Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Who's Fault Is It Why A School Like Jamaica High School Is Forced To Close? It Is The DOE's Fault!








As you all know there is a good chance that a landmark school, Jamaica High School, will be closing its doors once the "rubber stamp" PEP meeting approves the DOE action. It has been well documented how the DOE created the conditions that led to the destruction of Jamaica High School as well as other large traditional high school throughout the City. Let's recap.

First, closing other large traditional schools south of Jamaica High School (Springfield Gardens, August Martin, Franklin K. Lane, Far Rockaway, Andrew Jackson) forced Jamaica High School to take the many "at risk" students that would have gone to those schools.

Second, the establishment of small schools that had exclusionary policies that limited "at risk" students and encouraged these students to apply to Jamaica High School because they claimed that the school had the services for these students.

Third, the deliberate financial starvation of resources to the school as an increasing number of "at risk" students did not include the money for the school to effectively integrate these students into an academic environment.

Fourth, poor school leadership led to the school being unfairly placed on the State's most dangerous schools list, when it was a safe school with quiet halls and classrooms.

An example of how this works is how the small Queens Collegiate School that was placed into Jamaica High School had two students that didn't fit their student profile. One was a special education student and the other was a slow learner academically. Both students were eventually transferred to Jamaica High School as the College Board School convinced the parents of the two "at risk" students that Jamaica High School was the better setting for them. Is this the exception? No, it is probably happening everywhere throughout the City.

The DOE policy has caused the problem and they are solving it by closing the schools that their policy destabilized in the first place. I wish for the best but expect the worst for Jamaica High School.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are swaths of the City where large high schools have all been closed, in exactly this manner.

2010 is different as far as the scale, and as far as the fightback. But we are still reeling from over ten years of this in the Bronx.

Monroe. Morris. Taft. Roosevelt. South Bronx. Stevenson. Walton. Evander. Columbus and JFK "downsized." Lehman and Truman trimmed slightly.

Now they finish off Columbus and take out their first vocational school? (Smith).

There's only one untouched large HS in the whole borough: Clinton.

And what you observe and posit, we've seen it over and over again.

Jonathan

Anonymous said...

This news video is NY1.

http://www.ny1.com/7-brooklyn-news-content/top_stories/112223/students-feel-responsible-for-school-s-struggles

Watch and hear students admit that they know it's their fault why the Robeson HS is closing.

It's interesting to hear them state that they added to the school's failure. One student, Henry, brought the point home.

Chaz said...

It is a wonder how the DOE gets a free pass by the media on destroying the NYC school system.

Anonymous said...

BTW, use GSM jammer to disable all secret transmitters in your room or office.

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NY_I said...

NY1.com is broadcasting the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) vote on Tuesday, Jan. 27. (I'm wondering: by scheduling the vote for Tuesday, not Monday, are they inherently indicating that they are feeling some pressure from the community?)
Unfortunately, no word on exact time, --day or evening?
See their site at: http://www.ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/news_beats/education/112494/without-paul-robeson--many-students-will-have-their-needs-unmet/