The story of Winthrop Junior High School began in September 1930, when New York City was expanding its public-school system to serve a growing generation of students. At 905 Winthrop Street in East Flatbush, the new school opened as the largest elementary-level school among 19 schools and additions introduced across the city that fall. Over the years, students would know it by several names—P.S. 232, J.H.S. 232, I.S. 232 and, most simply, Winthrop.

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Just four years after opening, Winthrop was already exploring new ways to tell the story of public education. In 1934, staff member Irving Pollack produced Why Junior High School, a film based on the work of Principal Frederick B. Graham. Filmed after school over six months, it captured students participating in mathematics, domestic science, printing and other classroom activities. The film received honorable mention among the Amateur Cinema League’s Ten Best films of 1934, placing the young Brooklyn school in an early national spotlight.

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As generations passed through its doors, Winthrop developed traditions of its own. Its yearbook and student publication, The Winthrop Owl, captured everyday school life, student accomplishments and the memories classmates created together. Editions from 1954 and 1957, along with a 1962 autograph book, remain preserved as part of Brooklyn’s educational history.

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Winthrop continued evolving with the needs of its students. From 1980 to 1984, it hosted Project Turnaround, an after-school initiative created to help young people remain engaged in their education and avoid dropping out. Among the many students who once walked its halls was Al Davis, the future Pro Football Hall of Famer and longtime Raiders owner. Decades after leaving Winthrop, he remembered the school during his 1992 Hall of Fame induction speech.

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After nearly eight decades of educating Brooklyn students, I.S. 232 closed in June 2009. The building remains in educational use as a shared campus, continuing the purpose it first served in 1930. Winthrop itself lives on through the stories, friendships and achievements of the students, educators and families who made the school an enduring part of the Brooklyn community.