By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The Department of Education will retool a proposal to allow a charter school to share space with a neighborhood public school following significant backlash to the plan from the neighborhood.
The department announced it is postponing the public discussion about housing grades K-3 of KIPP S.T.A.R. with Alexander Humboldt School P.S. 115 at 586 West 177th St., previously scheduled for Tuesday evening.
The newly "revised proposal" would modify the department’s "Building Utilization Plan, among other changes" and another hearing would be held at least 15 days after the new proposal was made public, according to the DOE.
Parents are divided on the news the DOE planned to bring KIPP, the largest charter school chain in the country, to P.S. 115 after it had originally said Castle Bridge, (a public school run by an East Harlem principal that is called a "progressive" institution by area parents), was to open in the same space.
"The trend in the district has been, and will likely continue to be, the opening of more regimented, standards-based schools," said Washington Heights mother Melissa Guzman, during a rally calling for more funding of public schools organized by City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez in front of P.S. 115 on Sunday. "If we can get even one new progressive school in District 6, all of the children in the district stand to benefit."
Parents have mounted an online campaign in support of Castle Bridge, which had received 180 signatures by Tuesday.
Despite support for Castle Bridge, some families in Upper Manhattan said they backed the DOE’s decision to bring the well-regarded KIPP charter school to Washington Heights.
"I, for one, would love to see more high-quality, enrichment-oriented schools in our district," wrote one mother on a local parenting email list. "But, I don't think this has to be at the expense of schools like KIPP."
