New Development Dumps More Kids into City Schools
How many kids can you jam into a school building? Some developers’ responses: Not our concern! As population continues to rise as a result of new construction and immigration, public schools are looking more and more like rush hour subway cars than places where real learning can take place.
The New York Times published an article in May that made some grave predictions about class size for the next two school years.
At P.S. 234, [in Manhattan] there are 147 kindergartners this year, up from 126 the year before. But 199 children have signed up for next year. Of those, 25 have been placed on the hold list — the school’s first — until officials figure out what to do with them.
And it’s not just Manhattan. Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx are all dealing with similar problems. Since building new schools in New York City might be more difficult than finding free parking in midtown, schools are forced to become more creative.
Enrollment at Francis Lewis High School in northeastern Queens has quadrupled and then some since its opening in the 1960’s. The current enrollment is over 5,000 putting it well over capacity limits. (Two years ago, The Queens Tribune reported that region 3, the region to which Francis Lewis belongs, was 21% above capacity. By now, they’ve certainly outgrown those figures). http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2006_QueensBookOfLists/education/index.htm
So how do they cope? The most overcrowded schools in the city have developed “split session” schedules that program students to come to school in waves throughout an endless school day to minimize the effects of overcrowding. Check out the nightmarish bell schedule from their website.
Bell Schedule 2007-2008
www.francislewishighschool.org
So while schools bend and twist and contort to deal with the endless flow of new students, why are developers permitted to continue new residential construction projects in overcrowded districts?
While it is the department of Education’s responsibility, to a great extent, to build more schools and bend to accommodate the push of population (and I think the delays are absurd and condemnable), shouldn’t developers be a bit more responsible with their planning?
Private schools…get ready for the spill over!