Sundaram Srinivasan was an important figure in a community that few New Yorkers have heard of, let alone visited.

At P.S. 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn kids, parents and teachers praise the school’s dual language curriculum. But many students under-perform on standardized tests, and the school got less-than-stellar grades in its report card.

It can take five to seven years for a kid with a non-English speaking background to learn proper academic English. Yet New York high schools that serve immigrants are under pressure to graduate their students in four years.

Faced with limited resources a New York City high school for immigrant teenagers faces a tough choice on where to spend its money.