Senator Montgomery and Assemblywoman Wright Request Emergency Meeting with Chancellor Carranza About Historic Old Boys High

Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright write to Chancellor Richard A. Carranza to request an emergeny meeting regarding the proposed Re-siting and Co-location of Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School (84K780) to Old Boys High School Campus (K458) in the 2018-2019 School Year. 

The Historic Old Boys High is currently home to five schools including Brooklyn Academy High School, Bed-Stuy Prep High School, Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School, Pathways to Graduation (P2G) and the LYFE Center, which is a daycare program for the children of students taking classes in the alternative schools located there. The Department of Education and the PEP (Panel for Educational Policy) are proposing to take space away from P2G and would consolidate Brooklyn Academy and Bed-Stuy Prep – each of which have a floor of space – into one school with one principal, on one floor in order to move a middle school, Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School, into the building.

Read the full letter below or download the above PDF.

April 16, 2018

Chancellor Richard A. Carranza
New York City Department of Education
Tweed Courthouse
52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

Re: The Proposed Re-siting and Co-location of Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School (84K780J to Old Boys Nigh School Campus (K458) in the 2018-2019 School Year

Dear Chancellor Carranza,

We are writing to request an emergency meeting regarding the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) proposal to co-locate Uncommon Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School at the Old Boys High School Campus (1(458). In addition, we respectfully request that the Panel on Educational Policy (PEP)’s April 25th vote on this co-location be postponed until further notice. As the state elected officials for this school, we have numerous concerns about this proposal and invite you to visit Old Boys High Campus with us to learn more about this issue firsthand.

Old Boys High School Campus currently houses Bed-Stuy Prep and Brooklyn Academy transfer schools, Pathways to Graduation (P2G), a District 75 program, a Living for the Young Family Education Program (LYFE) and Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School.  With the exception of Uncommon Collegiate, all of the schools in this building provide education and services to youth as old as 21 who struggled in traditional high schools.

Many of the students have already had life experiences that interfered with their educational progress such as homelessness, foster care, abuse, loss of a parent, unplanned pregnancies and interactions with the criminal justice system. The staff at the Old Boys High School campus have worked to establish and tailor resources including partnerships with organizations like DREAMS Youthbuild, Recycle-A-Bicycle in partnership with Citibike, a media production program in collaboration BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn (BRIC), CAMBA, The Children’s Village, New York University and Columbia University. These programs have created an environment where students who fell off track now have an opportunity to flourish both academically and socially despite the difficulties in their lives.

The current proposal would introduce 5th — gth graders to a building serving 16 to 21 year old students, take four classrooms from P2G, consolidate the two transfer schools to one floor and add yet another school to share communal spaces with. Even in the current space, most rooms are multipurpose to accommodate programming, counseling, tutoring and serve as a meeting space for parents and support staff.

We understand the Uncommon Middle School is currently co-located within P.S. 9, which is alarmingly overcrowded and we support their efforts to find appropriate space. However, we do not wish to see a rushed process that sacrifices the success of a youth population that is too often overlooked and neglected. At a time when the schools in the Old Boys High School Campus are making positive strides in the lives of our most vulnerable young people, DOE’s co-location proposal jeopardizes their continued success.

We look forward to working with you to find a solution at Old Boys High School Campus that supports, not cripples our most vulnerable children while also addressing the overcrowding at P.S.9.

Sincerely,

Senator Velmanette Montgomery

Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright

To learn more about this issue, visit http://www.ourtimepress.com/a-ged-program-to-be-cut-in-half-so-charter-school-can-expand/

To learn more about Senator Montgomery's work with transfer schools, visit:

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/senator-montgomery-and-colleagues-fight-nyc-transfer-high

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/nys-education-department-revises-transfer-high-school

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/good-shepherd-services-presents-senator-montgomery-award-her