The Department of Education (DOE) continues its quest to phase-out failing schools.
DOE announced that it would possibly close down 47 schools citywide, including 12 in Queens, for their low performance. The schools could close as early as the summer.
“Too many kids are stuck in failing schools,” said Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld, a DOE spokesperson. “Right now we’re looking at these schools that have been consistently struggling to determine whether they can improve with help or need to be replaced with a new school.”
Three of the schools in Queens that could be closed are elementary schools, including P.S. 30 in Rochdale. In the DOE’s 2009-2010 School Progress Reports, P.S. 30 in District 28 went from a B grade last year down to a D this year. Calls to the principal for a comment were not returned.
Parents like mother-of-two Marta Valle are wondering where they would be sending their children to get an education if their schools close.
“What if the ‘ok’ schools are over-crowded?” asked the Peruvian native, whose two sons attend P.S. 30. “What if they can’t learn there? How long will it take them to get to the new school? I came to this country to give my children a better education, a better opportunity, and now they’re closing schools.”
Idelmina Rojas, the grandmother of two other students attending P.S. 30, also voiced her concerns.
“We need to help our kids learn, not take away their schools,” said Rojas, who lives in Jackson Heights. “We need more security, more teachers, and a better educational system. Why are they closing schools?”
The schools on the failing list face a phase-out process in which the school no longer admits any new students and loses one grade each year until all its students have graduated. At the same time, new smaller schools open up in the same school building. About 91 schools in the city have already undergone that process.
“Before we make any decisions, we are meeting with their administrators, teachers and parents to determine the best path forward,” Zarin-Rosenfeld said. “But we need to do right by our kids, and that will involve some difficult decisions.”
Queens Failing Schools
• Beach Channel High School
• Jamaica High School
• Business, Computer Applications & Entrepreneurship High School
• Richmond Hill High School
• Grover Cleveland High School
• Newtown High School
• August Martin High School
• John Adams High School
• P.S. 040 Samuel Huntington
• P.S. 030 Queens
• P.S./M.S. 147 Ronald Mcnair
• I.S. 231 Magnetech 2000
