The Brooklyn Brownstone School

The Brooklyn Brownstone School opened last fall with Pre-K, K and 1st grade classes. The families I know that have enrolled their children there are very happy with the school. Why don't you contact [email protected] to get first hand information on the school??

The challenges/disasters experienced by parents hoping to get involved in PS 20 are warnings. If you think the principal is a jerk, unintelligent, power-mad or unwelcoming, don't bother with the school. Go to somewhere you are welcome and put your energy there.

BoogieKnight wrote: [quote=homeowner]The person I spoke to about it was negative as she viewed it as gentrifying parents essentially wanting their own school and creating one rather than enrolling their child in a local school and working with the school administration to improve the overall quality of education in the neighborhood. She viewed it as an exclusionary process undertaken by the gentrifying liberal parents who support the concept of public schools but not the reality of what public schools are in BS.

As my kid grows closer to school age this topic/debate is becoming ever more pressing.

To the person who was negative about the school, I would posit, then maybe form your own? If Brooklyn Brownstone is a public school, and you can start one from scratch(who knew?!?), then form your own. Or have your kid apply to BB if the local alternative is awful.

But at the same time I see what the complainer is going on about. A large number of children w/ driven concerned parents entering a crappy local school would definitely improve test scores almost overnight, and I'm sure some of the teachers would be thrilled to be dealing w/ kids and parents who are engaged in their education and in the school's environment - BUT -

there's also going to be a number of entrenched lazy teachers who are not going to be happy with a bunch of newcomers reviewing their lesson plans and demanding to know why their kids aren't tracking w/ their counterparts in better performing school districts.

And let's not forget it's a lot to ask of parents to willingly put their kids in a lower performing school when they have opportunity to place them in a better school or at least a newer school with potential for improvement.

My local schools aren't good and I wonder what I'm gonna do with my kid.

Boogie, it's more complex than that I think. There is a complicated layer of community. Coming in, saying you know better and creating a school for yourself and people like you does not promote community or togetherness. I don't see people coming in and working with the community, I see them making their own. This further creates a divide. As this neighborhood is used to, there is yet another group of people that does not care about them and only cares about themselves.

I understand wanting the best education for your children as possible. But I also value my community and the people in it. It's not just about my kid. It's about ALL the kids. They all deserve better. Not one affluent, privileged group with the time, money and connections to begin a school so easily. I can see the frustration of people whose schools and children could have benefited from the countless hours they put in to begin a new school. I am not against new schools. I just think it's a more complex situation than discussed. And we have to acknowledge that the prevailing attitude is not community but is all about the "me." That's a major problem in any community and school.

Also, I firmly believe it is irresponsible to allow the school to do all of the educating of your child. It's not just about going to a high quality school. It's about educating them outside school, taking advantage of learning opportunities, setting a good example, it's about showing them what people are capable of and of what they can do. Some of the smartest kids I knew went to average schools. It's not all about the school.

Right now, the Community Education Council elections are going on, and it's amazing to me how few people showed up. These are the elections of the parent boards that serve as a school board. Yet no one comes. People don't want to work to make things better, they just want them they way they want them without the work. Hence, why people are frustrated with a new school. It ignores the existing issues and schools. Just think of how much off our schools could be if we had the same people working on them to make them better and how many more kids would benefit.

My kid's school is not that great either. But I educate him as a matter of life. And I volunteer and participate in the process, I stay active and it gets better and better all the time. Run for your Community Education Council, be a part of making decisions, be a voice in the district. We have the power if we use it. And I think we have to demand better education for all of our children, not just the ones with the parents who have the time and money to fight for it.