In September, 14 new public schools will open for business in the Bronx. Most will replace existing schools that the city's Department of Education has decided to close.
Two of the new schools are in the local area: Creston Academy and East Fordham Academy for the Arts. Both are small middle schools, and both are moving into Elizabeth Barrett Browning Middle School 399's cavernous building, on 184th Street near Creston Avenue. When they do, MS 399 will drop a grade to accommodate them, and eventually close altogether.
Creston Academy will start with just 120 sixth grade students. It's being created in partnership with Good Shepherd Services, a social service and youth development agency, which will run after school programs inside the school from 3 to 6 p.m.
Pamela Edwards, currently the principal of nearby PS 79, an elementary school three blocks away, will be MS 399's first principal. "Opening up a new school is a phenomenal opportunity," said Edwards, who's in the process of hiring staff and planning summer workshops for parents, so they can learn about the school.
At Creston, there will be a focus on goal-setting, both short-term and long-term. Students will be encouraged to see the connection between where they are now and where they are going, Edwards said.
In September 2011, when MS 399 ceases to exist in, Creston Academy will have a 400-student body, grades 6 through 8.
East Fordham Academy for the Arts will also start with 120 sixth graders. The school's name hints at the important role art will play in the classroom and beyond, as does its motto: "Where arts and academics meet in excellence."
"The school is really founded on the principle that arts are the foundation for academic and social success," Principal Tanicia Williams told InsideSchools in an interview. The school will accommodate 350 students when fully up and running.
Initially, the two new schools will take over MS 399's third floor, and share some of its facilities, including the gymnasium, and the 25-meter pool. Closed since 1994, the pool is in the process of being renovated and will reopen next summer, according to MS 399 principal Angelo Ledda. It's one of the few indoor pools in the borough.
MS 399's impending closure is somewhat contentious – and staff is not going quietly. Vincent Wojsnis, a teacher at the school and a UFT chapter leader, insists the school "isn't failing" and that test scores prove in. Back in December, and again in February, teachers, along with some parents and students, protested outside the school to bring attention to their plight. And on June 12, teachers held a day of activities and games for the students – an event they called "Celebrating Success!" – to show how proud they are of the school's achievements.
In an e-mail, Wojsnis said the phasing out was "characterized by arrogance and indifference on the part of the DOE towards the needs of the students, the concerns of the parents or the experiences of the teachers."
MS 399 received a grade D in its 2007-08 progress report from the DOE, down from a C the year prior. While ELA [English Language Arts] scores have dropped recently, math scores have improved, and that's what rankles Wojsnis. Moreover, the school has recently been removed from the state's list of "persistently dangerous" schools, and has an active PTA, he said.
Melody Myers, a DOE spokesperson, said the decision to close MS 399 was made over a period of time, and not taken lightly. She said the smaller schools would allow students to receive more individual attention from teachers, and that smaller schools that have replaced larger ones have generally performed better.
The new schools – Creston and East Fordham – were chosen after a rigorous application process, Myers added.
MS 399 isn't the only school in the neighborhood being phased out. Last September, Edwards' current school – PS 79 on 181st Street and Creston Avenue – lost a grade, as two new elementary schools moved into the building: the Elementary School for Math, Science and Technology, and the School for Environmental Citizenship. PS 79 will close for good at the end of the 2010-11 school year.
Many of Creston Academy students will be graduates from PS 79, and therefore former students of Edwards. "[It's] a great benefit to be able to see them for another three years and to motivate them to go through high school and college," she said.
Elsewhere in the west Bronx, four more schools are opening this September. The Family School and the Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders, two elementary schools, will move into PS 90 on Sheridan Avenue near East 166th Street. PS 90 is been phased out.
Also, Grant Avenue Elementary School and Science and Technology Academy, a middle school, will open in CIS 166 Roberto Clemente School (at 250 East 164 St.), yet another school that's being shuttered for poor student performance.
Rebecca Chao contributed reporting.
