The New York Department of Education (DOE) announced on Dec. 14 a proposal to close three struggling schools at the end of the school year—a first in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.
The Brooklyn schools—Peace Academy Middle School, The School for the Urban Environment, and Foundations Academy High School—have grappled with below-average academic performance and dwindling enrolment, according to DOE.
Parents were distressed by the sudden news of the potential closures, especially since two of the schools were part of Mayor de Blasio’s School Renewal Program announced in November 2014 to transform struggling schools over the next three years rather than close them.
The proposal will impact 217 students and 24 teachers across the three Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood schools.
The persisting challenges at the schools have led to high staff turnover and declining numbers of extracurricular and athletic activities, and a loss of per pupil funding damaging their ability to support student achievement even further.
NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said closing the schools is a difficult decision; however, institutions with low enrollment would not have the ability to provide robust education for students.
“I am committed to holding all our schools accountable to meeting the needs of our students,” Fariña said in a statement on Dec. 14.
Parent Concerns
DOE is hosting a number of school community meetings in all three schools Dec. 17–22 to allow parents to voice their concerns.
About 10 parents attended the Peace Academy meeting on Dec. 17, along with DOE officials, school staff, and representatives for Assemblyman Walter Mosley and Councilor Stephen Levin.
Elizabeth Revels, whose son attends 7th grade at the school, was particularly concerned because she did not believe that the justifications to close the school were true.
DOE said in a statement that Peace Academy had the lowest middle school enrollment in New York City with only 47 students attending in the 2014–2015 school year. The school has suffered a 60 percent decline in enrollment since 2012.
Moreover, Peace Academy is not meeting its English Language Arts (ELA) target with only 2 percent of students considered proficient last year, according to DOE.
