of students at PS 89 qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch, 19.6 percent are learning to speak English, and 19.1 percent have special needs — signs that the school’s students need academic help.

DATABASE: PERFORMANCE GRADES FOR NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS (ORGANIZED BY SCHOOL)

“Classroom management is a problem in upper grades,” says the watchdog group Insideschools.org.

The school, rated “C” by the city Department of Education, has 10 teachers rated in the bottom 10 percent in data reported yesterday by The Post — the worst of any school in the five boroughs.

PS 86 also has difficulties: 91 percent of its students are deemed poor or low income, 30.4 percent are learning English, and 17.1 percent are in special education.

But it got an “A” rating from the Department of Education, and data released Friday show it has 13 teachers rated in the top 10 percent citywide — the most of any school.

“I’m worried about that because my daughter is struggling in math, and I don’t see her skills improving,” said PS 89 mom Iris Pena.

Her daughter, Esperanza, 10, was held back in third grade and is at risk of having to repeat fourth grade.

“They just can’t show my daughter the attention she needs,” said Pena.

Told about the much- higher-rated teachers at neighboring PS 86, Pena conceded, “Our school is probably less disciplined.”

But Pena excused the staff, blaming class sizes of 30 or so, rather than teachers: “That’s something that’s out of their control.”

Esperanza agreed: “I like my teachers. They care about us, but there’s just too many kids.”

But Pena’s worries are not shared by Lydia Garcia, 27, whose three daughters attend pre-K, kindergarten and third grade at PS 86 — where, Insideschools.org notes, teachers also cope with overlarge classes.

“It’s been a good experience for us. From what I know, the teachers take a good time out for the students,” Garcia said.

Her 8-year-old daughter, Ariana, piped in: “I love my school. I learn about where I live, I learn math, and I love to read books.”