Brooklyn

In determining the most optimal way to distribute space to high-quality schools, the DOE is proposing to move Brooklyn East Collegiate to the K009 building and create a permanent home for what the DOE believes is a high-quality middle school that will serve the families of District 13.

Not including M.S. 571, there are currently 13 district middle schools located in District 13. Of those, 12 received a Progress Report grade in 2009-2010. Three of these middle schools received a B on the Progress Report, and the remaining schools received either a C or a D. Uncommon Schools (“Uncommon”), the Charter Management Organization (“CMO”) that operates Brooklyn East Collegiate, currently manages a total of 11 charter schools, all located in Brooklyn. Uncommon organizes these schools into three networks and Brooklyn East Collegiate is the newest school within the “Collegiate” network. The three other Collegiate schools that are currently open all received an A on the DOE’s most recent Progress Report.

The DOE believes in Uncommon’s record of success and supports the permanent placement of an Uncommon charter school in District 13 in order to continue providing excellent educational opportunities for students and families.

M.S. 571 currently serves students in sixth through eighth grade. In accordance with the phase out proposal approved by the PEP, current sixth, seventh and eighth grade students will complete middle school at M.S. 571. Current eighth grade students will participate in the Citywide High School Admissions Process. In 2011-2012, M.S. 571 will serve students in grades seven and eight. In 2012-2013, M.S. 571 will only serve students in grade eight. M.S. 571 will close at the end of June 2013. Students who do not meet promotional requirements during the phase-out of M.S. 571 will continue to have access to appropriate courses to support their progress toward promotion, and may continue with their enrollment at M.S. 571. For example, if a current sixth grader does not meet promotional standards to enter seventh grade in 2011-12, he or she may continue their enrollment as a sixth grader at M.S. 571 even though the school will not admit any new incoming sixth-grade students. Students who do not meet promotional requirements will be accommodated in existing classes, in bridge classes or pull-out classes, and will be provided with the appropriate support and instruction to meet promotional requirements. Specific instructional decisions are made by school administration and instructional staff. In June 2013 (the final year of phase-out), any eighth grade students who do not meet graduation requirements will be served by another District 13 middle school, or a middle school in the district in which the student resides.

The revised proposed co-location of Brooklyn East Collegiate in K009 is not expected to impact current or future zoned student enrollment, instructional programming, or the admissions process at the schools currently co-located in K009.

P.S. 9 will continue to serve elementary students in its zone, but will need to more closely monitor its kindergarten enrollment to ensure that it only enrolls students residing in the school’s designated geographic zone. A student’s zoned school is determined by his or her home address. For more information about school zoning and admissions processes, please visit the DOE website’s School Search function: http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolSearch. This includes students who seek to enroll “over the counter.” ¹

M.S. 571 and P.S. 9 currently offer Collaborative Team Teaching (“CTT”) classes, Special Class (“SC”), and Special Education Teacher Support Services (“SETSS”). M.S. 571 also has an English as a Second Language (“ESL”) program for English Language Learners (“ELLs”). The existing CTT, SC, and SETSS classes will continue to be provided at P.S. 9 and at M.S. 571 as M.S. 571 phases out and students with disabilities at both schools will continue to receive mandated services in accordance with their Individualized Education Plans (“IEPs”). As noted elsewhere in this document, K009 will continue to be partially accessible. Current ELL students at M.S. 571 will continue to receive mandated services as the school phases out.

In accordance with DOE policy, ELL students are admitted to elementary schools in the same manner as their peers who are not ELL. Current and future ELL students at P.S. 9 would continue to receive mandated services.

Key Facts

■ Building K009 is has adequate capacity to accommodate M.S. 571, P.S. 9, and Brooklyn East Collegiate.

• K009 has the capacity to serve 1,192 students. In 2010-2010, the building only served 767 students, yielding a utilization rate of 64%.
• Over the next three years, the proposed grade spans for the schools in the building are as follows: 

  School Year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
  P.S. 9	K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5	K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5	K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5	K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  M.S. 571	6, 7, 8	7, 8	8	N/A
  Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School	N/A	5, 6	5, 6, 7	5, 6, 7, 8

• P.S. 9 would continue to serve kindergarten through fifth grade, and it would offer three sections of the pre-kindergarten program, based on available funding. In 2013-2014, P.S. 9 is projected to serve 615-675 kindergarten through fifth grade students, plus three sections of pre-kindergarten students, for a total of 669-729 students.
• Brooklyn East Collegiate would serve 300 fifth through eighth grade students when it completes its expansion and achieves full scale in 2013-2014.
• Once Brooklyn East Collegiate completes its expansion and M.S. 571 has completed its phase-out, there will be approximately 969-1,029 ² students served in the building, yielding an estimated target building utilization rate of 86%. Therefore, the building has adequate capacity to accommodate the full expansion of Brooklyn East Collegiate and P.S. 9.

■ Brooklyn East Collegiate is an existing charter school that opened in September 2010 and has been temporarily sited in K434. Brooklyn East Collegiate currently serves fifth-grade students.

• There is not enough space at K434 for Brooklyn East Collegiate to remain there long-term and for it to serve its intended full grade span.
• Brooklyn East Collegiate would add additional high-quality fifth through eighth grade middle school seats in District 13.
• If this revised proposal is approved, Brooklyn East Collegiate would be co-located in K009 in 2011-2012 and serve 158 students in fifth and sixth grade.
• Brooklyn East Collegiate would add one grade each year until it reaches full scale in 2013-2014 and serves up to 300 students in fifth through eighth grade.
• Brooklyn East Collegiate currently serves approximately 80 fifth-grade students. All current fifth-grade students attending Brooklyn East Collegiate will have the option to continue their enrollment in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Brooklyn East Collegiate even if it re-locates to District 13 under this proposal.
• The move from K434 to K009 is not expected to present a travel hardship to the students currently enrolled. K009 is approximately 1.5 miles from K434, and both sites are accessible from the 2, 3, 4 and 5 subway lines.
• All students currently enrolled at Brooklyn East Collegiate would continue to receive mandated services in their school.

■ M.S. 571 admits students in sixth grade through the District 13 Middle School Choice application process, and is a district choice middle school.

• M.S. 571 will no longer admit sixth-grade students after the conclusion of the 2010-2011 school year and one grade will be phased out per year.
• In 2011-2012 M.S. 571 will serve students in grades seven and eight. In 2012-2013, M.S. 571 will serve students in eighth grade only. The school would close after June 2013.
• The proposed co-location of Brooklyn East Collegiate is not expected to impact current or future zoned student enrollment, instructional programming, or the admissions process to M.S. 571.
• Seats lost as a result of the phase-out of M.S. 571 will be recovered through available capacity at existing District 13 middle schools, some of which are in the process of phasing in. The continued phase-in of Brooklyn East Collegiate will provide a high-quality middle school option in District 13.

■ P.S. 9 is a zoned district elementary school and serves 544 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, plus three sections of full-day pre-kindergarten, for a total of 598 students.

• P.S. 9 would continue to serve kindergarten through fifth grade, and it would offer three sections of the pre-kindergarten program, based on available funding.
• In 2013-2014, once M.S. 571 has completed its phase-out, and Brooklyn East Collegiate has achieved full scale, P.S. 9 is projected to serve 615-675 kindergarten through fifth grade students, plus three sections of pre-kindergarten students, for a total of 669-729 students.

[1]Enrollment projections for P.S. 9 include students zoned to P.S. 9 and students who seek to enroll “over-the counter.” As described in more detail in the attached revised Building Utilization Plan that accompanies this EIS, P.S. 9, Brooklyn East Collegiate and M.S. 571 are allocated space based on the projected enrollment of each co-located schools. Thus, the space allocated to P.S.9 in K009 will accommodate the school’s projected enrollment, including “OTC” students.

[2] Estimate includes projected enrollment at Brooklyn East Collegiate and at P.S.9 (includes three sections of pre-kindergarten at P.S.9).