The Marketplace
Run by the kids who start the businesses
Children work out what to sell, what to charge, and how to keep customers happy. The ones whose businesses take off have to hire — which means interviewing the classmates who applied.
Pre-K – Grade 8 · Tremont, The Bronx
A school the children run
Our children do not just read about how a community works. They run one — with real jobs, real paychecks, an election every year and a courtroom of their own.
Our school
There is a town inside this building
P.S. 3 is a MicroSociety school. For part of every day, the building turns into a small town — and the children are the ones running it.
They apply for jobs and get hired. They start their own little businesses. They earn money the school prints, save it at the school bank, and spend it. They put themselves forward for office, make their case to the class, and get voted in — or not. And when two of them cannot agree, they take it to a courtroom their classmates run.
None of this replaces schoolwork — it is what makes the schoolwork matter. You cannot run a cash register without arithmetic, write a rule everyone can follow without careful words, or print a story without checking it first.
More about our schoolFour things the children run
They run businesses
Children get hired, earn a wage and bank it — all in money the school prints itself.
They choose their leaders
They put themselves forward, campaign, and vote. The rules of the town get written by the kids who then have to follow them.
They sort out their own disputes
When two children disagree, they can take it to a courtroom their classmates run instead of straight to a grown-up.
They perform and publish
There is a school paper to write and, with our partner SoBRO, dance, music and theater going on alongside it.
Named for Raúl Juliá
In June 1996 this school was named for Raúl Juliá — the Puerto Rican actor who spent his fame on the work of ending hunger. Thirty years on, his name still sets the assignment: use what you have on behalf of everybody else.
MicroSociety
Six rooms, six jobs
Every one of these is run by our own children, from Kindergarten right through to eighth grade.
How MicroSociety worksThe Bank
Run by the kid tellers and bookkeepers
This is where children put their wages and keep their savings. Anyone hoping to start a business comes through this door first.
Town Hall
Run by the kids who won the election
Children campaign for the job, their classmates vote, and whoever wins helps write the rules everybody then has to live by.
The Courtroom
Run by the kid judges and their helpers
Both sides get to explain themselves and a decision gets made. Children learn that a rule only counts if there is somewhere to take it.
The Newsroom
Run by the kid reporters and editors
The school paper. Children cover the elections, review the new businesses, and ask the awkward questions in print.
The Stage
Run by the kids who put the shows on
Dance, music and theater with our community partner SoBRO — plus the projects for the neighborhood that the children vote to pay for.
Our principal
Twenty-two years, one building
Denise Brown has led P.S. 3 for twenty-two years, all of them in this one building. That continuity shows up in the record.
Nearly two in three of our eighth-graders leave here having already earned high school credit — citywide the figure is one in three. Algebra is offered for Regents credit before a student has set foot in a high school. Nine in ten of our students say they feel safe in this building, and 84% of the teachers standing in front of them have been teaching for three years or more.
Denise BrownPrincipal
Figures: NYC Public Schools 2024–25 School Quality Guide and the 2024–25 NYC School Survey.
Admissions
How to get a seat
P.S. 3 is unzoned. No address guarantees a seat here, and no address rules one out.
For 3-K, Pre-K and Kindergarten, priority goes to children living in District 10, to siblings of current students, and to children already in our own Pre-K. Everyone else is welcome to apply. For middle school, our own fifth-graders continue first, then students living in District 9 and District 10.
Seats and grades
| Grades served | 3-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten – Grade 8 |
|---|---|
| 3-K seats | 19 |
| Pre-K seats | 23 |
| Enrollment | About 317 children |
For families
The practical details
| Address | 2100 Lafontaine Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457 |
|---|---|
| District | Geographic District 10, Bronx · DBN 10X003 · School number X003 |
| Building | Our own — not shared with another school |
| Accessibility | Fully accessible, rated 10 out of 10 |
| Breakfast | 7:30 – 8:00 AM, free for every student |
| Lunch | 10:30 AM – 1:15 PM, free for every student |
| Buses | Bx9, Bx15, Bx17, Bx19, Bx36, Bx40, Bx41, Bx41-SBS, Bx42 |
| Main office | 718-584-1899 · Fax 718-584-3590 |
Who to ask
Brenda Velez
Parent Coordinator
Start here. Enrollment questions, forms, translation, and anything you cannot find.
bvelez@schools.nyc.govCivita Vitiello-Alvara
Respect for All Liaison
Bullying, harassment and discrimination concerns.
cvitielloalvarado@schools.nyc.govYvette Oaddams
504 Coordinator
Accommodations and 504 plans.
yoaddams@schools.nyc.gov
Documents on file
Come and see it
Walk the building
It makes a lot more sense once you have seen it. Call the main office and we will find you a time to come in while it is all going on.
2100 Lafontaine AvenueBronx, New York 10457 (opens in a new tab)Call 718-584-1899
Buses Bx9, Bx15, Bx17, Bx19, Bx36, Bx40, Bx41, Bx41-SBS and Bx42 all stop nearby.