By Patrick Wall DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
March 9, 2012 6:49pm
LONGWOOD — When several dozen students at Schomburg Satellite Academy
High School heard the 12:05 bell ring Friday afternoon, rather than
meander to their next class, they stood up, pulled out neon-colored
poster boards and marched outside.
Some 60 students joined in the
walkout to protest the Department of Education's plan to move a new charter school into the
five-story building at 1010 Reverend James Polite Ave., which already
houses Schomburg and Bronx Regional High School, as well as a full-time
GED program and childcare, medical and student-referral centers.
The
protest comes days before a public hearing Monday on the proposal, and
following weeks of organizing, outreach and even talk of legal action on
the part of Schomburg students, who worry the city’s plan
will lead to overcrowding, strained resources and even conflicts between
the building’s current occupants and newcomers.
Students from Schomburg Satellite Academy High School staged a
walkout on March 9, 2012 to protest the city's plan to move a new
charter school into their building. (DNAinfo/Patrick Wall)
“You’re invading our space and the family
we have here,” said student Crystal Samuels, 18, whose mother, Nona
Samuels, is president of the school’s Parent Teacher Association.
Crystal
added, “You bring in more kids — that’s more altercations.”
Like
other students at the protest, Samuels emphasized that she was not
opposed to the planned charter school, called ROADS II, but rather
to the Department of Education’s plan to place ROADS in a building with
two other schools.
The students proceeded down Polite Avenue to
the district office of
State
Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., where they chanted “No new schools!” as
about a dozen police and school safety officers looked on.
The
senator briefly stepped outside and offered the students his support,
then he and a staffer met with four student representatives in his
office.
Rev. Diaz told the students he supports charter schools,
but not when the DOE uses them to “pit communities against each other.” He advised the students to recruit as many supporters as possible to
attend Monday’s hearing.
“You have to get that place packed,” Diaz
told the students, adding, “You’re doing the right thing.”
Resistance
to the so-called co-location plan has slowly gained momentum since the
DOE announced the proposal
on its website about a month ago.
Students,
parents and staff from Schomburg, along with a few representatives from
Bronx Regional,
held their first serious meeting about the plan on
February 21. Since then, Schomburg’s student council has taken up the
cause, the Parent Teacher Association discussed the matter, and a public interest law firm was reached to explore possible legal
action against the city.
Both Schomburg and Bronx Regional serve
older students who transferred from other high schools, often because
they struggled with academics or discipline. ROADS II would also admit
older students who are behind in credits, but they plan to give
preference to teens who have faced serious setbacks, such as
homelessness or run-ins with the law.
At Friday’s rally, students
said classroom space is already limited. For example, Schomburg students
currently have access to a single computer lab and must share a
cafeteria and gym with Bronx Regional.
While both schools now
occupy their own floors, students said it seems inevitable that next
year they will have to split floor space with the charter school.
“We’re
going to be overcrowded and uncomfortable,” said Schomburg student
Eygribelk Ramirez, 15.
He and other students said they fear the
co-location will lead to fights and fewer resources for students.
According
to the DOE, only 67 percent of available space in the 162,000
square-foot building is being utilized. Adding another school to the
building will not harm the current occupants, the DOE noted.
But
Schomburg students and staff disagree. They have pointed out that
Schomburg
would eventually lose about half of its
instructional space, going from 20 classrooms this year to a proposed
10-and-a-half classrooms in 2014, as ROADS moves in.
ROADS II is
scheduled to open in the Bronx this fall with 150 students, while
another branch, ROADS I, will launch in Brooklyn.
The schools,
whose charter application was approved by the state last year, boasts a
high-powered board of trustees that includes Jeff Li, the executive
director of Teach For America in New York, and chairman Mark Gallogly,
co-founder of the private equity firm Centerbridge Partners, as well as a
member of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
The DOE will hold a public hearing on
its proposal at 6 p.m. Monday at the school building on Polite Avenue.
An educational oversight panel, which traditionally approves the DOE’s
proposals, will vote on the plan the following week.
Regarding
Friday’s walkout, a DOE spokeswoman said: “Students have a right to
express themselves, but they cannot walk out during school hours and
disrupt classroom time.”
Representatives for ROADS did not
immediately respond to a request for comment on the protest.
