PS9 Proposed Changes Causing Unrest
After the controversial proposal to move a Manhattan school in Park Slope’s John Jay, there’s been talk about a similar proposal from the DOE to locate Brooklyn East Collegiate Middle School in Prospect Height’s PS 9 while it phases out the existing middle school, MS 571. As a parent writes to us, “This situation reflects…
After the controversial proposal to move a Manhattan school in Park Slope’s John Jay, there’s been talk about a similar proposal from the DOE to locate Brooklyn East Collegiate Middle School in Prospect Height’s PS 9 while it phases out the existing middle school, MS 571. As a parent writes to us, “This situation reflects a larger trend of schools facing problems when DOE shoehorns charter schools into their buildings.” The proposal cuts P.S. 9 access to the library, cafeteria, gym and schoolyard, with 4.5 hours a week of access to the Book Hive Library, which local parents helped create. It also looks like East Collegiate won’t cater directly to the neighborhood, but all of Brooklyn. Parents’ concerns, which you can read more about here, focus on the already-exiting problems of over-enrollment, the lack of resources to support three schools for the three years before MS 571 is phased out, and the environment at East Collegiate which runs “a very strict program for under-performing students,” according to the PS 9 blog. In The Brooklyn Paper today, a spokesman for DOE is quoted as saying that “[MS 571] has done horribly.” The public hearing on the proposal is January 24th, 6pm at 80 Underhill Ave. You can take a look at the flier after the jump.
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Jaguar — There are many intelligent and informed people who are opposed to charter schools. You are not among them. This is a complicated issue with many nuances. The UFT actually runs some charter schools, and many are unionized. The vast majority of charter schools are not-for-profit, and in New York, they operate by lottery. Also, charter schools are MUCH more accountable than traditional public schools, since they have to apply to renew their charters every five years and are evaluated and audited constantly. Please educate yourself before spewing propaganda.
More union busting by his imperial majesty the mayor. Charter schools are not a solution for the failing public school systems of America. Almost all educators know this, but, of course, big money is involved, and believe me, people are making money hand over fist opening charter schools. These are public schools that are unaccountable and are allowed to discriminate in admissions. Why do people stand for it? Why do people stand for the teach to the test schooling that the emperor insists has improved education in NYC? I just don’t get it.
From http://www.newyorkcharters.org:
Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School will join five other Collegiate charter schools in Brooklyn. Brooklyn East Collegiate is part of the Uncommon Schools network. The first school in the Collegiate network, Williamsburg Collegiate Charter School, is one of the ten highest-ranked middle schools in New York City (based on the 2008 NYC Department of Education Progress Reports), after being #1 on the 2007 Progress Reports. 100% of Williamsburg Collegiate 7th grade students scored advanced or proficient on the 2008 New York State Math exam and 92% of the same cohort scored advanced or proficient on the 2008 New York State ELA exam.
A repesentative from the proposed charter school attended the CB #8’s Education Committee last night. Preference will be given to chlidren who reside in CSDs 13, 14, 16 and 18. (PS 9 is in CSD 13.) When a commitee member inquired about the site for this school, the committee learned that the original proposed site was a school slated for closure last year in CSD 23 (Ocean Hill/Brownsville.) That school did not close.
The question to ask is whether the charter school’s presence will hinder or help the children that currently attend or will attend PS 9. Will the resources be constrained.
Accordingly, that should dictate the community’s response to the DOE proposed siting of the charter school.
I would never send my child to a school like that, but any child I have is unlikely to need that type structure in school if statistics dictate anything.
I know a few people who work for them and they have mixed feelings about the demands placed on the students and potential “burn out”.
FYI, here’s the school’s website.
http://www.uncommonschools.org/bec/home/
The school hours are crazily long and it sounds very strict, but according to their numbers, they’re doing a good job. Are they doing a good job? Looks like most of the staff is ex-Teach for America.
“And I especially don’t understand why everyone in support of charter schools chooses to ignore all of the research that shows, very clearly, that charter schools do NOT do any better than public schools.”
^^^This
I don’t understand how closing, opening, and moving schools is a great cost-saving measure. The situation at PS 9, (which hits us closer to home than John Jay), sounds like a complete nightmare. And there’s a very selfish part of me that worries if the parents of PS 9 succeed in keeping the charter school out, it’ll get moved to my child’s school instead.
However, in all of this coverage I have seen nothing FOR the charter school. There has to be a positive reason to put it in PS 9? Why is it being moved from its current location in the first place? Would PS 9 be happier if the charter school was arts and letters or community roots?
What sucks the most is all of these seemingly random and arbitrary decisions by the DoE end up pitting parents and teachers against themselves.