Parents are preparing to fight the DOE’s decision to place the New American Academy inside Marine Park IS 278, instead of a NEST program.
The New American Academy is an experiment in class sizes, which hopes will change how students learn and how teachers are trained. Four teachers are assigned to sixty students in one large, open classroom. Which works out to be about one teacher to roughly twenty-five children, in the New York Times example.
In past meetings with the CDEC and the DOE , parents made clear that another school wasn’t wanted; they wanted a highly specialized NEST program for higher functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. Only one other Nest program of it’s kind exists in Brooklyn.
The reason the DOE chose the New American Academy:
The primary components of the New American Model are: a 15:1 student to teacher ratio with flexible grouping for instruction and opportunites for collaboration through modeling techniques; a career ladder where teachers are designated as Master, Partner, Associate, or Apprentice teachers, depending on expertise and experience, with opportunity for advancement and adult-mentorships amongst the teachers; looping, where teacher teams teach the same group of children from kindergarten through fifth grade; 90-minute daily collaborative planning time for teachers, and in some cases a trilingual language model where students are exposed to three languages beginning in kindergarten.
The DOE is only placing this school inside IS 278 because the school is at 79% capacity, or in DOE speak, 79% utilization. Currently, IS 278 enrolls about 990 students with the capacity to serve 1,309 students. When both schools have full enrollment combined in 2016-2017, estimated enrollment amounts to 1,255 – 1,315 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, plus 18 students in pre-kindergarten. At that point, the projected utilization for K278 would be 101%.
The New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) is proposing to site New American Academy 2 (22K144, “NAA2”), a new DOE district public school that would serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade at scale, in building K278 (“K278”), located at 1925 Stuart Street, Brooklyn, NY 11229, in Community School District 22. NAA2 would be co-located in K278 with J.H.S. 278 Marine Park (22K278, “J.H.S. 278”), an existing DOE district middle school that serves sixth through eighth grade. A “co-location” means that two or more school organizations are located in the same building and may share common spaces like auditoriums, gymnasiums, libraries, and cafeterias
Parents and the community are gearing up for March 14 at Marine Park Junior High School. According to one parent:
We have won the last two battles when they tried to put another school in IS 278, but this is the “WAR” and we will win. Let’s all come together on this for the sake of our children and our community!!! Let’s remember what the Mayor has forgotten — we are a democracy, not a dictatorship!!!
Educational Impact Statement
Read the full description of the proposal here.
Sharing Your Concerns and Questions
The DOE is seeking your feedback.
In addition, parents, staff, and other community members may submit questions and comments at any time:
Benjamin Taylor
(212) 374-0208
D22Proposals@schools.nyc.gov .
Joint Public Hearing
Date: March 14, 2011
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: J.H.S. 278 Marine Park, 1925 Stuart Street, Brookyn, NY 11229
Panel for Educational Policy Vote on the Proposal
Date: March 23, 2011
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Brooklyn Technical High School, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217
For more information, see the PEP website.
I am DEFINITELY going to be at that meeting and I want to speak. As a parent of an autistic child, this program NEEDS to be there. And as a former teacher, that so called program they want to puit there is insane. 60 kids in one room?! You also better have the security to back it up. I am not looking forward to sending my son for a 2+ hour commute once he leaves his current school in fifth grade.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I am bewildred as to why 278 had so much availible space?
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I don’t know why now but when my kids attended which was about 7-12 years ago most of the PTA mothers bad mouthed Marine Park and this bashing scared off many families. The sad thing is the less of the neighbor kids attend the more room they have for busing. The school had great programs and excellent teachers.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sandra McDonald, marychavez145. marychavez145 said: Parents Gearing up to Fight New American Academy Move into IS 278 …: The primary components of the New America… http://bit.ly/fnwbfp [...]
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So i guess gym and library will no longer be made available to the existing kids since those are the only rooms large enough to hold 60 kids at a time? Does band have a large room to practice in? Will that space also be taken over? 60 kids in one room forced to sit on the floor, rather than upright at a desk, for a good part of the day spells chaos and confusion.
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When I went to grammar school I had 58 kids in my class with 1 teacher and then in high school over 40 in most classes with 1 teacher.
Squeeze a hundred in a class, cancel the band practice, in case some haven’t heard, NYC is the home of free hand outs and we are in hard times I hear the City has no money.
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besides that you have 5 year olds going to a school with 11, 12, 13, and some 15 and 16 year lods. I was in that school when my child was looking at jrhigh those kids scared me with their cursing and yelling at each other and the guards. I would not want my 5 or 6 year old there.
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4 teachers/60 students does not work out to 1 teacher per 25 students.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Its the new math that they are teaching today
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Look at that book that the teacher is reading to them. It’s called Late For School. Lol, I don’t think they need to be teaching them that! They already know how to be late!
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This is just nonsense. 60 kids to a room? That’s as many as a dorm in prison. DOE = Fail!
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I think it is Bloombergs way of telling us that our children should be home schooled because he needs the money for less important things like putting islands in the streets, painting lines, planting trees, etc.. He is not a people person only believes in money, nothing else!!! If he was serious about saving money then he would start from the TOP down there are many city officials with more than 30 years that can retire and collect a pension to make room for others. But they are management most of who have no legitimate positions and is afraid of forcing people out. That is a start
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[...] Parents are getting ready for a battle against putting a new school inside IS 278. The story from gerritsenbeach.net. [...]
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“Four teachers are assigned to sixty students in one large, open classroom”. Talk about a recipe for disaster. The needs of local autistic children MUST be met. Please fellow concerned parents Join us on March 23 to tell the DOE and the Mayor again to keep there stupid ideas to themselves and out of our neighborhoods.
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The meeting on March 23rd is when the vote will take place. By then it may be too late to voice our opposition. We need all concerned parents to join us at the public hearing on March 14th. Please be there.
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The meeting on March 23rd is when the vote will take place. By then it may be too late to voice our opposition. We need all concerned parents to join us at the meeting on March 14th.
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Sorry, misspelled word–keep THEIR stupid ideas to themselves.
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Another unmentioned “advantage” of corraling 60+ kids together. When an outbreak of lice, bedbugs, colds, flu, virus hit the classroom, there will be more kids to
“spread it around” and bring it back into their homes/neighborhoods. Yes a very good idea. Why hadn’t someone thought of this ages ago.
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This is such a ridiculous idea. Look at it from the perspective of a 5 year old. Imagine how confusing it will be for them to be in a group that large, 4 different adults in charge. Poor kids! Bloomberg is an absolute idiot, he should stay out of education and leave it to the people who are pros at it. No teacher thinks that this will be good for children.
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They Need to just leave us alone. The DOE has mad Issues
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