From the Daily News:Several Queens schools may be in hot water after failing to make the grade on the city's annual progress reports.
The city is considering closing Beach Channel High School in Rockaway Park; the Business, Computer Applications and Entrepreneurship High School in Cambria Heights and Jamaica High School, after they received D's on the reports released last week. Other schools may also be under consideration.
"We review all low-performing schools for closure," said Education Department spokesman William Havemann. "But the progress report is not the only factor to be considered."
When schools are closed, classes are phased out one year at a time. Then a new school moves into the building, Havemann said.
David Pecoraro, a math teacher and union leader at Beach Channel, said his school's low marks aren't necessarily its fault.
Two nearby schools that opened recently only accept students with high test scores, he said, siphoning off the area's best students and leaving Beach Channel with the lower-performing kids.
"You've academically, socioeconomically and racially segregated these students by the creation of these schools," Pecoraro said. "We used to get the broad range of students. We don't get that broad range anymore."
12 comments:
Maspeth Mom says.
Whats the point of closing these schools, and placing poorly scoring children in better scoring schools? Why dont they force the administration to work a little harder with the kids. Or maybe those kids are just doing the best they can with what they have!! Not every child is going to do academically well.
Closing the schools? Fire the school administrators and teachers; duh!!!
let's follow the 8 steps to kill a school:
1> declare it a "failing school"
2> allow any students who want to transfer out to do so, due to school's "report card"
3> notice drop in number of students
4> cut funding and pull teachers from the classroom.
5> crowd students into neighboring school rather than promote excellent selective programs at "failing" school.
6> note decline of school
7> take no accountability for the school's troubles, in spite of funding cuts and not allowing the administrators to hire teachers to permanently teach some classes (but allowing them to hire more administrators)
8> announce possible closing of school.
gee, what's going to come next? fewer students apply, fewer students attend, more funding cuts, fewer teachers, grades drop more...it's a self fulfilling prophecy. promote the special programs at a school -- like gateway at jamaica. it's a great program with students who are becoming scholars and doing loads of work in science, but do 8th graders hear about it? no, why would you do more than put a short paragraph about it in the huge high school book they're given? there are teachers there who are *fighting* for more resources for their students and to save that school. it's hard for teachers to save a school - and improve the grades of students - when their resources are slashed because the school is "failing." shouldn't those be the schools we prop up, not take steps sure to destroy them?
H-m-m-m....these are red-lined lower socioeconomic nabes aren't they?
These kids don't count neither does the opinion of their parents.
Just bus them out to better nabes so the quality of life can be brought down there too.
Not bad...hollowing out 2 nabes with one move!
The ultimate dream of Der Fuhrer Bloomberg is to lower the value of real estate in middle class nabes so that his wealthy pals can pick it up on the cheap...after the middle class exodus...up-zone it and build high rise "luxury" towers.
The clubhouse are his other silent...not really so silent... partners.
Now complete the job by closing a few fire houses, cutting police and ambulance response time.
Result:
The skillful diabolical hollowing out of a community!
And then everyone will complain teachers (ATR's) are being paid full salary and not working after they are thrown out of work. No other principal will hire them due to being too expensive and the stigma of coming from a bad school.
It's the same old sh@#, isn't Klein?
KLEIN = FAILURE
Welcome to Lake Wobegone where all the children are above-average.
As Jesus, said, the poor you will always have with you...and the stupid too.
There will always be some percentage of children who were dropped on their heads at birth, have dim parents or simply lack academic aptitude while making good businessmen, artists or carpenters.
We can scapegoat people, or we can try to guide them into the life-paths most suitable for their abilities.
I agree with all these posts, but I live near Jamaica HS and what I see could be a very large community developmental program with new housing etc, that is what I'm sure our caring mayor see's. I don't understand why the people of NY just don't start something to impeach this liar.
lol close schools, hello he keeps building schools!!!!!
i don't get this troll, what he needs to do is clean house at the schools. so what are they going to do with all these children? bus them around? which cost more money.. build schools where the demand is, stop closing schools and work to fix the problem.
Jamaica High School is still a great school with caring teachers and fine programs. What still exists is media and a word-of-mouth fear mongering that tells a student that it is a dangerous place and that they are going to be "killed" there.
We heard this years ago when my children were going there and we heard it two years ago when a neighbor was looking to attend HS. Guess what!!! She is attending the Gateway Institute at JHS and she is getting a great education.
Jamaica HS has teachers who care and are there for those students who want to learn.
Jamaica HS students, alumni, and teachers are like family. Hopefully, their voices are strong enough to get them past this news.
Beach Channel is a great School.
Look at the level of Kids and then see the teachers are working miricles because the graduation rate beats the surrounding schools. One must remenber that there is Federal Money out there for opening new schools ,but the money never makes it to the Children just the bloated administration down at Tweed. . Why are public schools being closed and charter schools who dont play by the same rules placed in public buildings? And new schools are placed in commercial buildings? Is someone making money off this maybe the news should investigate?But King Bloomberg owns the Media . This is what Jefferson Said we will be a country controled by wealthy elites.
Woooooooow I lived in Far Rockaway in the mid 70's. Even in the low income area schools was much better then they are now.. The quality of life has dropped completely across the entire social spectrum. regardless if you are low or middle income. Some thing else is going on.. not just the issue of schools..
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