Testifying Against the Co-Location of a Charter Elementary School at the Brandeis Campus

On January 25, I submitted testimony at a joint hearing of the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the Community School District 3 (D3) Community Education Council (CEC3) and school leadership teams strongly opposing the DOE's proposal to co-locate a new Success Academy Charter School (SACS) with five existing high schools within the Brandeis Educational Campus (145 West 84 Street).  I echoed the concerns of the D3 community that SACS would preclude the campus from accommodating much-needed additional high school seats; prove extremely disruptive to the building's existing schools; place elementary students at risk among older students; require costly retrofitting of the building for younger students, and reduce individual schools' flexibility in moving, exchanging and sharing classrooms and cluster rooms -- all while doing little or nothing to address elementary school overcrowding in the area.