Dear Parents and Neighbors,  You must show up and comment for our middle school situation to improve.  Signs are great too.  Things will not fix themselves.  They never have.   Here's a press release I sent to the NY Press with all the details.   -- Thanks, Doug Biviano

For Immediate Release

December 6, 2010

Dec. 8  Public Hearing Arts & Letters K-8 Expansion's Impact,

Negative on PS8 Community's Middle School Options

Former New York State Assembly Candidate and P.S. 8 parent Doug Biviano lamented the impact of the proposed grade expansion by Urban Assembly Academy of Arts & Letters (A&L) middle school in Ft. Greene, "Although this is great news for students able to attend Arts & Letters, half the middle school seats makes a bad situation worse for the P.S. 8 community and other District 13 students who will be left behind."  He continued, "Parents I know are already having nightmares over our in district middle school choices, especially when M.S. 571 is par for the course.  We hope that elected officials and the DOE will put the decades of neglect behind them when it comes to District 13 -- one of the worst performing school districts in New York City -- and get to work fixing it.  I know of no greater or immediate cause for Cathie Black to champion in proving herself to New Yorkers."  Read more ...

Impact

While Biviano supports the success of all schools, he warns that there will be a negative impact on the Middle School options for P.S. 8 students and other D13 students if A&L expands to grades K-8 from their current 6-8 middle school configuration.  Their school grade size will be cut from 100 seats to 50 seats starting in 2013.  The Dept. of Education's (DOE) impact statement tells it like it is (click to read the EIS and to see comparisons of D13 middle schools to surrounding districts):

"Other fifth graders throughout District 13 would continue to be able to apply to attend middle school at Urban Assembly if additional seats remain available." -- DOE

Public Hearing

Biviano insists that the DOE must mitigate the negative impacts, but only if stakeholders make their case -- or  "make a stink" -- by showing up and commenting.   Biviano calls on all concerned parents, citizens, elected officials and the press to do so:

December 8, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.
P.S. 20/Urban Assembly Academy of Arts and Letters
225 Adelphi Street
Brooklyn, NY, 11205
Telephone: 212-374-0209 Fax: 212-374-5588
Speaker sign-up will begin 30 minutes before the hearing and will close 15 minutes after the start.

*** NOTE:   Comments will run 2 minutes for this hearing.  You can wing it, read a prepared statement and submit the same or a completely different statement as long as you'd like... just show some passion and force in numbers!

Context

To give greater context of the precarious nature of middle school options for the P.S. 8 community, read Biviano's "Make a stink! -- Cathie Black's 1st School Assignment: Fix D13" blog post and consider these facts:

1. Last year eighteen (18) P.S. 8 students enrolled in A&L middle school, the greatest number of P.S. 8 students to enroll anywhere.
2. A&L middle school seats will be cut from 100 to 50 per grade and will eventually be preferentially fed by their K-6 expansion.
   
3. Despite the best intentions of Two Trees, it is reasonable to believe that the proposed Dock Street Middle School will not be open for at least 4 to 6 years, if at all in this economy.  The construction is market and finance dependent.
4. Overall, D13 is one of the worst performing school districts in NYC.
5. Parents in D13, P.S. 8 well included, are stressed out to the max in finding a middle school option that matches the needs of their children.  Some parents Biviano knows are moving from the neighorhood.
6. Education spending has almost doubled under Mayor Bloomberg from $13 billion to $22 billion, yet the P.S. 8 community still does not have a middle school nor has D13 improved significantly, raising the question of how the money was used.  Even with looming education budget cuts, sufficient funds should remain within the system to be better allocated to achieve results.
   

Middle Schools Now

Ultimately, Biviano's position remains steadfast -- whether the A&L grade expansion is approved or not -- that the P.S. 8 community desperately needs a middle school meeting the following goals:

1. it is a neighborhood school,
2. it excels academically and in enrichment,
   
3. it maintains diversity by remaining open to D13 and offering a seat for every child including ICT students,
4. it is established now.
   

There are parents actively organizing for this good cause and Biviano encourages all concerned PS 8 and D13 parents to get involved.  This release has not been done on behalf of this group.  It represents his own opinions in this matter.  Feel free to contact Doug Biviano if you would like to find out more information.  You can also start calling your local elected officials and the DOE.

P.S. 20, A&L and Parent Responsibility

Biviano wishes the success of both PS 20 and A&L in the expansion, ending his remarks, "All of our children deserve a great education.  To achieve this, we must all do our part in a sustained effort to pressure the DOE for results.  Every parent in every neighborhood must get involved and that includes participating everyday in your child's education."

Press Contact:   Doug Biviano, PS 8 Parent of Three, 917-257-3652

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