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Supporters of Washington Irving High School protested the school's planned closure this morning.

It was still dark this morning when Steve Morris rolled up in front of Washington Irving High School on his bike.

Morris had been the school’s librarian until last summer, when the struggling school cut him from its staff roster and shuttered the library. Now he was on his way to the Brandeis High School building as a member of the Absent Teacher Reserve, the pool of position-less teachers who are shuffled to a different school each week.

But first he wanted to offer silent support to his former students and colleagues who, along with parents and union officials, had filled Irving’s front steps to protest the Department of Education’s plan to close the school.

“I’ll be the last librarian this school ever has,” Morris told me wistfully before pedaling north on Irving Place.

Irving is one of 25 schools the city has proposed closing or shrinking this year. The century-old high school near Union Square got an F on its most recent progress report, down from C’s in the previous two years.

In a series of spirited chats and statements, the protesters argued that the deck had long been stacked against the school. (more…)

In the first wave of annual closure announcements, the Department of Education has announced plans to shutter or reshape 15 low-performing schools.

The schools include three elementary schools, three middle schools, a secondary school, and five high schools. The department also announced plans to cut off middle grades at three other schools.

Schools that landed on the chopping block today include Jane Addams High School for Academic Careers, where a crediting scandal has erupted in recent weeks; nine schools in Brooklyn; and a handful of schools that opened under the Bloomberg administration.

One school, the Academy of Business and Community Development, would close rather than phase out over time. Its middle and high school students would be dispersed to other schools next year.

Representatives of the department’s Office of Public Affairs informed members of the City Council about closures in their districts this morning. Simultaneously, department officials were delivering the bad news in person at schools.

The 12 schools were culled from 47 whose academic performance landed them on the DOE’s closure shortlist. Officials said they would announce another list of closure plans tomorrow. Last year, the DOE shortlisted 55 low-performing schools and moved to close 26 of them. (more…)