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This story originally appeared in Spanish in El Diario, which supplied the translation.

Carmen Rojas (center), president of Parents Advocating for Their Children, led a protest last week against the possible closure of P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte. (José Acosta/EDLP)

Dozens of parents of P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte, located in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, demonstrated last week against the possible closing of the school that serves the largest population of newly arrived immigrant children.

The demonstrators, who were mostly Dominicans, also asked to maintain the name of Juan Pablo Duarte, no matter what happens with the school. Duarte was a founding father of the Dominican Republic, which is celebrating the bicentennial of his birth Jan. 26.

Carmen Rojas, president of the organization “Padres Abogando Por Sus Hijos” (Parents Advocating for Their Children), said Juan Pablo Duarte is among 36 elementary and middle schools that the city’s Department of Education could shut down at the end of the year. The school, which has a dual-language program in Spanish, has earned a D grade on its performance evaluation for the last two consecutive years. (more…)

This story originally appeared in Spanish in El Diario, which supplied the translation.

Esteban Durán, an activist with the community organization El Puente, speaks at P.S. 19's school closure hearing last month. (GothamSchools)

P.S. 19, the Roberto Clemente School, is Annabel Cabal’s second home.

“Three generations of my family have been shaped by this school and I am grateful for the years I had here as a student and for what they’ve done for my kids,” said Cabal, who serves as the president of the school’s parent-teacher board.

For 40 years, the Clemente name has branded P.S. 19, paying tribute to a hero as famous for his humanitarian missions as for his baseball milestones.

Clemente, a Puerto Rican, became the first Hispanic baseball player to reach 3,000 hits, including 240 home runs. The former Pittsburgh Pirate died in an airplane crash on New Year’s Eve of 1972, while he was on route to take supplies to Nicaraguan victims of an earthquake.

On Thursday, the city’s Panel for Educational Policy is expected to approve the closure of P.S. 19. The Department of Education has categorized it as a low-performing school. A number of heated protests and meetings have taken place around the proposed closure.

Aside from stirring debates, the shuttering of schools also seems to do away with their names. P.S. 19 could disappear and be replaced with another school, all in the same building on 325 South 3rd St, in Brooklyn.

But the Roberto Clemente name would not necessarily transfer over. (more…)

This story originally appeared in Spanish in El Diario, which supplied the translation.

The city’s school system has a new person in charge of helping the parents of the 1.1 million children in public schools. The problem is that many have not heard of him since he was appointed last July.

After three months in his role as “chief parent” of the New York City Department of Education, organizations that defend parents’ interests said they have not yet heard from Jesse Mojica and do not have knowledge of his plans to improve the troublesome relationship between the department and families throughout the city.

Mojica was recruited in July by new Chancellor Dennis Walcott to occupy the $138,000 a year position as executive director of the office of Family and Community Engagement.

Placida Rodriguez, from the parent action group Make the Road New York, an organization based in Queens and Brooklyn, expressed her dissatisfaction at the little attention Mojica has paid so far.

“Basically I have had no contact with Jesse Mojica,” said Rodriguez. (more…)