The NYC Department of Education wants to put a charter school in PS 15 in Red Hook. This decision has been made in spite of protests from the school, community & parents, & the potential impact on PS15 could be incredibly negative. This blog presents information on the situation to the community to open a dialogue about the situation to resolve it successfully. Posts represent the opinions of individuals posting them, & are not necessarily the opinions of the staff & administration of PS15.
On Thursday, Detroit Public Schools were closed for a special protest about charter schools which took place at the State Capitol in Lansing, MI.
The plan was to double the number of charter schools in the state of Michigan. Governor Granholm had the decision to make whether it would happen or not. Granholm had a discussion with Michigan Republicans on Thursday.
Protestors said that charter schools are bad because they take money away from public education funds. Charter schools recieve the same amount of money per student as public schools do.
Shirley Jones is a Detroit Public School teacher. She said, "Public schools have served us well for over 100 years." Jones added, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
One teacher, Greg Church said that public schools are better than charters. He said, "What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of kids come right back to public schools because they're low-achieving or have behavior problems."
Robert Thompson proposed a $200 million deal to Gov. Granholm. He wanted to open 15 new high schools in the city of Detroit. They were all going to be charters to offer students a choice for education.
Granholm Decides on the Charter Schools
Gov. Granholm said "no" to the new charter schools after learning that Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick didn't like the idea. She decided that he would know best about the education in his city.
The original plan was to open 150 new charter schools in Michigan. Of those, 15 would be in the city of Detroit. There is a state of Michigan law capping charter schools to 150 throughout the state.
What do you think about the issue? Post on our Message Boards.
-- "Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world; indeed, that is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
-- "Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world; indeed, that is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
I'm adding new information to this blog on a regular basis; scroll down through the posts - and look at the archive (compiled monthly) for additional information on the issue. The archive appears just below the counter that follows this panel.
Your feedback is important, particularly if you're a parent or part of the Red Hook community. You can post comments to any of the listed topics, and can do this anonymously if you like. VOTE IN THE POLLS I'VE POSTED IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN! Again, this can be done anonymously, but the tallies could be helpful.
If you have additional information you'd like to share and would like to have it posted on the blog, please either email me at emilyholiday@gmail.com OR phone me at 347-850-2283 or 646-685-1424, and leave a message if you reach the voicemail.
I hope this is useful for all concerned!
- Emily Brown
Blog Moderator
Emily Brown - I'm a parent of a PS15 student. You can call me at 917-720-7335.
Postcard
Keep Charter Schools Out of PS15 - feel free to download this and print or email it
Want to pick a Goth Name for the director of your favorite charter school, DOE employee, or other annoying person? Click on the following link, and let us know how it works out: http://www.necroticobsession.com/gothname.html
The DOE seems to think that PS15 has rooms to spare for the new Charter School. Do we want to give up classroom space that could be better used for PS15's programs?
Do you think a charter school should be placed in the PS 15 building?
PAVE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL INFORMATION MEETING
Tuesday March 11, 2008 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Red Hook Brooklyn Public Library, 7 Wolcott Street For more information, call: 212-437-8332 347-218-2684
DOE HEARING RE: SITING OF PAVE ACADEMY
I couldn't upload the .pdf file I had, so I took a picture instead...To see a larger, easier to read copy of this flier, scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN to the bottom of the blog. Note that this letter is signed by Michael Duffy, the same person who told me that he didn't know when the meeting would be scheduled, and had no idea who was responsible for booking the meeting. Hmmm. Interesting.
Come to the Hearing... and sign up to speak and defend PS15
again, it was just easier to take a picture of the flier and post it that way. To see a larger, easier to read copy of this flier, scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN to the bottom of the blog.
