Summary of April P.T.O. meeting, part 1

At the P.T.O.'s monthly meeting yesterday morning, attendees heard this news about P.S. 9:

1. School surveys are due this Friday, 4/15 at midnight. Completion of them represents 20% of the A-F grade that the school receives in DOE's school progress report. Please take 5 minutes to fill out one on paper or online. Laptops are set up in the school lobby for you to fill out a survey. If you lost your form and don't know your access code you can call 1-800-690-8603.

2. Playground update: the project is now projected to be finished in November. The delay is due to the necessary construction that needs to occur underneath the school to prevent future flooding. The Department of Education says that work will start immediately. Once finished, completing the playground will take 6 to 8 weeks, according to what Out2Play has said in the past.

3. Summer school update: DOE has told P.S. 9 administration that the school cannot hold summer school, including any camps, in the building due to construction and light fixture replacement. P.S. 9 normally hosts around 10 programs in the summer. Ms. D'Avilar and the administration are investigating alternative locations and will give more details soon.

Support PreK-8 grade expansion: sample letters and update

P.S. 9 Principal D'Avilar, in conjunction with the School Leadership Team (SLT), is filing a two-page Letter of Intent to expand P.S. 9 to a pre-K to Grade 8 school, following the Department of Education’s Grade Reconfiguration Process for the 2012-2013 school year.

Please support P.S. 9’s efforts to expand to a middle school by sending letters to the following DOE officials: Dennis Walcott, Chancellor, and Marc Sternberg, Deputy Chancellor, Division of Portfolio Planning. Please also sign this petition.

Scroll down for a sample letter you can use.

Both letters can be mailed to: New York City Department Of Education, 52 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007.

SAMPLE LETTER TO MAIL:

[ADDRESSEE NAME, ADDRESS]

[DATE]

Dear Chancellor Walcott,

In keeping with your commitment to working with parents and communities on strengthening public education for our children, I hope you will support P.S. 9 Teunis G. Bergen Elementary School’s grade expansion proposal.

As a thriving and inclusive elementary school, P.S. 9 is an anchor of the vibrant, diverse community of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and surrounding neighborhoods. P.S.9 offers a barrier-free, fully accessible learning environment, school-wide enrichment programming, and has a collaborative model that promotes strong partnerships between parents, the administration and the wider community.

P.S. 9 has the vision and capability to grow into a successful middle school that would give P.S. 9 graduates a strong neighborhood middle school option while serving the needs of the District 13 community.

I support the school’s efforts to expand into a pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8 school, and hope that the Letter of Intent submitted to the DOE by the P.S. 9 administration will be approved.

Thanks and best regards,

[Name, Address]

Co-location update

On Friday April 8, the DOE published its revised documents for the co-location of BECCS at 80 Underhill Avenue. These revised documents (public notice, educational impact statement [EIS] and building utilization plan [BUP]) are intended to bring the DOE into compliance with the law, as stated in the March 31 decision of NYS Commissioner of Education, David Steiner. This basically restarts the process for the co-location proposal. (The M.S. 571 phase out is not affected by these developments.)

Read the DOE's updated documents here:

http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/leadership/PEP/publicnotice/2010-2011/May182011Proposals.htm

The DOE will hold another public hearing at P.S. 9 on the revised co-location proposal; date is not set. We need the P.S. 9 and Prospect Heights community to come out in force and to make comments for the public record. The Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) will vote on the proposal on Wednesday, May 18^th (6:00PM, Long Island City High School, 14-30 Broadway, Queens, NY 11106).

Those interested in joining the discussion or helping out with lobbying or legal activities can email the P.S. 9 Parent Advisory Council (PAC) at ps9pac@gmail.com

DOE changes its numbers 1 day before hearing!

At 4:54 p.m. Friday evening, the DOE notified P.S. 9's leaders that it had amended the 2 major documents—34 pages in all—to be discussed on Monday at a public hearing. Were the changes significant or superficial? Difficult to tell at a quick glance.

Yet one aspect of this last-minute change is clear: by adopting a document-release technique employed by sneaky and scandal-ridden organizations the world round, DOE is essentially confirming that it has been hasty and opportunistic in pushing changes to P.S. 9's building , without bothering to weigh the evidence. Unfortunately, DOE's new Educational Impact Statement and Building Utilization Plan still propose the relocation of a charter middle school onto the second floor of 80 Underhill Avenue.

DOE's 11th-hour changes include:

•Raising the projected number of students at P.S. 9, from 650 to 729

•Shortening the already-slim description of the proposal's impact on P.S. 9 students; now one may find a few details buried in a catch-all "Impact on Students Currently Attending Schools in the K009 Building."

•Removing footnotes that chastised P.S. 9 for admitting out-of-zone students this year

•Adding 3 pages.

Also unchanged is DOE's severe underestimation of the number of classrooms that P.S. 9 will need at the enrollment rates it projects.

One stated purpose of DOE's revisions is to eliminate typographical errors caused by the initial rush. Yet the new documents introduce new typos—including one in a sentence about earlier typos! Obviously, Deputy Chancellor Sternberg, this persistent sloppiness is a sign that DOE needs to shelve this whole scheme until its team can do some honest and responsible evaluation.

You may still look at the original EIS and the original BUP.

(Eyebrows raised courtesy of The Truthiness Institute.)

Daily News story about rally

Prospect Heights principal opposes plan to move charter school into her building

Other media items about P.S. 9 parent opposition to the DOE plan appeared in The New York Times's The Local blog and Associated Content.

From the Daily News story: "It's ridiculous for DOE to put three schools into this building that was built for one school," said D'Avilar, who later this month will give DOE a formal proposal for expanding PS 9.

It's rare for public school principals to speak out against the DOE's plans for schools. But D'Avilar, who has been in the school system for 20 years, believes she's doing the right thing.

"We need to fulfill our school's potential," said D'Avilar. "If DOE gives us a chance, I know we can fill those seats."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/01/14/2011-01-14_a_principal_issue_she_opposes_charter_school.html#ixzz1B4PrUCnG

(Photo: D. Egan-Chin, NY Daily News)

ALERT: Principal proposes PreK-8 expansion

Prodded by questions from the media in the wake of yesterday’s rally, Councilmember Letitia James surprised P.S. 9 parents early Friday morning by attending a planning meeting.

Tish, as she’s known, came to share her insights on the DOE process: to avoid the placement of a charter middle school in the building, P.S. 9 parents must offer an alternative middle school plan. D.O.E.’s data indicates that the building has room, and the DOE and Tish agree that District 13 needs more good middle schools. Tish encouraged Ms. D’Avilar and P.S. 9 parents to endorse a restructuring of upstairs neighbor M.S. 571, which faces a phase-out by the DOE.

Tish wasn’t the only surprise guest. Also attending was Trish Peterson, an instructional advisor from P.S. 9’s support network, CFN 306. Trish suggested that M.S. 571 could be transformed, with new leadership and staff, into P.S. 9’s upper school. It could adopt P.S. 9’s approach of schoolwide enrichment for all students. This new expanded P.S. 9 would offer something attractive for multiple parties:

•For P.S. 9’s community: a school in which we are invested, rather than a charter with its own agenda;

•For other District 13 elementary schools that follow the schoolwide enrichment model (P.S. 8, 11, 133): an attractive destination for their graduates;

•For the councilmember, the D.O.E. and others concerned about limited District 13 middle school options: a promising middle school.

Principal D’Avilar said this morning that, after further discussions, she is committed to transforming P.S. 9 into a PreK-8 school. She noted that expanding on the school’s successes is a much better solution — for the students, for the community, for P.S. 9’s future — than cramming three schools into the building.

Councilmember James has actively called for M.S. 571 to be given another chance, noting that D.O.E. has not followed its own regulations in deciding to close the school. She is scheduled to meet with D.O.E. Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg on January 20 to discuss the DOE’s plan. Yet on Friday morning, she said that she is open to endorsing P.S. 9's becoming a K-8 school. The councilmember helped arrange a $350,000 grant to create P.S. 9’s new library.

P.S. 9 parents, please let us know: would you be interested in sending your child to a P.S. 9 upper school? In your response, please also tell us your child’s current grade.

(Photo: Councilmember Letitia James)

Charter Choice: Think you might send your P.S. 9 student to Brooklyn East Collegiate? Think again.

The DOE wants Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School to relocate into P.S. 9's building as a replacement for M.S. 571. Wouldn't this middle school be a great—and nearby!—opportunity for your child after they outgrow P.S. 9? With rare exceptions: No, it would not. The admission lottery of Brooklyn East Collegiate is not accepting any new sixth graders for September 2011. In fact, the proposed co-location is not designed to serve our neighborhood, but rather the entire borough. (Brownsville was its original planned location.)

More importantly, Brooklyn East Collegiate is not a good fit for most P.S. 9 graduates. It runs a very strict program for under-performing students (for example, 5th graders who are reading at a 3rd-grade level). Its young, idealistic teachers are doing a great job to help their students advance. But otherwise, P.S. 9 parents who visited Brooklyn East Collegiate discovered an environment that is markedly different from P.S. 9’s. The labor-intensive work of bringing students up to grade-level performance leaves no room for art or music programs. In the hallways, children are seen and not heard. They stand in straight lines, and everyone wears a uniform. Discipline is based on a stringent system of merits and demerits. For example, a student may receive a demerit for falling off task.

Brooklyn East Collegiate has no PTA, nor does the charter leave room for one. Its "Family Involvement Committee" is allowed to make suggestions. The board of trustees has much more say than the parents. By contrast, P.S. 9 is a barrier-free school that serves a wide range of students in our community, including special needs and gifted and talented. Principal D’Avilar has worked hard to forge ties with the Prospect Heights community, which has welcomed her efforts. The narrow focus and rigid philosophy of Brooklyn East Collegiate is not inclusive enough to serve the broad needs of the baby boom in Prospect Heights.

--Karen S Fein, Michelle French, Maria McGrath, and Kirby Pulver

CORRECTION Cathleen Black's email

The Chancellor can be emailed at Cpblack@schools.nyc.gov, not the address we have circulated on the action plan and on the sample letter. Thanks to Leonie Haimson at Class Size Matters for supplying the correct address.

Paper petition to print out

You can print out a copy of the paper petition to oppose the DOE plan to move a charter middle school into P.S. 9's building. Download by going to:

THIS LINK.

When the Google Docs page opens, go to File and click "Download original." It will download as a Word document. From your computer, you can print out, and collect signatures from parents in your child's class, neighbors, or family members.

After you have gathered signatures, please contact penelopemahot AT gmail.com or call 917-476-6870.

Online petition against DOE plan

Created earlier today, and already 50 people have signed on. Please join the crowd!

The URL:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protectps9/

UPDATE: 150 people have signed!

SAMPLE LETTER to send to DOE

FOR PARENTS TO EMAIL to MSternberg@schools.nyc.gov, D13Proposals@schools.nyc.gov, and ptops9@gmail.com.

Copy and paste — check the date! sign your name! — or add in your own thoughts. You can also re-address and send to:

Chancellor Cathleen Black (Cpblack@schools.nyc.gov)

Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott (DWalcott@cityhall.nyc.gov):

January 12, 2011

Mr. Marc Sternberg

Deputy Chancellor, Division of Portfolio Planning

New York City Department of Education

52 Chambers Street

New York, NY 10007

Dear Mr. Sternberg,

I have reviewed the Department of Education (DOE)’s proposal that P.S. 9 share 80 Underhill Avenue (“Building K009”) with Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School and M.S. 571 until June 2013. As a New Yorker, I understand the need to efficiently use the city’s buildings. Yet as a citizen and a parent of a student at P.S. 9, I see data that clearly shows that this co-location plan will hurt the instruction of young students and will fail to serve the neighborhood‘s needs.

The DOE’s building use proposal irresponsibly restricts Pre-K to Grade 5 access to vital school facilities. The proposed schedule cuts P.S. 9’s hours in the gym by 48% each week, allocating just 9.75 hours for the school’s 29 classes. To comply with state physical education requirements, P.S. 9 will have to hold more K-5 gym classes in the auditorium—where students are limited to (dangerously) running laps through the aisles. In addition, some adaptive phys-ed classes are forced to take place in inappropriate spaces, such as the auditorium stage. The DOE’s plan also eliminates time for cleaning the cafeteria between lunch shifts, and requires half of P.S. 9’s students to eat lunch overly early, at 10:30 a.m. As for the new Book Hive library that our school community worked so hard to create (a P.S. 9 parent designed it pro bono), DOE gives the school’s 29 classes only 4.5 hours a week. (With a quarter as many students, Brooklyn East Collegiate gets two-thirds more time than P.S. 9!)

The DOE’s plan will limit the school’s ability to serve the community’s growing Pre-K through Grade 5 needs. Last year, 237 families applied for 54 seats in Pre-Kindergarten, a five-fold rise in requests from just four years ago. In September, P.S. 9 added a sixth kindergarten class to meet demand. The Census Bureau found that the number of children under five rose 35 percent from 2000 to 2007 throughout Brownstone Brooklyn, including much of District 13. Yet the DOE’s proposal caps P.S. 9 enrollment at 650 students for at least the next three years and even reduces the capacity of P.S. 9’s 5th Grade. Finally, the DOE’s plan requires that P.S. 9 turn away out-of-zone families (see EIS, footnote 23; BUP, footnote 10)—contradicting the Chancellor’s “Children First” philosophy, which celebrates parental school choice and casts it as a key measure of a school's success.

As a barrier-free school with new, accessible playground facilities, P.S. 9 serves students with special needs and provides a fertile environment for many groups of learners. P.S. 9 Principal Sandra D’Avilar wants to expand on those successes by increasing the number of pre-K and Gifted and Talented classes and by creating a dual-language program. With demonstrated parental involvement, P.S. 9 has the vision and capacity to offer a wide variety of vitally important programs and services to our neighborhood and surrounding communities. I urge you to abandon this unwise co-location proposal and support P.S. 9’s continuing efforts to provide every student an excellent education.

Sincerely,

Revised: Reasons to oppose DOE proposal for a new school

We've edited the earlier post about reasons to oppose the DOE's plan to place a new charter middle school in P.S. 9's building. Now our summary has more data and details!

PROTECT PS9! LET THE SCHOOL GROW!

The Department of Education’s plan to relocate a new middle school into our building severely harms the learning environment for K-5 students and seriously restricts P.S. 9’s ability to serve our community’s needs.

3 reasons to oppose the DOE’s plan:

1. The DOE plan ignores the growing needs of our community.

P.S. 9 and the neighborhood are growing. P.S. 9 added a sixth kindergarten class this year to meet demand. In Pre-K, 237 families applied for 54 seats, a five-fold rise in requests from four years ago. Yet the DOE’s new plan locks P.S. 9 enrollment at 650 students for at least the next three years! It also reduces the capacity of P.S. 9’s 5th Grade, pushing students to transfer after 4^th Grade! The DOE’s proposal demands that P.S. 9 turn away out-of-zone families (see EIS, footnote 23) — contradicting the Chancellor’s “Children First” philosophy, which celebrates parental school choice and casts it as a key measure of a school's success. With these restrictions, the DOE chokes off the school’s ability to serve the community’s growing Pre-K through Grade 5 needs. This plan does not put families and children first.

2. The DOE’s plan will harm the learning environment at P.S. 9.

The DOE’s building-use plan severely restricts K-5 access to vital school facilities in order to accommodate the new middle school:

•The DOE has virtually eliminated P.S. 9’s access to the new Book Hive library that our school community worked so hard to create, allocating a measly 4.5 hours per week for P.S. 9’s 29 classes. (With a quarter as many students, the charter school gets two-thirds more time than P.S. 9.!)

•The DOE’s schedule cuts P.S. 9’s hours in the gym by 43% each week. This will force yet more K-5 gym classes to be held in the auditorium — having students run laps through the aisles is as dangerous as it is ridiculous.

•The DOE has eliminated time for cleaning the cafeteria between lunch shifts, and requires half of P.S. 9’s students to eat lunch at 10:30 a.m.

3. The DOE’s plan blocks P.S. 9’s efforts to expand vitally important programs. As a barrier-free school with new, accessible playground facilities, P.S. 9 serves students with special needs and provides a fertile environment for many groups of learners. P.S. 9 Principal D’Avilar wants to expand on those successes by increasing the number of pre-K classes, by creating a dual-language program, and by accepting more gifted-and-talented students from the district. P.S. 9 has the vision and capacity to offer a wide variety of vitally important programs and services to our neighborhood and surrounding communities – but only if the DOE’s plan is stopped.

Principal's plan for expanding P.S. 9's services

Principal D'Avilar is developing a formal proposal for expanding P.S. 9's instruction and services, she said at Friday morning's meeting. She intends to increase the number of pre-kindergarten and gifted-and-talented classes in Grades K-5, and to create a dual-language program. The dual-language program would start with one language (Spanish or French), then could expand to a second language after 1 or 2 years.

She also endorsed a parent's suggestion that the school expand its services for students with special physical needs. P.S. 9 is a barrier-free school and the new playground will include an area of playground equipment accessible to these students.

To finalize the proposal for submission to the D.O.E., Ms. D'Avilar will attend a meeting on January 18 with the leaders of P.S. 9's support network, Children First Network 306. She pledged to distribute her proposal to the community before the January 24 hearing.

(Illustration: www.dual-Language.org)

CORRECTION to Action Plan sent home

The action plan sent home with students today suggests sending letters to the NYC schools chancellor about the proposal to move a new charter middle school into P.S. 9's building. Please note that the correct spelling of the chancellor's name is Cathleen Black. Early next week, look here for a sample letter for parents and community members to send to the Chancellor and other officials.

Jan. 7 meeting about DOE plans and how to protect P.S.9

Thanks to the dozens of people who came to this morning's meeting at P.S. 9 despite the snow flurries and the early hour. A main point: P.S. 9 parents have a genuine chance to persuade Department of Education officials that the plan to add a new school to the building will hurt instruction and harm the P.S. 9 community. Over the next couple of weeks, P.S. 9 parents will step forward to ensure that the school's good work is preserved. Protect P.S. 9!

Look here soon (today, this weekend, Monday) for more materials:

•a sample letter for parents to send to D.O.E. and elected officials

•an action plan for the community

•an explanation of the situation

•summary of Principal D'Avilar's proposals to expand P.S. 9's programs

•a updated roundup of documents related to D.O.E.'s plan. Existing roundup is here.

Childcare available for Friday's meeting

Friday's 7:45 a.m. meeting will be held in the auditorium. Childcare will be available in the teachers lounge, Room 134. At the meeting, Ms. D'Avilar will announce her counterproposal for the use of the second floor should D.O.E.'s panel approve the proposed closing of M.S. 571.

Under the principal's proposal, P.S. 9 will expand by launching a dual-language program, and possibly other programs. More details are not yet known. If you expect to attend, please r.s.v.p. to Charmaine Derrell-Jacob, P.S. 9's parent coordinator, at 718 638 3260 x1121 or at CDerrell AT schools.nyc.gov.

Find our previous posts, with background information and links, here, here and there.

SAVE THE DATE—January 24 Public Hearing

Please make plans to come to a public hearing on MONDAY January 24 at 6:00 p.m. The hearing is your chance to oppose the D.O.E.'s wrongheaded plan to move a new school into our building. Your presence that night is crucial! We need many, many parents to attend RAIN, SHINE OR SNOW. Please buy a t-shirt to wear to show your support for PS9. You can order an "I Love PS9" t-shirt—short sleeve $12, long sleeve $20—by sending an email to ps9pto AT gmail.com. (View shirts here and here.)

The public notice about the hearing, held by the D.O.E.'s Panel on Educational Policy (the body that votes on the proposal), is here.

Read the details of the D.O.E. proposal here (Building Utilization Plan) and here (Educational Impact Statement).

The panel members voting on the proposal are listed here. (Photo of Panel on Educational Policy from NY1 article.)

3 reasons to oppose DOE proposal for a new school

The Department of Education wants to install a new school in our building this fall. D.O.E. proposes that 3 schools share our building until 2013. Parents, please express your opposition to this plan! Please write or call the D.O.E.'s Ms. Gentian Falstrom at D13proposals@schools.nyc.gov or 212-374-0208 before January 24. Please cc your comments to ps9pto@gmail.com.

3 reasons to oppose the proposed plan to locate a new school at 80 Underhill Ave.:

1. The DOE plan ignores the growing needs of our community.

P.S. 9 and the neighborhood are growing. P.S. 9 added a sixth kindergarten class this year to meet demand. In Pre-K, 237 families applied for 54 seats, a five-fold rise in requests from four years ago. Yet the DOE’s new plan locks P.S. 9 enrollment at 650 students for at least the next three years! It also reduces the capacity of P.S. 9’s 5th Grade, pushing students to transfer after 4^th Grade! The DOE’s proposal demands that P.S. 9 turn away out-of-zone families (see EIS, footnote 23) — contradicting the Chancellor’s “Children First” philosophy, which celebrates parental school choice and casts it as a key measure of a school's success. With these restrictions, the DOE chokes off the school’s ability to serve the community’s growing Pre-K through Grade 5 needs. This plan does not put families and children first.

2. The DOE’s plan will harm the learning environment at P.S. 9.

The DOE’s building-use plan severely restricts K-5 access to vital school facilities in order to accommodate the new middle school:

•The DOE has virtually eliminated P.S. 9’s access to the new Book Hive library that our school community worked so hard to create, allocating a measly 4.5 hours per week for P.S. 9’s 29 classes. (With a quarter as many students, the charter school gets two-thirds more time than P.S. 9.!)

•The DOE’s schedule cuts P.S. 9’s hours in the gym by 43% each week. This will force yet more K-5 gym classes to be held in the auditorium — having students run laps through the aisles is as dangerous as it is ridiculous.

•The DOE has eliminated time for cleaning the cafeteria between lunch shifts, and requires half of P.S. 9’s students to eat lunch at 10:30 a.m.

3. The DOE’s plan blocks P.S. 9’s efforts to expand vitally important programs. As a barrier-free school with new, accessible playground facilities, P.S. 9 serves students with special needs and provides a fertile environment for many groups of learners. P.S. 9 Principal D’Avilar wants to expand on those successes by increasing the number of pre-K classes, by creating a dual-language program, and by accepting more gifted-and-talented students from the district. P.S. 9 has the vision and capacity to offer a wide variety of vitally important programs and services to our neighborhood and surrounding communities – but only if the DOE’s plan is stopped.

(Note: These reasons have been revised from an earlier version of this post.)

On MONDAY JANUARY 24, 6:00 p.m., D.O.E. will hold a public hearing. P.S. 9 will need many, many parents (50-100) there to represent (wearing P.S. 9 t-shirts) and to speak. More planning information coming soon.

Schoolyard design unveiled

At last week's P.T.O. meeting, Andrea from Out2Play presented the organization's design for the new schoolyard:

Looking counterclockwise, from bottom left, the design includes 70 feet of new playground equipment (the white rectangle); painted blacktop games, trees, and chess tables; a track and 3 tennis courts; play equipment accessible to those with physical disabilities, including a basketball "drop shot"; an enhanced handball court; and a basketball court. A copy of the design with complete labeling is visible in the school lobby, beside the auditorium.

Andrea remarked that our schoolyard has more available space than most other schools, which allowed for an expansive design. The plan first took shape on October 26^th, when a meeting was held with school leaders and community members. From that meeting, Out2Play created 3 design proposals. At a later meeting, these 3 designs were edited into the final proposed plan for the school yard.

The playground area will include new benches. The surface of the playground will be painted various colors; Out2Play estimates that the paint will last 10 to 12 years. Out2Play expects this construction phase of the project to take six to eight weeks. However, it cannot start until the reconstruction of the surface and drainage systems is completed. -Kirby Pulver

Will P.S. 9's building have only K-5 students?

And will it belong only to P.S. 9? Both possibilities came one step closer to reality this week. The Department of Education announced that it is closing our upstairs neighbor at 80 Underhill Ave, M.S. 571. Under the plan, the 170-student middle school will phase out operations over the next 3 years.

At Tuesday night’s P.T.O. meeting, Principal D’Avilar asked parents to share any ideas and wishes that they have for the space. P.S. 9's school leadership team, for example, is exploring whether it might launch a dual-language program that could move into the space. The principal promised to discuss the M.S. 571 situation with parents at a breakfast, still to be scheduled.

Any plans will need to be developed fast. D. O. E. expects that "replacement schools will begin growing in the building starting next September." Officials told Councilwoman Letitia James that it may move a charter school into the second-floor space. More detailed plans may be announced tomorrow morning, according to a report in Prospect Heights Patch. Other news coverage of the announcement is here, here, here, and here.

The closure decision still can be reversed. On Wednesday evening, Councilwoman James and State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries held a community meeting in the auditorium. These officials pledged to overturn the D.O.E.'s plan. Next month, the D.O.E. will hold a public hearing. D.O.E.'s Panel on Educational Policy will hold a final vote on the closure proposal in early February.

Before then, you may tell the D.O.E. your views by phoning 212-374-0208 or emailing D13Proposals@schools.nyc.gov.

-Kirby Pulver and Matt Fleischer-Black