Our two schools-Public School 196 and Middle School 582, successfully co-located in one school building in Williamsburg Brooklyn for the past ten years- are being threatened with the co-location of a second Middle School into our building, making three schools overall. This decision by NYC's Department of Education's Office of Portfolio and Planning, is uninformed and violates the community's expressed will and interests. It is one that will ultimately diminish, rather than enhance, the quality of the educational opportunities that it will be possible to offer the students that both our schools serve.
The Community Education Council, our local community's voice on educational matters, having roots in and a deep knowledge of the specific educational needs of our district, have advised the Department of Education that they oppose this decision! Their reasons for doing so are instructive; first, they have said that whereas there is a need for additional Middle Schools in one part of our district, that need exists in sectors other than our own. Thus, they have advised the Department of an alternate, more appropriate siting for this proposed Middle School as being with M.S. 330, a Middle School with a low student population,and one that is in a district sector that is in need of additional Middle Schools. The addition of this school would not impede the current programs and services offered there as it would for our two schools. They recognize the co-location of this proposed third school being housed with our two schools, as the community being ill-served, since the need that does exist would be left unaddressed, and further, as unnecessarily divisive, since it would naturally lead to a competition for space, students and resources. They know that many of the innovative programs and enriching educational opportunities that our students and their families have had access to for many years and which have contributed greatly to their academic success, would need to be severely diminished or curtailed completely were this additional co-location to take place.
The Department of Education's characterization of our school building as being "underutilized", is just plain wrong! Many of the services that we provide students have mandates attached to them. These mandates often require that only a certain number of students be served by a teacher. For example, in a Special Education setting the legal ratio of students to teacher can be no more than 12 to 1.Thus, whereas it may appear that a room can house 35 students, in reality, with a class of this nature, a school is legally bound to have no more than 12 in that room. Further, for services such as Speech, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy or Counseling, all of which we provide our students, there is a mandate to have a separate location for each. Additionally, and importantly, the varied programs and enrichment opportunities that we offer our students, which contribute to overall academic success, all require physical space within which to conduct them. Many of the rooms built for our school and outfitted for some of these specific purposes, have been at no cost to taxpayers as the result of our unique partnerships with companies such as J. Crew, Barclay's Bank, J.P. Morgan and others.
By signing this petition you are sending a message that says,that as a parent or other concerned citizen in our school district or another one in our City, you oppose inappropriate and damaging co-locations such as this one from taking place. Further, you are communicating the message that the will of the community and its determination of its respective educational needs, ought to be given the highest priority and deference when seeking to enact proposals such as these. Indeed, when a community and its representatives have made clear that your decisions will be damaging, rather than helping, the education of the students entrusted to them, you ought to rescind your decision and go back and work with community representatives toward a more appropriate and pedagogically sound one! SAVE OUR STUDENTS EDUCATION! STOP THE DAMAGING CO-LOCATION OF A SECOND MIDDLE SCHOOL IN THE SAME BUILDING WITH PUBLIC SCHOOL 196 AND MIDDLE SCHOOL 582!