by Brian Park
Residents and public officials in Brownsville are voicing their concerns and displeasure in response to the transformation of a local landmark into the new site for a charter school.
The new plans call for the conversion of the historic Loews Pitkin Theatre into a 70,000 square foot shopping space for national and local retailers and a 90,000 square foot area for a charter school. The news was announced by POKO Partners, a real estate development company that specializes in community revitalization.
Although plans to renovate the Pitkin Theatre have been in the works since 2008, when POKO bought the property for $8 million, the decision to transform part of the site into a new school facility only came after the initial plan to develop income-restricted housing fell through. Ascend Learning, a charter school company with three locations in Brooklyn, got in contact with POKO management, and now, the plan is to move one of its schools into the Pitkin Theatre.
It is a move that has caused some consternation for Brownsville residents and their elected officials. At a recent community board meeting, state assemblyman William Boyland was critical of the city’s department of education chancellor Joel Klein, who resigned Tuesday, and his preference for charter schools over public schools. Klein, with the support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had been an adamant supporter of the charter school movement.
Citing Klein’s extreme preferences, Boyland said, “It used to be that the chancellor’s solution to fixing troubled areas was with more charter schools. But even charter schools have their own problems.”
Brownsville’s public schools are part of the 23rd district. According to the state education department’s 2008-2009 school report cards, students in district 23, ranging from third grade to high school, tested below the state average in English language arts, mathematics and science. The largest discrepancy was in eighth grade science, where only 34 percent of students tested at scoring levels of three or four—the levels indicating that a student had met learning standards or had done so with distinction, respectively. In New York, 71 percent of eighth graders tested at those levels. What has caused more concern is that the 23rd district’s 34 percent mark represents an eight percent drop from the previous year.
The state hopes to get some financial help after winning $700 million from a competitive federal education grant known as Race to the Top. In an effort to win the grant, the state legislature, in line with Klein and Bloomberg, voted to approve legislation that would double the amount of charter schools in the state. Now that the $700 million has been secured by the state, Boyland wants to know where and how the money will be used.
“Decisions have been made without informing our residents,” said Boyland. “We want to know how is this money going to be distributed? How much of it will go to district 23?”
Upon completion of Pitkin Theatre’s transformation in January 2012, Brownsville Ascend Charter School will move from its current location on Rockaway Parkway to a new 90,000 square foot facility, accommodating 1,100 students from kindergarten to the eighth grade. The school currently serves 172 students from kindergarten to the second grade, but like most charter schools, Brownsville Ascend intends to add one grade per year until they reach full maturity at the 12th grade.
Brownsville Ascend first opened in September 2009. Currently, there is no accountability data for the school in the New York City Department of Education’s database. Brooklyn Ascend, which shares a facility with Brownsville Ascend, does have such data. The Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determines whether or not a school has made satisfactory progress towards the Department of Education’s goal of “proficiency for all students.” In the 2009-10 school year, Brooklyn Ascend, which currently serves 213 students from kindergarten to the third grade, met all the satisfactory requirements for students in English/language arts and mathematics.
In a report released in January 2010, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREO) at Stanford University released a comprehensive six-year study on the effectiveness of charter schools compared to public schools. The study found that charter schools students in New York City performed better in mathematics and reading than their public school counterparts. In mathematics, over half of all charter schools showed more academic growth than public schools, a third showed no difference and 16 percent scored lower. In reading, the study showed that about 30 percent of charter schools performed better while 12 percent performed worse and about 60 percent were on par with public schools.
However, the data from New York City was not included in the national data, which showed startling different results. In the U.S., only 17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that surpassed public schools. 46 percent showed no significant difference while 37 percent “showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts.”
Charles Ladson has a daughter who attends Teachers Preparatory High School in Brownsville. Ladson is also the first Vice President of the District 23 Community Education Council. Much to his dissatisfaction, he will attend the ribbon cutting ceremony as construction breaks ground at the Pitkin Theatre.
“It’s a landmark theater. I feel like they should have brought it back,” said Ladson. “We used to have James Brown and other R&B singers. The Moments, the Delfonics.”
But Ladson’s displeasure is not completely wrapped up in nostalgia. For Ladson, as a father and an education official, the growing charter school movement is a disturbing one because it takes away students and resources from Brownsville’s needy public schools.
“Our teachers work hard. Our students work hard to bust our scores up,” said Ladson. “But now [charter schools] want to take our kids. I don’t think charter schools are miracle schools. I don’t think charter schools are dream schools … education should be fair for everybody, for all children to learn.”
Boyland and Ladson both echo the sentiments of their community, saying that charter school officials have done a poor job in relaying information to locals. Although charter schools are funded like public schools with taxpayer money, many Brownsville residents are finding it difficult to open any sort of dialogue with schools principles and liken their charter schools to private institutions.
“The principal, you can’t even get to her. The charter schools don’t orient the parents. They tell you charter schools are public schools, but some of the charter school teachers aren’t certified,” said Ladson. “The charter school principal, she says she doesn’t answer to anyone. Who is her boss? She needs to be held accountable.”
While Brownsville’s public schools continue to suffer, the wave of charter schools has exacerbated the issue. Although concerned parents continue to enter their children’s names into charter school lotteries, or as Ladson refers to them as, “meat markets,” residents say the state education department’s priorities are not in the right place.
“Don’t say that we don’t work,” said Ladson. “They talk about saving our schools but they don’t even help us. They favor these charter schools.”
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