New petition: Expand PS9 to become a preK-8th grade school

pnlop

Please help PS9 by signing the petition for the school to expand into a prek through 8th grade school.

Thank you!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ps9_grade_expansion/

bkchickie

As someone who has no connection with PS9, or any other public school, could you give us a little background? How many grades does the school have now? Where will all these grades fit? What's different about adding grades versus co-locating a school in the building?

Not trying to be critical, just trying to get some information so that I can make an intelligent decision about signing this petition.

pnlop

Currently PS9 is a prek through 5th grade elementary school. The building also houses MS 571, a middle school that is being phased out over the next 3 years. The DOE wants to phase in a charter middle school. PS9 is fighting against the co-location in order to expand the school to go through 8th grade. It is a wonderful community school and having it go to 8th grade it would enable the school to continue building on their educational philosophy. What happened with all of this, is that PS9 was never informed, until it was too late, that MS571 was going to be phased out. If the school had known this, it would have sent in a proposal a year ago in order to use this great opportunity. This was obviously all planned from the start, and PS9 has no say in any of it.

You might ask, well why will a prek-8 work better than 2 separate schools. Having 2 separate administrations make organising schedules very difficult, and for the next 3 years 3 schools will be sharing the space. Also, middle school aged kids are going through so many changes, and it is a very difficult time in their life, why make it harder on them by separating them for 3 years instead of keeping them in the nurturing environment that they love.

Hope that sheds a little light.