Comments on: DOE announces 9 more school closures in biggest round yet

By: Behind the Beach Channel High School Closing

Behind the Beach Channel High School Closing — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:26:25 +0000

[...] Beach Channel “set up” for closure by the NYDOE? When the Gotham Schools blog announced the closing of Beach Channel High School this week it made this [...]

By: Nigell Ramsammy

Nigell Ramsammy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:52:22 +0000

I can not stand the fact that Jamaica High School is being proposed for closure, this is not right JHS is a second home, not like but is a second home for me and my fellow students. We spend most our time there, i know that i am supposed to speak for my self but this is the reaction that this suituation has on the me…I spend like 7-8 hrs. there, the teachers are like parents, my friends and the people that i have gotten close with are all there…JAMAICA HIGH SCHOOL must not be closed. This is a home.

By: Ellen Frank

Ellen Frank — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:32:48 +0000

Closing Jamaica High School is not the answer. I have been teaching at Jamaica for the past ten years. The DOE has been trying to close our school for the past five. It has discouraged parents from sending their students to our school by labeling it persistently dangerous. It has cut our budget consistently, disabling our administrators to hire the faculty we need to teach the students we have. We lost secretaries, guidance counselors, assistant principals and teachers who have retired but we were not able to hire replacements. we are constantly being asked to do more with less. If the DOE would support our school the way the Charter Schools are being supported, with money for new technology, painting, more teachers and more professional development, our student enrollment and graduation rates would improve as well.

By: Jeff S

Jeff S — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:54:47 +0000

Well how many more teachers will end up in the ATR? How many of them are senior teachers on a very high salary level who Principals will be very reluctant to hire (as well as fearing their inadequacies will become apparent to these senior teachers who probably know five times more about teaching than the crop of new Principals Klein has brought in). And when these ATR’s cannot find jobs, let’s watch Klein call for their firing. Hopefully the UFT will stand up for them and prevent more of this nonsense from continuing.

By: Pogue

Pogue — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:27:17 +0000

More closures. How imperially destructive and sad. I wonder what the UFT leadership’s reaction to all this will be.

By: Pogue

Pogue — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:12:15 +0000

Incredibly imperialistic, destructive, and sad. I wonder what the UFT leadership’s reaction will be to all this.

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:58:32 +0000

“provided that the city school board approves the closures next month…”

I suppose you have to say that. But clearly, the school board is a rubber stamp that serves no purpose whatsoever, other than contributing to the utterly false impression there are any checks or balances on Mayor-for-life Bloomberg.

By: Latisha S.

Latisha S. — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:20:26 +0000

I am a student currently in my junior year of Jamaica High school and I am deeply sadden by the proposal of closing down my school. Just when Jamaica High school is showing improvements in graduation rates, the city wants to shut it down. Give Jamaica High School a chance! Despite our huge budget cuts, we are pulling through and progressing. That shows that Jamaica HS has potential to achieve city standard (possibly exceed!) To fold Jamaica High school is not the solution. If the DOE and the mayor wants to really accomplish something, give us MORE funding and work along with the school and watch it thrive. Then, the city could use Jamaica High School as an example of a large high school that persevered and acquired excellent status in academics thanks to the city’s assistance. This school is not bad school as people lead it on to be. Don’t leave us in the dust Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein. We didn’t come this far only to see our school cease.

By: yomister

yomister — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:53:56 +0000

The Quality Report for Jamaica gives no indication that this was a high school in distress; the school was deemed “proficient” in just about every indicator. The Learning Survey likewise provided little evidence that Jamaica’s stakeholders were dissatisfied.

If anything, this decision was based on the DOE’s desire to rejuvenate community support (and boost enrollment) for a campus other than Lewis.

The data points chosen to support Jamaica’s closure evidently don’t reflect the school’s value as perceived by its teachers, students, or families.

By: Smith

Smith — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:40:40 +0000

Let this be a lesson to any big-school teacher contemplating giving failing grades to students who haven’t done any work. Times really have changed!

By: For just a second, my knees buckled… « JD2718

For just a second, my knees buckled… « JD2718 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:23:57 +0000

[...] something else: which schools did they announce they were closing today? (there was nothing on Gotham Schools when I checked) Strange, there was a little scramble. Evelyn DeJesus, Manhattan Borough Rep was [...]

By: Michael Fiorillo

Michael Fiorillo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:48:42 +0000

Kitchen Sink,

You must be very happy today: your hedge fund pals are making a killing.

By: Lyla Mansoor

Lyla Mansoor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:07:37 +0000

This proposal is probably the greatest injustice ever done to a large high school with great history as ours. It is absurd to think that smaller high schools, such as Queens Colegate work any better than ours do. First of all, no matter how much you divide a pizza pie, is it not still a pizza pie? What I mean to say is that, Jamaica High School students do just as well as any other high school students. In fact, there are many other high schools who have much worse graduation rates than we do. Why rid a high school that is, in actuality much better than the ones around us who dont report a fraction of the offences that do occur there? It is outrageous.

By: Mercy Zhicay

Mercy Zhicay — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:56:36 +0000

I know that for a fact in the spring of this year Jamaica High School received a grade of “B” from our Annual Quality Review; but right away by Fall the Deparment of Education issued our school a “D”. The question is; How do we go from a “B” to a “D” so quickly? or How is it that they grade our school?

Mercy Zhicay