The Yung Wing Elementary School, Public School 124 opened in October 1976, is located within the Confucius Plaza Housing Development in the Chinatown Area.  P.S.124 serves approximately 1,000 students, spanning from Pre-K to Grade 5.  All the classes are heterogeneously grouped with the exception of a talented/gifted class on each grade.  Approximately 92% of the students are Asian with one third of the students being limited in English proficiency.

     P.S.124 supports a whole language philosophy and implements a literature based reading program, a hands-on problem solving approach to learning mathematics, and an inquiry based model for studying science and social studies.  Real life problems are used to challenge students to be critical and independent thinkers as well as to make their learning meaningful and purposeful.  At P.S.124, children learn in an environment that supports cooperative grouping, peer tutoring, learning centers, and the production of individual/group projects.  The students, faculty, and administration set rigorous standards for themselves and trust in the value of hard work.

     P.S.124 is a school that has a high level of parent and community involvement.  Parents and community are actively engaged in many facets of the teaching and learning at P.S.124.  Decisions are made collaboratively through our School Based Management/Shared Decision Making Team which consists of parents, teachers, and administrators.

The Gifted Program

     Public School 124 is committed to providing educational opportunities which will allow all children to reach their potentials.  Based on this premise, we provide the gifted child with programs that supplement, enrich, and extend learning beyond the standard curriculum.  It is our philosophy that gifted children should be allowed to develop socially and emotionally at a pace consistent with their ages and abilities.

     Classes for the "gifted" are composed of identified pupils who excel and demonstrate excellence in intellectual ability.  The Talented/Gifted Program at P.S.124 begins in kindergarten and goes up to Grade 5.

     The Talented/Gifted Program uses the same basic principles of good teaching that stimulate and support learning of all the children at P.S.124.  The application of those principles in a gifted class, however, results in a differentiated and enriched curriculum.  The content is broadened to cover more related topics and deepened to engage children in more complex ideas and concepts.  Greater emphasis and time are given to activities that use higher level thinking skills, develop creativity, and results in products that spans across different disciplines encompassing different points of view.