Public Officials and Major Civic Leaders Break with the Bloomberg Version of Mayoral Control

For Immediate Release:   Wednesday February 29^th, 2012

Contact:  Luis Garden Acosta, 718-387-0404

Public Officials and Major Civic Leaders Break with the Bloomberg Version of Mayoral Control

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Councilwoman Diana Reyna and a host of other public officials and high profile leaders will take the unprecedented step of breaking with the Bloomberg administration control of the public school system. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow, March 1^st, 2012 at 5:00 p.m., Brooklyn Tech High School, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn NY, (set up at S. Elliot Street and DeKalb Avenue) prior to the Panel on Education Policy (PEP) public meeting at Brooklyn Tech High School at 6pm.

Coming on the heels of a disturbing meeting with public school Chancellor Dennis Walcott, public officials as well as church and community leaders will charge the Chancellor with “Academic Malfeasance” and call for an end to the PEP process that they decry as the antithesis of good government practice.

Church and community leaders of the Southside Community Schools Coalition* will be present to denounce the Bloomberg administration handling of schools as irresponsible, lacking integrity and a failure for District 14 (Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bedford-Stuyvesant) public schools in general, and Williamsburg Southside schools, in particular.

High school students from at least four high schools will rally across the street against the “closed back room dealings” of corporate driven charter networks that do not emanate from the communities they propose to serve, are not accountable to those communities and who are backed by the Mayor’s autocratic rule in the use and abuse of public school space.

Click here for the full Press Release.

WHOSE schools? OUR schools!

Tonight was the 2nd DOE Hearing on Success Academy Colocation into MS50 Williamsburg

Just to re-cap. Due to  ‘clerical error’ on the part of the DOE, instead of relying on the community input generated at the original DOE Colocation Hearing for MS50 (on 01/17/2012), the DOE scheduled the hearing tonight.  THAT original hearing drew several hundred Williamsburg residents who were overwhelmingly AGAINST the Success Academy colocation (fewer than 25 were there in support of the charter).

Tonight’s hearing drew many more hundreds of people, and wouldn’t you know it, there were about 5 busloads of Success supporters – imported mostly from Harlem, with very few Williamsburg-based supporters. And more power to Harlem Success Academy.

But the diversity of Harlem Success Academy’s school community, the success of their academic curricula, the awesomeness of their matching orange shirts – none of that was ever in question. In fact, the whole point of the meeting (one would hope), is that the NYC Department of Education was there to solicit WILLIAMSBURG community input on proposed changes to a WILLIAMSBURG school.  So there is only one question: WHOSE schools?

OUR schools.

More coverage from last night’s PEP meeting

(Thanks to SCSC member Janine Sopp of Grassroots Education Movement)

• http://gothamschools.org/2012/02/10/nine-things-you-need-to-know-about-last-nights-pep-meeting/
• Some pretty powerful pics from the PEP http://www.telemundo47.com/fotos/Cierran-escuelas-en-Nueva-York-139095444.html?gallery=y&img=1&c=y
• This is from a Spanish channel. The video addresses race and how school closings affect communities of color: http://univisionnuevayork.univision.com/videos/video/2012-02-10/cierran-23-escuela-en-nueva
• Michael Galinsky’s video of last night’s PEP meeting on the NYC Parent blog: The Thursday night massacre report with outrage at closing of 23 public schools: http://goo.gl/SgRFx

Coverage of last night’s Panel for Education Policy meeting

(Thanks to SCSC Member Dennis sinneD for compiling)

• http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/02/10/amid-protesters-disruptions-city-board-votes-to-close-18-schools-and-truncate-5/
• http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/city_shutters_schools_DNdlRp6DSkRyayQPO0qMGN
• http://www.nydailynews.com/news/tension-high-thousands-crash-brooklyn-hearing-closing-23-schools-article-1.1020238
• http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/7/dtg_ms103closing_2012_02_17_bk.html
• http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/155756/panel-for-educational-policy-votes-to-close-23-city-schools
• VIDEO: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/6728012-hundreds-rally-at-brooklyn-tech-against-school-closures/

Tonight was a travesty.

Pero mañana, la lucha sigue.

Keep up with tonight’s PEP meeting outcomes…

If you’re up late, you can catch up on some mixed reviews from local tv news outlets:

• NY1
• PIX 11

Or you can follow several online sources who are live-blogging from the Panel for Education Policy Meeting at Brooklyn Tech tonight. 

• Gothamschools.org
• NYTimes SchoolBook
• Occupy Colin (video stream)

District 15 files lawsuit against Success Academy Cobble Hill

SCSC member organization, Advocates for Justice: A Public Interest Law Firm, is filing a suit against Success Charter Network, on behalf of Cobble Hill Parents.

Backed by a law firm that has battled the Department of Education in court repeatedly over the past year, a group of Cobble Hill parents announced today that they are suing to stop Eva Moskowitz’s Brooklyn Success Academy 3 from moving into their neighborhood.

GothamSchools.org has the story.

Read the full legal petition here.

What lies ahead in the SCSC’s struggle to keep Success Academy Charter out of MS50 in Williamsburg?

Prepping for the PEP Meeting – People’s Mic

Thanks to Janine Sopp of the Grassroots Education Movement!

Here’s to everyone being ready to OCCUPY THE DOE!

On Thursday, Feb. 9th, at 6pm, the NYC Panel for Education Policy (PEP)will vote to approve/reject proposed phaseout of PS19, the Roberto Clemente School. Join us at Brooklyn Technical High School 29 Fort Greene Place Brooklyn, NY 11217

Video from SCSC Education Town Hall at MS50 (02/07/2012)

(Original video and article on Ed Notes Online: )

El Puente Leader Savages Moskowitz/Success Invasion of MS 50 as Eva Rallies Her Troops

Los Sures (Southside Williamsburg, Brooklyn) Town Hall.

Frances Lucerna, Executive Director & Founding Principal of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, raises many of the push-button charter school and co-location issues.

Tell the DOE (literally) YOU SAY NO TO SUCCESS ACADEMY @ MS50!

We still need for as many community members as possible to sign the online Petition asking the DOE to stop the colocation of Success Academy Williamsburg into MS50.

BUT, you can also say so to the NYC Department of Education DIRECTLY!

The public comment period (written or oral) for the March 1st Panel for Education Policy meeting is open from now until 6pm on Weds. Feb. 29th.

EVERYONE should email d14Proposals@schools.nyc.gov and tell them “WE DO NOT SUPPORT the colocation of Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 4 (84KTBD) with Existing School J.H.S. 050 John D. Wells (14K050) in Building K050.”

You can also call Toby Shepherd of the DOE: (212) 374-0208 and tell him the same thing.