A citywide education panel approved on Wednesday a master plan to adapt or effectively shutter a handful of Harlem schools as the neighborhood struggles with low enrollment in the early grades.
The strategy had faced intense backlash from families and teachers at P.S. 76 A. Philip Randolph, the Daily News reported in December. The school did not have the fewest number of students in the district, but was targeted for cutbacks nonetheless as part of a sweeping proposal to balance enrollment and school budgets.
“We recognize that change, particularly in communities with strong school traditions, can be difficult and may bring with it concerns,” Danielle Dimango, chief of school support, said at a Panel for Educational Policy meeting at the Bayard Rustin Educational Campus in Chelsea.
“I want to assure you that this proposal is the result of thoughtful collaboration and deep community engagement, and it is aimed at ensuring a stronger, more sustainable future for our students,” Dimango added.
Close to a third of elementary and middle schools in Harlem are in the bottom quarter of enrollment citywide, a District 3 planning report found.
Because schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, when a school loses enrollment, it also suffers a financial loss — which could look like fewer academic programs or extracurricular activities.
Facing those challenges, top education officials moved to eliminate the elementary school at P.S. 76, and merge grades 6-8 with Mott Hall II, a nearby middle school that is adding a rigorous high school program.
The merged school will keep P.S. 76’s building, but Mott Hall’s principal and school name. P.S. 76 argues that amounted to a school closure. Its outgoing principal, through tears, said his community is feeling a “loss,” but that it was his hope a decision was made that is best for Harlem children.
“I don’t think you’ve been fair to P.S. 76,” a teacher objected during the meeting, “and I hate to say this, but this is something that I have observed over and over and over again since 1983 when I first started working in [Harlem schools.]”
The broader plan will also cut middle school grades from P.S. 180 Hugo Newman, and relocate a specialized education school to the newly vacant space.
The vote had been postponed multiple times before Wednesday. Five panel members asked to table the P.S. 76 proposal, but it ultimately passed a couple of hours into the meeting, 13-2. Two panel members abstained.
