Let PS 9 Grow Campaign -- Final Actions Materials
Faye Rimalovski
Thank you,
Faye
*** Parents, please help with our final push before the Feb 3 vote ***
We had an amazing turnout by the P.S. 9 community at the DOE hearing on January 24th! However, we need to make a strong final push before the Panel on Educational Policy (PEP) votes on the co-location proposal for Brooklyn East Collegiate on Thursday, February 3rd, 2011.
Each one of us needs to call, mail letters and send emails to the following people to ensure P.S. 9’s case is heard before the vote:
Deadline to complete all outreach is Tuesday, February 1st at Midnight!
Dear
On Monday, January 24th, several hundred parents and members of the community came to show their support for P.S. 9 at the Department of Education (DOE) Public Hearing at P.S. 9 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
The DOE is proposing that P.S. 9 share 80 Underhill Avenue (“Building K009”) with Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School and M.S. 571 until June 2013. On Thursday, February 3rd, a DOE panel will vote whether to move forward with this plan. As an involved parent at PS 9, I want to alert you that this plan is riddled with critical inaccuracies and errors. If approved, the co-location would severely harm the learning environment of elementary school students at PS 9 and would stunt the progress of a thriving community school.
Some major flaws in the DOE plan include:
· The DOE projects additional students at P.S. 9 but has not allocated adequate classroom space for them. Nor has it come up with a plan for repurposing rooms already in use. P.S. 9 may be short of as many as 15 classrooms in five years.
· The EIS erroneously asserts that the building has two gymnasiums – there’s only one.
· The DOE doesn’t acknowledge the use of P.S. 9’s use of the gymnasium after 3 p.m. for two different afterschool programs, serving 100 families a day. One is sponsored by the school’s P.T.O., which generates revenue for the school. These programs will most likely be dislodged by the middle school’s plan to use the gym after 3p.m.
· The plan also doesn’t make time for cleaning up the cafeteria between shifts. Teachers have recommended that students eat lunch later than 10:30, to increase instructional time in the morning, yet sharing the cafeteria with 3 schools makes this even less likely.
· The DOE’s plan will restrict P.S. 9’s ability to serve the growing Pre-K through Grade 5 needs of Prospect Heights and surrounding neighborhoods. Last year, 237 families applied for 54 seats in Pre-Kindergarten, a five-fold rise in requests from just four years ago. To meet demand during the past two Septembers, P.S. 9 added a fifth, then a sixth kindergarten class. This year, demand continues to grow: according to P.S. 9’s registrar, in the first 2 weeks of registration—and with 6 weeks remaining—106 students have enrolled for P.S. 9’s kindergarten; last year's K class was 117.
This proposed co-location will undermine a successful program in a rapidly expanding public school, and seriously harm the learning environment for P.S. 9’s elementary school students. That is why the PS 9 school leadership has proposed and has filed a Letter of Interest to expand the school from Pre-K to 8. This natural growth will fill the DOE and our community’s needs for more top-quality middle schools in District 13.
Please do not accept at face value the misleading and error-ridden analysis that DOE has given you and voice your rejection of the co-location plan for PS 9 before February 3rd.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sample Script – For Voicemail Messages
Hello, my name is _______________ and I am a parent at PS 9 in Brooklyn.
On February 3rd, the Panel for Educational Policy will vote on whether or not to close MS 571 and co-locate Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School into our building at 80 Underhill Avenue. The Department of Education proposal is filled with critical inaccuracies and errors. If approved, it will severely harm the learning environment of PS 9 students as well as stunt the progress of a thriving community school.
You can find a list of the major flaws on the PS 9 blog at ps9pta.blogspot.com.
(Use with DOE and PEP)Please vote against the co-location plan on February 3rd. Thank you.
(For Elected Officials) Please ask the panel to vote against the co-location on February 3rd. Thank you
Faye Rimalovski
Apologies but you may not be able to see all the contact information in the last email. Here it is again. And you can also find all this information and more on the blog at http://www.ps9pta.blogspot.com/. Thank you, Faye
1. Send emails to:
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor: Dwal...@cityhall.nyc.gov
Gentian Falstrom, Division of Portfolio Planning: D13Pro...@schools.nyc.gov
DOE Chancellor Cathie Black: chanc...@schools.nyc.gov
Panel for Educational Policy: pa...@schools.nyc.gov
Philip Berry: PBe...@schools.nyc.gov Joe Chan: JCh...@schools.nyc.gov
Joan Correale: JCorr...@schools.nyc.gov Monica Major: MMa...@schools.nyc.gov
Tino Hernandez: THern...@schools.nyc.gov Tomas Morales: TMor...@schools.nyc.gov
Lisette Nieves: LNie...@schools.nyc.gov Dmytro Fedkowskyj: pepof...@yahoo.com
Gbubemi Okotieuro: Gokot...@schools.nyc.gov Gitte Peng: GP...@schools.nyc.gov
Robert Reffkin: RRef...@schools.nyc.gov Patrick Sullivan: PSull...@schools.nyc.gov
Linda Lausell Bryant: LLausel...@schools.nyc.gov
Panel for Educational Policy Chancellor Cathleen Black
52 Chambers Street Department Of Education
New York, NY 10007 52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007
2. Send emails and letters to your elected officials:
Yvette Clarke, Congresswoman Ed Towns, Congressman
123 Linden Blvd., Ste. 200 186 Joralemon Street, Ste. 1102
Brooklyn, NY 11226 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Robert Jackson, NY City Council, Education Chair
3. Call and leave messages with (script attached and at http://ps9pta.blogspot.com):
DOE at 212-374-0208
Panel for Educational Policy at 212-374-5038
Dennis Walcott at (212) 788-3000
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke’s office at 718-287-1142
Congressman Edolphus Towns’ office at 718-855-8018
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Gretel
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