Bank Street College is partnering with Bronx public schools to provide students with unique, hands-on classroom experiences.

Under the program, second-graders are reading poems and acting them out to develop their comprehension skills. Another group of students learns in a real courtroom using a "People's Court" approach. Public School 156 Principal James Lee says the program is working.

Lee's school is one of three in the Bronx to invite teachers from the college. Bank Street College instructors interact with teachers and students at the schools up to three times monthly. Teacher Barbara Pinos says before the program, she based her technique strictly on curriculums. She now sees students as individuals and builds on what they bring to the classroom. The program aims to help schools in at-risk, poverty-ridden areas that usually have problems with retaining educators.