john-jay-012011.jpgLast week there was a heated public hearing about the DOE’s proposal to move Manhattan’s elite Millennium School into the John Jay High School building in Park Slope where three low-performing high schools and one middle school currently coexist. At that meeting, critics of the plan asked DOE put more money into the existing schools rather than fund a new one. Their pleas fell on deaf ears however, because today the NY Times reports that a Millennium, which has a competitive admissions process, will in fact open its Brooklyn branch next Fall in the school that the neighborhood has “shunned…because of its poor academic performance.” According to The Times, the DOE saw this as an opportunity “to open a high school in a neighborhood where many families found they had to look elsewhere for a top-quality high school.” (77 percent of the families in the area are white while just six percent of the current student body is white.) The article does not mention if the existing schools will receive any extra funding along with the start-up costs allotted to Millennium.
Plenty of Discord Over John Jay Expansion Plan [Brownstoner]
Photo by wallyg


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. The fact that Millennium has so many Asian kids has absolutely nothing to do with the Chinatown Y. The fact is that the zone has a lot of Asian kids (all of Chinatown, which is large and growing, is in the zone), and the schools in the zone have a lot of Asian kids, and Asian kids tend to have high school averages higher than white, black or Latino kids so they are more likely to be admitted. Believe me, as the mother of an Asian kid who always went to schools right in the middle of the Millennium zone and who personally knows at least 30 Asian Millennium kids, all freshmen and sophomores.

    As for charter schools, take a minute before you drink that Koolaid. They do not get better results than noncharters, and plenty of them are failed or failing despite big-name fundraising far beyond what public schools can do.

  2. I admit I drank the kool-aid…

    We don’t disagree on some of your other points. Re: education experts at the top, no disagreement there. Heading a company does not qualify someone to head an education system.

    Re: the separate entrance, I read today that the Millennium principal has stated firmly that they will not use a separate entrance, and will come in the same as everyone else, regardless of whether or not there are metal detectors.

    There’s also an issue of Millennium getting special funds for start-up equipment and the like. The city says it’s because there are inherently start-up costs, and I can understand that, but if the other schools need computers, supplies, etc., the city should find the money.

    We’ll just agree to disagree on charters….

  3. @rf and any parent who promotes cell phones in schools:

    I am not sure how old your child is, but from a teacher’s point of view, it is highly possible that your child is not really keeping her/his phone in her/his bag the whole time.

    In addition, cell phones/iPods, etc. have really become more of a detriment to our students’ education, rather than an innovation. Most students are still not exactly clear as to when IS an appropriate time to have electronics out and when IS NOT. Teenagers these days are constantly on their phones and as a result, are missing out on valuable instruction their teachers are giving. I often wonder about the percentage of information that is actually being heard/retained nowadays with students who bring their cell phones to school… (By the way, I am all about the wonders of 21st Century learning – but Electronics Etiquette should also be taught at home and in schools.)

    Oh, and not to mention, cell phones are often the cause of “drama” and discipline problems when they go missing, are used for texting/gossiping during class, or instigating fights/hurt feelings due to miscommunication/disrespect via texts – regardless of socioeconomic background.