Sunday, October 31, 2010

NYC looking to possibly close 47 schools

From the NY Times:

The Department of Education said Thursday that up to 47 city schools could face closure for poor performance this year, a huge increase from previous years if all remain on the chopping block. In the eight years since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has used school closures as a cornerstone of his school reform strategy, a total of 91 schools have been shuttered and replaced with new schools.

City officials on Thursday cited a few reasons for the drastic uptick.

• Nineteen of the schools were slated for closure last year, but got temporary reprieves due to a lawsuit by the teachers’ union and the N.A.A.C.P. The city is now re-doing the process that led to their closing.
• The Obama administration has asked states to identify their lowest five percent of schools for closure or other serious interventions. Twelve more schools are in this category.
• The city is also following its own process to identify additional schools that have low achievement levels and that it thinks may be beyond saving. That’s 16 more schools.

Technically, all of these schools face a potential “phase-out,” in which the school stops accepting entering classes, losing one grade per year, until it ceases to exist. Simultaneously, new schools open and grow in the building. The end result is the closure of the failing school.

Unlike in previous years, these 47 schools are getting advance warning that they might be shuttered. City officials said they are holding a minimum of four meetings at each school to inform parents, administrators, teachers and community leaders about the city’s potential plans. The idea is to both explain what would happen in a phase-out, and to hear arguments about why some or all parts of the school should be saved.

14 comments:

Suzannah B. Troy artist said...

Before we close anything, Mike Bloomberg has to cut his campaign staff and reimburse city tax payers 2 million dollars.

Deke DaSilva said...

The Department of Education said Thursday that up to 47 city schools could face closure for poor performance this year

Why not "fire the students"? They're the ones that performed poorly.

How about their parents as well?

Anyone care to wager what the demographics of these 47 schools are?

Moby S. said...

I have a hi skool edukashun!

Anonymous said...

Where are we going to put all the anchor babies? If you deport them and their criminal parents, closing 47 schools won't make a difference. All the schools are over=crowded because of the illegals and most of them can't master the language and drop out anyway.

Anonymous said...

If this was a new problem, your point would be correct. However, look back over many decades. When has the Board of Education ever done a good job in planning for the number of students who would attend their schools? Overcrowded schools go back for many years, long before illegal immigration and anchor babies were an issue. Portable classrooms were around in the early sixties.

Anonymous said...

Portable classrooms were around in the 60's because of the baby boom, not illegal immigration. Now, the anchor babies take up seats that citizens are supposed to be entitled to.

Anonymous said...

This is an absurd concept. Fire the entire administration including teachers at the end of the school year and simultaneously hire an experienced staff to be ready by Sept. Why do this class by class etc?

Anonymous said...

Anon no. 6: Portable classroom were around in the 1960s because the City and the Board of Education did not anticipate the baby boom and did some exceedingly poor planning work. Overcrowded schools are nothing new; it's just that the source of the overcrowding has changed. However, the poor planning work goes on.

In another 20 years it will be the same thing regardless of whether or not the anchor baby issue is still around.

Anonymous said...

Wake Up Everyone, this is nothing more than UNION BUSTING. Charter schools have CEO's how much education do you think you're children are going to get? Remember CEO's like hefty bonus's. That simple.

Joe said...

Fire the students ? \
..What students ?

Most those unruly brats of illegal aliens that populate a good 1/2 of NYC schools aren't interested in English, skills, math, science.
Schools have become nothing more then babysitting services for future gang bangers and slaves.
The exact same thing that happened in Los Angeles with the Mexicans is happening here.

A teacher today will soon need a metal detector on the classroom door, a gun and a flack jacket.
Just wait till all these good for nothing brats are on the street and have to support themselves the females knocked up or with child by age 14
Anybody see "Escape From New York" with Kurt Russel ?

Big Hairy Balls said...

I know let's blame it all on teachers and the UFT. In all my years of teaching I couldn't believe the idiocy that I was subjected to. Low quality parents and their brain dead offspring destroyed NYC's school system. Add in the section 8 and the endless whiners blabbering on about poverty and you've finished off a society. There was a time when a teacher could throw out the disruptive students, no more though, they too are "entitled" to an education. The liberals have screwed things up royally. Republican sweep! Death to the Palestinians, long live Israel!

Big Hairy Balls said...

oh and a final thought, I'm enjoying my pension and my boat. I moved out of NY and I'm enjoying my retirement and my. Heh! Heh!

Anonymous said...

What subject did you teach?

Big Hairy Balls said...

HS AP math, algebra, geometry, trig, etc.