Wednesday Links: P.S. 8 and P.S. 307 Rezoning Brings Race and Class Issues to the Forefront
Race and Class Collide in a Plan for P.S. 8 and P.S. 307 [NYT] Red Hook Cherry Business to Plead Guilty Over Pollution and Marijuana [NYT] Major Commercial Real Estate Firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Planning Brooklyn Office [Crain’s] Construction Update: 333 Schermerhorn Street, aka The Hub, Downtown Brooklyn [NYY] Five-Story, 21-Unit Mixed-Use Building Planned at…
Race and Class Collide in a Plan for P.S. 8 and P.S. 307 [NYT]
Red Hook Cherry Business to Plead Guilty Over Pollution and Marijuana [NYT]
Major Commercial Real Estate Firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Planning Brooklyn Office [Crain’s]
Construction Update: 333 Schermerhorn Street, aka The Hub, Downtown Brooklyn [NYY]
Five-Story, 21-Unit Mixed-Use Building Planned at 144 West Street in Greenpoint [NYY]
Revealed: Schlitz Brewery Redevelopment at 95 Evergreen Avenue in Bushwick [NYY]
Two Buildings at Landmarked Williamsburg Complex to be Combined, Converted [TRD]
South Williamsburg Church Leasing Property for Residential Development [DNA]
City Hears Testimony on Brooklyn Heights Library Redevelopment Before Vote [DNA]
P.S. 29 on Henry Street in Cobble Hill.
Photo by Hannah Frishberg
Looking at the map in the NYT graphic, it is striking, that the current district for P.S. 8 encompasses an area from Brooklyn Heights through Dumbo and Vinegar Hill into the Navy Yard. Yet, the current district for P.S. 307 encompasses a carved out region, pretty tiny, in between Vinegar Hill and the Navy Yard. How did that happen, and when did that happen? The very small P.S. 307 district is where most of the black and Hispanic children live.
Talk about the bigotry of low expectations: “Its state test scores, while below the citywide averages, are closer to average for black and Hispanic students, with 20 percent of its students passing the math tests and 12 percent passing the reading tests this past year. ” I agree, that is nothing to be proud of, and I don’t blame the parents who don’t want their kids to go to a school like that.
Are there any private schools in the area? Charter schools? What about homeschooling? I’m all about parents taking control of their children’s education and removing them from the public school system.
” Its state test scores, while below the citywide averages, are closer to average for black and Hispanic students, with 20 percent of its students passing the math tests and 12 percent passing the reading tests this past year”.
Black, white, Hispanic, Asian…whatever your background is, with test scores like that, you should not feel so proud of your school and should not feel the need to keep it as is. It is a failing school and having some higher income earners be part of the school, they might push harder to hold the teachers accountable to help the students there improve the scores.
bedstuy13, the very fact you use the phrase “failing school” suggest you know absolutely nothing about public education. Teachers have nothing to do with bad test scores in places like PS 307, and the idea that they need to be “held] accountable” for them laughable. It’s about poverty, plain and simple. Test scores in NYC public schools exactly correlate with socioeconomic class. Hence, the white schools in yuppie areas (ps 321, 29, 8) all have fantastic scores, while the ones with 100% minority populations tend to suck. Do you really think all the teachers are so “great” at the white schools? (Please.)
well said boeringhill and totally true.
I read this comment:
http://goo.gl/6qaCzv here and attended Monday’s town hall at PS 8.
I had some similar thoughts to this commenter. This issue is not going to be solved by mid-level DOE employees who are re-drawing lines based on population statistics and empty seats. I’d like to see us engage in real dialog across race and socioeconomic class, not just here in this neighborhood but in other parts of Brooklyn and NYC. My family made a choice to live in Brooklyn because of what it offers us – rich, stimulating, and diverse experiences. New York is a beautiful city, integrated better than others in some ways, but just as segregated as others when it comes to educating our children. What a shame, for all of us.
Let us come together and be an example of how we can improve education for all of our children. We need people to help lead this process, and it will take time. That leadership must come from all levels of our community, from moms and dads here in the neighborhood to the mayor’s office and school chancellor.
Thanks for the link. Left some thoughts on that forum. Most importantly wanted to point out an example of successful promotion of diversity in a new school zone at PS 130 in Windsor Terrace/Kensington:
http://bradlander.nyc/news/updates/steps-forward-toward-more-diverse-schools