Bloomberg shows he's big on small schools
Mayor announces
gains in creating such institutions, including School of
International Studies at CSI
Staten Island Advance - February 2, 2005
Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday announced gains on
the way to creating 200 new small schools -- a centerpiece of his
school system overhaul.
Come September, 52 small high school and intermediate schools will
open their doors. As part of the initiative, 157 small charter and
public elementary and high schools have been established in the
city.
Still, only one boutique-style school has been slated for Staten
Island.
The long-awaited School of International Studies at the College of
Staten Island -- rumored to be in the works for roughly two years --
will accept its first students in the fall.
Yesterday, Bloomberg touted what he called the success of the
intimate learning environments, citing a figures showing 93 percent
of ninth graders in new small schools passed last year, compared
with the citywide ninth-grade promotion rate of 68 percent.
The mayor said attendance rates were also higher at small schools,
despite their high levels of struggling students and
African-American and Hispanic children, who have historically fared
worse in academic settings than their white counterparts.
"Our first generation of new schools is proving that small schools
can help improve student commitment and achievement," Bloomberg said
during a press conference at Mercy College in the Bronx. "Students
are being challenged by high standards, engaged by strong principals
and teachers who know them," said Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein.
Although a press release issued by the mayor's office states the
Education Department has "strategically placed the new small schools
throughout the city," a schools spokeswoman could not provide
further details about how sites were determined, or why the Island
will get only one of the 157 small schools citywide.
As a partner with the Asia Society and the College of Staten Island,
the School of International Studies will focus on foreign language
and community service. As reported previously in the Advance, the
school will welcome roughly 108 freshmen and expand to a capacity of
500 students over the next four years.
According to a schools spokeswoman, enrollment priority will be
given to Staten Islanders, though there are "no predetermined
percentages." Applications also will be weighted in favor of those
who attend small school fairs -- with one scheduled for Feb. 10 from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Petrides Educational Complex, Sunnyside.
Eighth-graders wishing to attend a small school must resubmit a
revised list of high school choices on March 1. The School of
International Studies is designated as "unscreened," meaning
applications are randomly sorted by computer. A spokeswoman
yesterday did not have more specifics about the selection process.
"There is no communication process. We are being kept in the dark
about this," said Barry Kaufman, president and Region 7
representative to the Citywide Council on High Schools, who has yet
to receive concrete details on what the application entails. "We're
getting calls every day and nobody seems to know the answers."
By Deborah Young
Reprinted here with permission from the
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