One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, or so the adage goes. It started with a late-afternoon post to Buy Nothing Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo/Vinegar Hill. St. Ann’s School had just dumped hundreds of books in the trash. “Curb Alert: Close to 40 Clinton by the parking garage at 3:50pm Tuesday…Hundreds of books. So many good ones.” The post fomented […]
Tag Archives | education
Dude, Where’s My Bus? How to Amplify Your Child’s Transportation Issues & Advocate Like a Champ
If the NYC DOE’s Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) is a thorn in your side, raise your hand. (Ooh, Mr. Kotter!!! Pick me! Ooh! Ooh!) Pupil Transportation in NYC has always been bad. All one has to do is Google “NYC DOE” with”student transportation” and years’ worth of articles full of horror stories will unfurl on […]
Haves and Have Nots: Elite Brooklyn Private Schools Rake in Millions in Federal Paycheck Aid-DOE Budgets Slashed
Gothamist reports elite Brooklyn Heights private schools are among institutions that received millions from the Federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Private schools are eligible for PPP because they are considered non-profit businesses. According to data released by the Small Business Association, St. Ann’s, Packer Collegiate, Brooklyn Friends, and Brooklyn Heights Montessori all received loans. This money is in […]
DeBlasio Announces Hybrid Back-To-School Plans For September
Amid the reports of dangerous spikes of Covid-19 across the country, Mayor DeBlasio announced on July 8th NYC public schools will open in September on a “hybrid” schedule. The tentative plan entails three versions of staggered in-school instruction. Protocols include mandatory masks for children, teachers, and staff and nightly deep cleanings of school facilities. In a letter […]
D13 CEC Hosts Electeds and Journalists for Forum on School Desgregation
Studies show that for all its diversity, NYC has one of the most segregated public school systems in the country. Almost two academic years after the re-zoning of P.S. 8 and P.S. 307, the District 13 Community Education Council will hold an important forum on Tuesday evening (May 16th) as part of its scheduled calendar […]
District 13 Education Roundup
The school year is underway and the District 13 CEC is spreading the word about important meetings and events taking place this week. Monday, September 26th Participatory Budgeting 7:00pm – 8:30pm PS 9 (80 Underhill Avenue, Brooklyn) Per the CEC website, this information session is an opportunity for collaborative brainstorming with electeds, school leaders and parents […]
NY Times Spotlights AltSchool
Brooklyn Heights’ AltSchool has been spotlighted in a New York Times article, “The Bold Idea Behind a Brooklyn School.” AltSchool was founded by former Google executive, Max Ventilla two years ago and has four locations in San Francisco and another in Palo Alto, CA. The Brooklyn Heights Branch opened this fall and currently has thirty […]
The Elephant in the Room: P.S. 8 Re-Zoning Town Hall Meeting Re-Cap
On Wednesday night, at the first of two town scheduled town hall meetings, representatives of the DOE’s Department of District Planning presented their draft re-zoning proposal for Brooklyn Heights’ P.S. 8 at P.S. 307 in Vinegar Hill. The proposal was presented to the CEC on September 1st. As previously reported, it essentially cuts the current […]
DOE Says CEC Will Have Plans for P.S. 8 Re-Zoning By August 31st
The District 13 Community Education Council (CEC) has just announced the DOE’s Office of District Planning is working to deliver a school re-zoning proposal to them by August 31st. The CEC expects the plan to reduce the P.S. 8 zone in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, affecting both P.S. 8 and P.S. 307. The CEC has […]
Packer Institute SAT Scandal Gets More Egregious
It appears that last Thursday’s story regarding 199 students having SAT scores invalidated at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights is more serious than originally suspected. The New York Times reported then that the collegiate entrance exam results—including those for 63 enrolled at Packer—were nixed because proctors failed to set up students’ desks at least […]
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