There is a lot of confusion and a great deal of battling already in regards to the proposed new charter elementary school for Cobble Hill, the Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School-Cobble Hill. Last week, the city Department of Education proposed to place the new school in the school building at 284 Baltic, between Baltic and Butler on Court Street, next to Cobble Hill Cinemas (note: I originally had the address on Baltic wrong and corrected it).
The DOE’s proposal stated that Success Academy Cobble Hill will serve kindergarten through fourth grade, beginning in 2012. Success Academy is known for its Harlem Success Academies, which recently scored the highest in the city on math and reading tests. Entrance to Success charter schools is by lottery, in this case for kids from District 15. Some worry the school could bleed students and active parents from up-and-coming local elementary schools, like PS 32, PS 261 and PS 38. Others are excited to have a rigorous academic option for local kids.
At 284 Baltic, the current student body has faced many hardships, but the school is reportedly on the upswing. Currently, the building houses three schools: the Brooklyn School for Global Studies and the School for International Studies (grades 6 to 12) and P.S. 368, a District 75 school serving students who are autistic, mentally retarded, or have multiple handicaps, according to the DOE.
Global Studies was recently on a list for poorest-performing schools in the state, but a federal grant for $2 million and “turnaround†program, and new principal, have resulted in the school earning a B on its report card last year, according to Gotham Schools. The school had faced a setback not long ago when the assistant principal was accused of stabbing her boyfriend with a box cutter, and made headlines when students laced a cake for teachers with laxatives.
Eva Moskowitz, founder of the Success Charter schools, held a meeting at Carroll Gardens Library on Saturday to discuss the new school. About 100 people showed up, including protesters holding signs, such as, “We don’t need your success. We have our own.â€
After some people hollered at Moskowitz from the audience, arguing over her presentation, Moskowitz called off the meeting after about 20 minutes.
To read more about the co-location proposal, click here:
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/82AEAD19-9AE8-44D9-98F1-CB981F32556E/113454/CobbleHill_K293_PEPNotice_vFINAL.pdf
Success Academy has nine schools in New York City, including a new school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and another in Bedford-Stuyvesant. To read more about the schools, click here.
