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.

Photos of Monday's hearing

P.S. 9 parents packed the auditorium at Monday's public hearing, standing up for the school's right to grow. Beforehand, students dressed as sardines to protest the proposed placement of another school in the building.

(Photos: Trish Madlangbayan/Rich Sullivan)

PROVEN: Science Fair Draws Crowds

P.S. 9's first science fair in over 7 years drew over 150 people to the school earlier tonight. On display were close to 50 experiments and research reports, including students' examinations of how long bubbles last, how crystals are formed, the insulating properties of various materials, and the effect of color spectrum on plants' growth.

Science teachers Ms. Nurse and Ms. Codrington organized the fair, which was held in the gymnasium. Classes toured the fair throughout the school day, with parents and families returning this evening. Students didn't just get to look at their colleagues' posters. At one activity table, first-grade teachers Ms. St. Onge and Ms. Lopez oversaw the making of slime out of cornstarch and other materials. Beside them, Pre-K teacher Mrs. Field helped students make fossil-like impressions in play-dough.

A more complete report will follow soon.

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.

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

Math night=fun evening for all grades

Last Tuesday, on November 30, P.S. 9 threw a math party in the gym from 6-8 p.m. The host was Ms. Cheryl Sealey, math coach; the food spread was cheese, crackers, veggie stix, and juice; and the mood was convivial. Several teachers each presided over a table. Ms. Nelson, for instance, oversaw matching and memory games for the youngest students. Ms. McCrea ran a raucous game of Bingo. Ms. Diop supervised the fourth and fifth graders who tackled a complicated math challenge. Other teachers included Ms. Chong and Ms. Hernandez. Some parents, meanwhile, oversaw tries at guessing the amount of candy in two jars (the smaller one was for pre-K to 1st grade).

The crowd of students and family members numbered around seventy, with all grades represented. The children circulated fairly calmly around the tables, not running around and careening into the padded walls and each other, as they do at some events. Many stopped at the Sorry! game table for pop-o-matic bubble action, then moved to the prize table. There, they redeemed tickets they had won, taking home trinkets like pens and skateboard keychains. On the way out, attendees found door prizes: more math games, along with pencils to make up some of their own.

—Maria McGrath

Top: Analyzing bingo positions. Bottom: Taking measure of many pieces of candy.

Gobble, gobble! (Yum!)

Last Tuesday, Nov. 23, P.S. 9’s hallways were transformed into festive dining halls for the school’s annual Multicultural Luncheon. The event ensures that each child at P.S. 9 has the chance to enjoy a festive meal that celebrates the many ethnicities present in our school. It has been held every year since Principal D’Avilar began her tenure as P.S. 9's principal.

Many classes created and displayed decorations for the event, including Thanksgiving-themed hats and painted banners. By midday, the halls bustled with excited students and grownups filling their plates with delectable dishes of international origins, home-made holiday treats, and traditional Thanksgiving fare. Many parents turned out to help set up tables and buffet stations, serve the food and, of course, help teachers clean up.

Thanks to everyone who was able to contribute time or food to class celebrations. Thanks also to all the teachers for their efforts in making the event a success. -Michelle French

Scenes from the Book Hive Open House, pt. 2

Photos: Stephanie Keith

Scenes from the Book Hive Open House, pt. 1

The library was opened to the community yesterday, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Photos: Trish Madlangbayan

Silent Auction Raises $18K+

Heartfelt thanks to all the businesses, organizations, and individuals who donated food, drink, entertainment, and auction items to October 22nd's Silent Auction to Save the Arts at PS 9. Miriam Alexandra Milord of BCakeNY.com donated the delicious chocolate cake pictured here. The musical menu opened with the First Street Quintet, featuring P.S. 9 parent and French horn player Gretel Smith. The jazz band 9 to 5 followed. Upwards of $18,500 has been raised to date. Final figures will be available once all the highest bidders have claimed their prizes, which they can do by seeing Charmaine Derrell-Jacobs in Room 112. Monies raised will go toward paying for arts programs run by such partners as Studio in a School, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Ailey Dance Kids Program. Congratulations to the School Leadership Team on pulling together this festive fundraiser at Prospect Park's Picnic House for the third year in a row.
--Karen S Fein

Catch the buzz: the Book Hive is open!

Students sitting in the newly opened Book Hive.

At the Book Hive ribbon cutting this morning (L-r): Borough President Marty Markowitz, Principal D'Avilar, Councilwoman Leticia James, M.S. 571 Principal Santosha Troutman. (Photos: Faye Rimalovski)

After lying dormant for a couple of decades, P.S. 9’s new library is open! This morning, the building’s second floor was abuzz with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the rebirth of the library as the Book Hive. Principal D’Avilar opened the proceedings, saying: “Dreams do come true—all you need is determination, dedication, passion, resourcefulness, and love.” Behind her, the room's hexagonal benches and orange tables (resembling a honeycomb’s cells) were lit up by 60 feet of windows. Surrounding the principal was a student delegation that included 2 representatives from every P.S. 9 class.

City councilwoman Letitia James and Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz funded the half-million dollar, four-year project. In homage to the many volunteers who devoted countless hours, Ms. James read the opening paragraphs of the children’s classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, in which an abandoned stuffed rabbit becomes real: "When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." Mr. Markowitz encouraged students to enjoy the turning of a book’s pages and the smell of a volume’s spine. First grader Zoe Maidman, fifth grader Selah Alexander and two students from M.S. 571 each cut a yellow ribbon stretched between bookcases. Then Principal D’Avilar gave Kiki Dennis, a P.S. 9 parent and interior designer, a crystal plaque for designing the library and overseeing its construction.

The entire community is invited to visit the library at an Open House on Wednesday, November 17, from 5 to 8 pm. Refreshments will be served and attendees encouraged to leave tax-deductible donations in a library-fund box. (Please come see it. And please bring your checkbooks!) A full-time librarian has not yet been hired, due to lack of funds. For now, retired librarian Dottie Schwartz will help run the library as a volunteer two days a week. Ms. D’Avilar hopes to hire a part-time librarian for the remaining three days.

–Karen Fein

Check out before and after photos of the library's space at the Book Hive website. News 12 broadcast a story, "State of the art library without librarian" (Cablevision subscription required). Below are pictures of today's program: