Coordinating bathroom usage is difficult enough among our high school and our middle school. These basement bathrooms will be completely redone this summer to accommodate a much shorter clientele for the incoming charter school, and will, of course, be off-limits to our students. Our students will have to share bathrooms with several hundred additional students in the other school upstairs. And I doubt those facilities will be refurbished this summer to accommodate the increase in traffic.
Yesterday five moving boxes were delivered to each classroom, along with the news that the charter school wants all of the classrooms empty by June 28. So in addition to teaching, proctoring, grading state tests, and planning for next year, I now have to get started packing up a classroom that I’ve inhabited for six years. Obviously, there’s enough books and supplies to fill far more than five boxes.
On Thursday, a woman with a clipboard entered my classroom and began looking around and taking notes. I looked her in the eye and said, “Hello. Can I help you?” She said absolutely nothing and continued taking notes. I again looked her in the eye and said, “Hello. Can I help you?” Then she said, “We’re from school construction.” She took a photo of my ceiling, which I’ve recreated above. Then she took a photo of the room number over my door. Then she said, “We hope to fix this.” I thought, “For who?” I saw her later, through my window, photographing the courtyard where last spring my students planted a vegetable garden. I suppose we’ll lose that space too.
We returned from Spring Break to find this new floor in the basement, where the charter school will be moving in. Of course, there are no new floors anywhere else in the building. The blue was shocking. I heard one adorable student say, “I don’t know how to swim, Mister.” Another said, “They spent their money on something stupid. We don’t need new tiles.” And another said, “I think the charter school did it.” All of these students will, I’m sure, be surprised to see the changes yet to come.
Last week, these unauthorized flyers mysteriously appeared in all faculty mailboxes, advertising free drinks to entice teachers to a meet-and-greet. The event sponsor was Educators 4 Excellence, a group founded by young teachers. The corporate-funded group shares a web campaign manager with Success Academy, as well as a decidedly anti-union stance.
Our school is extremely proud of our excellent culinary program, which takes place in our new kitchen facility in the basement. Due to its infrastructure, this classroom cannot be moved upstairs. Success informally stated that they won’t attempt to take the kitchen or the adjoining classroom, also used by the culinary students. We hope that this proves to be true. In the meantime, the culinary program will be isolated in the basement while the rest of the school moves upstairs.
Due to a generous grant, our school has a new Mac lab. This room is being taken by Success Academy. There is no room upstairs that has the necessary wiring for our computer lab. According to the Building Utilization Plan, the charter school is entitled to 12 full size and 3 half size classrooms for September. By the best estimates, the amount of space actually being taken by them includes those 15 rooms (one being the computer lab), plus 1 full size, 2 quarter size, and 1 half size classrooms and 3 large supply closets. Already they are looking to take more than their allotted share.
Yesterday, District 15 parents announced a lawsuit against the colocation. Success Academy representatives claim that these parents are attempting to sacrifice “a brighter education and future for hundreds of children.” I wonder about the education and future of the hundreds of children having resources taken from them in this building come September, a subject that the representatives are well-trained in avoiding.
More than two years ago, a work order was placed to re-tile the basement (where most of the high school is located), which as you can see, is much needed, and is beyond the ability of our dedicated custodial staff. The DOE has ignored the work order for years. They’re planning to finally fill the order and re-tile the floor over the February break. Coincidentally, this news came about shortly after the determination that the charter school will be taking the basement, as of this summer.
Despite vast and vocal community objection, this winter the charter was approved to co-locate a K-4 Success Academy in our building. However, this is a screen shot from Success’ website. Notice the discrepancy; they’re advertising a K-8 school in our building. Seems obvious that they’re feeling entitled to take up even more space in the years to come. Actions such as this led to Pedro Noguera resigning from the SUNY Board of Trustees, on the grounds that SUNY “is approving charters that increase inequality and needlessly divide the community.”
The schoolyard looks pretty bleak on a rainy day. Some men were surveying it last week. Turns out, the schoolyard is soon to get redone - based on a work order that was issued four years ago. The yard has been settling for a long time now, and needs drain work, leveling, and repaving and painting, along with improved equipment. Amazing how as soon as the charter gets approved, this four-year-old work order (along with others, stay tuned) is getting filled… One wise prediction is that the funds we’re entitled to (to match the charter’s improvements) are going to be said to have been used for these outstanding and necessary repairs.
This ad is in the subway stop near the school. This is my first time seeing an elementary school with a million dollar ad budget. Ads have been plastered on doorknobs, in stores, and in mailboxes all over the neighborhood. Well, not quite. The ads have appeared all over the affluent/white areas of the neighborhood, but are noticeably absent from the blocks inhabited by neighbors of color.
On Wednesday, January 25, the school received a shipment of these high-quality moving boxes, assumedly compliments of Eva Moskowitz. They were loudly rolled through our hallways during state testing. Guess it’s almost time to start packing up our classroom libraries and student portfolios.
