By 2:25 p.m. every school day, Santiago Taveras takes his position on the corner of Paul Avenue and the Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx, two muscled security guards by his side. A pair of police vans, lights flashing, park just across the street, and a half-dozen school safety agents in police uniforms patrol on foot.

This is the daily scene at DeWitt Clinton High School as its 2,200 students begin dismissal, and Mr. Taveras, the principal, a bear of man carrying 350 pounds over 6 feet 3 inches, comes outside to keep order. But he also comes out to say hello......

.......In recent years, Clinton has battled low graduation rates, plummeting enrollment and a climate that made many students feel unsafe. During the tenure of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, large, struggling schools like this one were regularly closed and broken up into new, smaller institutions, which the administration favored as a way to shake up the staff and give students more individual attention......

.......This month, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously opposed closing schools except as a last resort, announced his plan for fixing 94 of the city’s most troubled schools by elongating the school day, giving teachers added training and providing extra support for students and their families. Clinton is one of the 94......

......Mr. Bloomberg opened 656 schools, including charter schools, and many education experts deem his aggressive push for small schools a great success. A multiyear study by MDRC, a nonprofit research organization, has found an array of benefits to the approach in New York City, including higher graduation rates, a greater likelihood that students will graduate in four years and go right to college, and increased college enrollment rates......

Full Article