Upper West Side, Manhattan
On June 8, the Upper West Side community unveiled a new street sign on 92nd Street and Columbus Avenue. The street is now named Public School 84 Sidney Morison Way in memory of Principal Sidney Morison who led the school for 25 years.
Under his stewardship, PS 84 became the first NYC school with a dual language program in English and Spanish. Today, the school has English-Spanish and English-French curriculums. “PS 84 was very respected because it was the first school that started the dual language program,” said Norma Perez, retired Principal.
The UWS community is famous for parental involvement. Councilwoman Gale Brewer said: “My colleagues are jealous of the West Side”. The neighborhood’s collective approach has helped it withstand many changes and much adversity. Parents whose children attended PS 84 during Mr. Morison’s tenure -- including Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan Borough President -- celebrated the renaming of the street with neighbors and family.
“Let’s not ignore the parents; without them, there wouldn’t be a school,” said Jacqueline Morison, widow of Mr. Morison. Educators expressed their gratitude for Mr. Morison’s professional support to teachers. “He was very generous, he shared his ideas with other schools,” said Susan Knaster, a former teacher at PS 84.
