Schools

PS 308 Says They Have "No More Room!"

Two different reports on a charter school co-location yield opposing results

The shouts of parents and children could be heard from the entrance of PS 308, long before rounding the hallway to the school’s tiny auditorium: “No sympathy! No Room! No Sympathy! No Room!”

About 100 or so parents, children, school administrators, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and charter school representatives gathered last night at PS 308 (The Clara Cardwell School), at 616 Quincy Street for a hearing to debate whether a Teaching Firms of America Charter School should move into PS 308, beginning September 2011.

Parents, students and administrators of PS 308 say, “no.” According to them, the school already is overburdened with too many students. They say, there simply is no more room.

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However, a DOE site evaluation gives a very different account of the school’s capacity: According to the report, PS 308 has been identified as an under-utilized building and has at least 300 seats available.

Although the building has the capacity to serve 1,213 students, in the current school year, PS 308 only served 649 students, an estimated utilization 54 percent. In 2015-16, when Teaching Firms achieves full scale, PS 308 would serve approximately 880-920 students, still an estimated utilization rate of only 76 percent.

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Parents and administrators of PS 308 say the DOE figures are wrong.

And City Councilman Al Vann agrees. He also attended last night's hearing after conducting a site visit of the school last week. Vann met with the principal, visited some of the classrooms and observed the cafeteria during lunch.

His opinion was that the co-location was not a good match, because the school already was overcrowded. He noted, the library could only fit one class at a time. And the auditorium and other common spaces such as the cafeteria were so crowded, children had to begin their lunch rotations at 10:30 am.

“This arrangement would not be proposed in certain other communities in New York City,” said Vann. “And certain other communities would not allow this to happen. It wouldn’t even be entertained or considered.”

Additionally, a safe and healthy inspection conducted at PS 308 on February 2, 2011, by Edward Olmsted, UFT industrial hygienist consultant, noted several violations resulting directly from the school's size, including excessive temperature levels and carbon monoxide levels in certain classrooms, asbestos hazards and suspected PCB leaks.

“In my opinion, moving a charter school into PS 308 will result in overcrowding of the school beyond the occupancy levels permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings,” said Olmsted in a written report. “This impacts the life safety of the building and may result in serious problems, should an emergency occur.”

The UFT and DOE reports on the school's capacity offer two, completely different accounts.

But the results may not matter: Since the mayor’s office took over control of New York City Public Schools, it has made clear its intention to push as many private, semi-private and public charter schools as possible. And the UFT has made clear its intention to push back.

The charter schools overall have demonstrated higher performance than many of the public schools. But it has meant a tighter, more uncomfortable and sometimes more hazardous existence for public school students forced to share their school campus.

“Not all co-locations are bad; some are good,” said Vann. “However, each one has to be judged on its individual merit. And In this case, it doesn’t work.”

 “This is where I disagree with the deputy chancellor, and I hope they will come to realize that in this case, they are wrong. You must bring it to the parents. You must bring it to the teachers. They are not opposed to you. They are opposed to [this decision],” said Vann.


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