Our Vision:

Through the collaborative efforts of staff, teachers, administrators, parents, and community partners, McKinley empowers students to flourish while providing socio-emotional support with diverse curricular and extracurricular programs, inclusive of the arts, sports, and technology that encompass the "McKinley Experience."  Students are immersed in rigorous instruction that provides opportunities for exploration, investigation, problem-solving, critical thinking, and self-discovery all while striving for academic excellence, social maturity, and physical and mental fitness. We embrace the challenges of middle school and come together as a community to be "The Pride of Bay Ridge." 

Our Mission:

We are driven by our shared goal to explore, develop, and celebrate our individuality within our McKinley community.  Our founding principle recognizes that all McKinleyans, both students and staff, can discover, achieve, and thrive.  Our mission is to manifest a learning environment that provides access to opportunity for all students.  Here we work to open the doors, knock down the barriers and give everyone what they need to reach their max potential. Through carefully curated programs and initiatives McKinley is making the steps to provide a learning community that is guided by cultural responsibility, equity and social emotional academic awareness. Within our teacher designed curricular units, we seek to embed the rigorous instruction needed to support all learners with the lens of bias, perspective, historical relevance, innovation and culture.  The process of adapting curriculum and creating educational opportunities is guided by data driven inquiry and research.  In order to bring the McKinley vision to fruition we strive to be ever changing and evolving with the world around us.

Our Instructional Focus:

McKinley’s instructional focus bridges social-emotional and culturally responsive education to build advanced literacy skills across content areas. The inclusion of voice and choice are embraced through diversified texts, and class discussions are driven through students’ perspective and cultural experiences. Moreover, students’ vocabulary acquisition is strengthened and developed through reading, writing, and speaking skills, which ultimately foster abstract thinking and learning. Our focus manifests in classroom instruction, which emphasizes opportunities for students to engage in rigorous curricula while exploring critical thinking and individuality. 

McKinley has a legacy of providing its students with an academically challenging program while supporting the idea of community and trust with our robust after school and enrichment programs. We believe so strongly in creating and maintaining a robust after school program (academic and extracurricular), that, as a school, we conducted a School Based Option (vote) to modify the teacher’s contract and the start and end times to the school day. That said, over 95% of the staff voted to have the additional 155 minutes per week, otherwise referred to as the "extended day time" (which includes time for professional development and parent engagement), spread out over Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings, to have student dismissal be consistently 2:55 (where our after-school programs can be maintained Monday through Friday without interruption).

Many of these after school programs are academic, but many of them are also geared towards physical and mental fitness, demonstrating that the leadership team and McKinley IS 259 prioritizes the physical and emotional wellness of our students, as well as the academic wellness. For a list of our current before and after school programs, please go to the student tab and scroll down to “after school activities,” or review our ongoing announcements.

McKinley's Overall Instructional Initiatives for the 2023-2024 school year include a Regent-tracked Program in grades 6, 7, & 8 (six classes on the 6th grade level, 7 classes on the 7th grade, and 7 classes on the 8th grade).

• The Regent classes include Algebra I, Living Environment, and US History & Government Regent Exams, as well as the Spanish Proficiency Exams

• Independent Investigations Method (IIM) is our new Regent tracked Screened MS Program. For more information on IIM, please see the screened program section of this tab on the website

• ·Virtual Enterprises Junior Ventures (VEJV) is another Regent tracked program that develops technology and entrepreneurial skills by starting and managing business ventures for 7th and 8th grade students- this class and IIM do not receive a World Language class, as the IIM and VEJV is part of their Core program

• In September 2023 William McKinley IS 259 will incorporate a Mandarin Chinese dual language program in our school. The class will encompass 30 students who have been emerged in a dual language program since kindergarten. Through this program, students will have access to a world-class education that prepares global citizens who are bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural who are ready to thrive in a dynamic, competitive workforce. The ultimate goal is that they will continue on  this path through high school and graduate with a diploma in biliteracy.

In addition to our Core academic programs, McKinley prides itself on having a large Visual & Performing Arts program that include Visual Arts, Chorus, Keyboard, Theater, Drama, Strings, Marching Band, and Band/Orchestra Program. If students do not have these programs as electives in their everyday schedule, we offer them after school.

We are a Community School, which not only helps fund some of our after-school programs through the NYC Community School Grant, but is a 7th grade course that every single student receives while at McKinley. It is in this Business Connections class where we provide college and career readiness skills- they take college tours, learn how to right a resume, etc. 

These robust after school programs help create a seamless day from the traditional school day to after school where students can enjoy anything from homework assistance to culinary arts. In the words of the 21st Century:

“Community Schools are a strategy to organize and share leadership to integrate social services into the fabric of the schools. Community Schools align resources with vision and purpose resulting in improved student learning, stronger families, and healthier communities. Community schools offer a holistic approach toward improving academic performance driven by strong, collaborative partnerships among principals, parents, teachers, and Community Based Organizations. In Community Schools, parents are the real active partners in their children's education, the school climate is joyful and positive, and expanding learning opportunities are abundant."-- NYC Community Schools