Lobbying update

As of Saturday, Marc Sternberg, DOE's deputy chancellor of Portfolio Planning, had reiterated to Councilmember Letitia James that his team still intended to close M.S. 571 and to add Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School to P.S. 9's building.

Yet P.S. 9's supporters may be closing strong. Those involved with direct outreach to elected officials and members of the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) —the ultimate voters — report that at least one PEP member opposes the DOE's proposal. Meanwhile, our new data analyses and sets of arguments have given elected officials like Tish James, Eric Adams, Marty Markowitz Hakeem Jeffries and Joan Millman a chance to deepen their discussions with the DOE.

Both PEP members and elected officials tell us that DOE is now taking time to formulate a response to P.S. 9-related questions that voters and officials have been asking them. Until now, DOE has simply dismissed arguments against the plan.

In other words, P.S. 9's supporters may be starting to make DOE sweat. And we may have a chance to make DOE blink. But first, we will need to keep up the pressure — calling and emailing City Hall, Chancellor Cathleen Black, as well as other elected officials, to share with them our best arguments against the plan. Please make sure to send emails to Tino Hernandez, chair of the PEP, urging that the K009 co-location be rejected or delayed. Three good reasons:

1. to allow the extent of P.S. 9's enrollment growth to become clearer;

2. to grant M.S. 571 its fair opportunity under the Chancellor's Regulations to improve;

3. to ensure that DOE gives P.S. 9 a fair hearing of its plan to expand. Implementing the co-location in August 2011 would prevent P.S. 9 from having the chance to submit a proposal.

Does Brooklyn East Collegiate need to move?

The DOE's proposal doesn't consider the question, yet moving next year doesn't look necessary in the least. Thanks to Theo Stewart-Stand for the insta-illustration.

[Click on it to see larger.]

Just because Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School wasn't originally meant to be at 1485 Pacific St. (building K343) doesn't mean that the Pacific St. building is an inappropriate place for it to remain until September 2013. Brooklyn East Collegiate's current building was built in 2008 and has two high-school gyms and other dividable facilities that two schools can use at once. One of the schools in the building is a sister school, Uncommon Charter High School, with which it can easily share resources. None of this is true at 80 Underhill Ave.

Postponing BEC's move would allow time for P.S. 9's enrollment growth to become clearer. It would also allow the PEP to grant M.S. 571 its full opportunity, under the Chancellor's Regulations, to improve its performance. And it would allow P.S. 9 a fair chance to present an expansion plan —which this co-location proposal denies it — should M.S. 571 not turn around.

NY1 covers Saturday rally

NY1's report includes statements from Councilmember Letitia James, State Senator Eric Adams, an M.S. 571 parent, and footage of P.S. 9 parents.

Also featured: several P.S. 9 students holding signs or dressed as sardines. Watch it here.

(Screen grab from NY1's website.)

NEW sample letter/email to send

Download text from this link (Go to "File" menu, click "Download original.")

Or copy from here:

January , 2011

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Dear

On Monday, January 24^th, several hundred parents and members of the community came to show their support for P.S. 9 at the Department of Education (DOE) Public Hearing at P.S. 9 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

The DOE is proposing that P.S. 9 share 80 Underhill Avenue (“Building K009”) with Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School and M.S. 571 until June 2013. On Thursday, February 3^rd, a DOE panel will vote whether to move forward with this plan. As an involved parent at PS 9, I want to alert you that this plan is riddled with critical inaccuracies and errors. If approved, the co-location would severely harm the learning environment of elementary school students at PS 9 and would stunt the progress of a thriving community school.

Some major flaws in the DOE plan include:

· The DOE projects additional students at P.S. 9 but has not allocated adequate classroom space for them. Nor has it come up with a plan for repurposing rooms already in use. P.S. 9 may be short of as many as 15 classrooms in five years.

· The DOE’s plan will restrict P.S. 9’s ability to serve the growing Pre-K through Grade 5 needs of Prospect Heights and surrounding neighborhoods. Last year, 237 families applied for 54 seats in Pre-Kindergarten, a five-fold rise in requests from just four years ago. To meet demand during the past two Septembers, P.S. 9 added a fifth, then a sixth kindergarten class. This year, demand continues to grow: according to P.S. 9’s registrar, in the first 2 weeks of registration—and with 6 weeks remaining—106 students have enrolled for P.S. 9’s kindergarten; last year's K class was 117.

· The EIS erroneously asserts that the building has two gymnasiums – there’s only one.

· The DOE doesn’t acknowledge the use of P.S. 9’s use of the gymnasium after 3 p.m. for two different afterschool programs, serving 100 families a day. One is sponsored by the school’s P.T.O., which generates revenue for the school. These programs will most likely be dislodged by the middle school’s plan to use the gym after 3 p.m.

· The plan also doesn’t make time for cleaning up the cafeteria between shifts. Teachers have recommended that students eat lunch later than 10:30, to increase instructional time in the morning, yet sharing the cafeteria with 3 schools makes this even less likely.

This proposed co-location will undermine a successful program in a rapidly expanding public school, and seriously harm the learning environment for P.S. 9’s elementary school students. That is why the PS 9 school leadership has proposed and has filed a Letter of Interest to expand the school from Pre-K to 8. This natural expansion will fill the DOE's and our community’s needs for more top-quality middle schools in District 13.

Please do not accept at face value the misleading and error-ridden analysis that DOE has given you and voice your rejection of the co-location plan for PS 9 before February 3rd.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

FINAL PUSH ACTIONS: Call and write these people

To see this information as a 1-page flier, or print onto a page, please download here. Go to "File" menu, click "Download original."

Find a sample message/letter to send here and another one here.

1. Send emails to:

Michael Bloomberg, Mayor: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor: Dwalcott@cityhall.nyc.gov

Gentian Falstrom, Division of Portfolio Planning: D13Proposals@schools.nyc.gov

DOE Chancellor Cathleen Black: chancellor@schools.nyc.gov

DOE Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg: MSternberg@schools.nyc.gov

Panel for Educational Policy: panel@schools.nyc.gov

Chairman Tino Hernandez: thernandez@samvill.org, Thernandez5@schools.nyc.gov

Vice chair Philip Berry: Philip@philipberryassociates.com

Joe Chan: jchan@dbpartnership.org

Joan Correale: sipeprep@aol.com

Monica Major: majorm766@gmail.com

Tomas Morales: tomas.morales@csi.cuny.edu

Lisette Nieves: lnieves@yearup.org

Dmytro Fedkowskyj: pepofqueens@yahoo.com

Gbubemi Okotieuro: okotieuro@yahoo.com

Gitte Peng: gittepeng@yahoo.com

Robert Reffkin: RReffkin@schools.nyc.gov

Patrick Sullivan: patk.j.sullivan@gmail.com

Linda Lausell Bryant: llbryant@inwoodhouse.com

Mail letters to:

Panel for Educational Policy Chancellor Cathleen Black

52 Chambers Street Department Of Education

New York, NY 10007 52 Chambers Street

New York, NY 10007

2. Send emails and letters to your elected officials:

Yvette Clarke, Congresswoman Ed Towns, Congressman

123 Linden Blvd., Ste. 200 186 Joralemon Street, Ste. 1102

Brooklyn, NY 11226 Brooklyn, NY 11201

http://clarke.house.gov/Contact/ gail.muhammad@mail.house.gov

Robert Jackson, NY City Council, Education Chair

rjackson@council.nyc.gov

3. See script below, then call and leave messages with:

DOE at 212-374-0208

Panel for Educational Policy at 212-374-5038

Dennis Walcott at (212) 788-3000

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke’s office at 718-287-1142

Congressman Edolphus Towns’ office at 718-855-8018

Sample Script – For Voicemail Messages

Hello, my name is _______________ and I am a parent at PS 9 in Brooklyn.

On February 3^rd, the Panel for Educational Policy will vote on whether or not to close MS 571 and co-locate Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School into our building at 80 Underhill Avenue. The Department of Education proposal is filled with critical inaccuracies and errors. If approved, it will severely harm the learning environment of PS 9 students as well as stunt the progress of a thriving community school.

You can find a list of the major flaws on the PS 9 blog at ps9pta.blogspot.com.

(Use with DOE and PEP)Please vote against the co-location plan on February 3^rd. Thank you.

(For Elected Officials) Please ask the panel to vote against the co-location on February 3^rd. Thank you

Chancellor, why move a school you'll need to evict?

You can send this message to chancellor@schools.nyc.gov, Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg, and any other officials, friends, or media outlets.

• • •

New data: K009 co-location plan should not proceed

Dear Chancellor Black,

I want to alert you to an agonizing backtrack you will need to undertake if you don't act before February 3. The DOE's pending co-location proposal to add Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School to the building of P.S. 9 (K009) in Prospect Heights vastly underestimates the growth in the neighborhood around P.S. 9. Just 2 weeks into registration, 106 students have enrolled for Sept. 2011 kindergarten. District 13 will send at least 10 out-of-zone students to P.S. 9's gifted-and-talented K class. So: the school already has matched last year's K enrollment of 117.

And registration is open for SIX MORE WEEKS.

Yet Portfolio Planning's proposal doesn't project any growth in kindergarten next year, let alone adding another class—or 3! If only one class is added, by 2015, at least 15 general-education classes—375 students—at P.S. 9 will not have classrooms. (I have attached charts.)

As an experienced top-level manager, you surely have experience launching initiatives that make sense at the outset—only to run into conditions that indicate that they no longer make sense. In the past two weeks, data has emerged proving that DOE has severely underestimated the demand for seats at P.S. 9. Previously unexamined data indicates the proposal can be postponed easily. The co-location proposal for Brooklyn East Collegiate no longer is supportable for 2011-2012.

On Jan. 21, the Department of Portfolio Planning put you on alert, Chancellor. The amended Educational Impact Statement vowed that "if there is an increase in student enrollment resulting from demand greater than current projections for the zoned elementary school....the Chancellor reserves the right to relocate Brooklyn East Collegiate to an alternate location." As Chancellor, why proceed with this wasteful and risky plan that will disrupt unnecessarily the lives of hundreds of families at 3 schools?

How pleasant will you find it to reverse this move and evict a well-regarded school for the second time? Why squander time, effort and public money when the foreseeable problems are clear? Please think about it, for this amendment has opened you up to a court order requiring you to undo the move.

Fortunately, Brooklyn East Collegiate does not need to move yet — a scenario that Portfolio Planning’s proposal did not examine. Right now, this small charter school is in a six-story, 184,000 sq. ft. building (K343, built 2008) sharing space with two schools that opened in 2009. Should BEC stay, next year the building will have 610 students. One school is a sister school (Uncommon Charter High School, with class sizes of 13-18 students), with which BEC can easily share some resources. In contrast, if BEC moves, it will enter a tense situation in a 930-student, 116,000 sq ft. 3-story building. Honestly, this is one charter school you don't have to move for another year, or two (when 800 students would share K343).

To confirm the situation at the building, please call the 2 other principals at K343: Principal Paul Adler, Achievement First HS 718-922-1581, and Co-director Minnie Setty, Uncommon Charter HS, 347-296-8322 (mobile).

Please be a wise manager, Chancellor. Avoid heartache and distraction for you and DOE staff. Please withdraw the K009 co-location proposal immediately!

Sincerely,

• • •

Click here to download PDF of the charts projecting classroom space needs at P.S. 9. Go to File menu, then click on "Download original." For email, best to send as attachment.

[Here's what charts look like:]

P.S. 9’S SPACE NEEDS AT FULL SCALE,

ACCORDING TO DOE’S PROJECTIONS

DOES NOT COUNT ADDITIONAL GROWTH BEYOND DOE’S PREDICTIONS

(Please see next chart also)

Year	# of Gen-Ed Classes (K,1,2,3,4,5)	new gen-ed classes	Total classes (+Pre-K and SpEd)	All classes +5 (full-size cluster+ admin)	Classrooms allocated to P.S. 9 (full/half)	Missing full-size classrooms
2010-11	6,5,4,3,2,2 =22	•	29	34	37/6	•
2011-2012	6,6,5,4,3,2 =26	+4	33	38	35/5	-3
2012-2013	6,6,6,5,4,3 =30	+4	37	42	37/5	-5
2013-2014	6,6,6,6,5,4 =33	+3	40	45	38/2	-7
2014-2015	6,6,6,6,6,5 =35	+2	42	47	? (if 38)	-9
2015-2016	6,6,6,6,6,6 =36	+1	43	48	? (if 38)	-10

IF a 7^th KINDERGARTEN IS ADDED THIS YEAR

Last year’s enrollment = 117 students, 6 classes

This year, after 2 weeks of registration = 106

In June, DOE will assign District 13 G&T students (~10-18)

BUT registration open 6 more weeks!

Year	# of Gen-Ed Classes (K,1,2,3,4,5)	New Gen-ed classes	Total classes +7 (Pre-k and sp. ed.)	All classrms +5 (full-size cluster+ admin)	Classrooms allocated to P.S. 9 by DOE (full/half)	Missing full-size classrms
2010-11	6,5,4,3,2,2 =22	•	29	34	37/6	•
2011-2012	7,6,5,4,3,2 =27	+5	34	39	35/5	-4
2012-2013	7,7,6,5,4,3 =32	+5	39	44	37/5	-7
2013-2014	7,7,7,6,5,4 =36	+4	43	48	38/2	-10
2014-2015	7,7,7,7,6,5 =39	+3	46	51	? (if 38)	-13
2015-2016	7,7,7,7,7,6 =41	+2	48	53	? (if 38)	-15
2016-2017	7,7,7,7,7,7 =42	+1	49	54	? (if 38)	-16

IF 2 KINDERGARTENS NEED TO BE ADDED THIS YEAR

Year	# of Gen-Ed Classes (K,1,2,3,4,5)	New Gen-ed classes	Total classes +7 (Pre-k and sp. ed.)	All classrms +5 (full-size cluster+ admin)	Classrooms allocated to P.S. 9 by DOE (full/half)	Missing full-size classrms
2010-11	6,5,4,3,2,2 =22	•	29	34	37/6	•
2011-2012	8,6,5,4,3,2 =28	+6	35	40	35/5	-5
2012-2013	8,8,6,5,4,3 =34	+6	40	46	37/5	-9
2013-2014	8,8,8,6,5,4 =39	+5	46	51	38/2	-13
2014-2015	8,8,8,8,6,5 =43	+4	50	55	? (if 38)	-17
2015-2016	8,8,8,8,8,6 =46	+3	53	58	? (if 38)	-20
2016-2017	8,8,8,8,8,8 =48	+2	55	60	? (if 38)	-22