Upper East Side School Rezoning to Have More Parental Involvement

The Department of Education recently created P.S. 272, which will share a building with P.S. 158 on York Avenue, as a wa...

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DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER EAST SIDE — Education officials are gearing up to redefine school zones on the Upper East Side for the 2011-12 school year.

The neighborhood was dogged by some of the worst waiting lists in the city, for the 2009-10 school year, so the Community Education Council for District 2 is preparing to re-draw the zoning lines.

And parental input is going to crucial, said Sarah Chu, a member of the CEC.

"I don't think the Upper East Side was prepared for that conversation at all," Chu said, referring to last year's rezoning effort and the wait-lists. Now that they've been through the experience, they are better prepared for the next rezoning process.

Board members hope to begin the process in September.

While the re-zoning will not affect parents with kids who were already enrolled at schools, it will have a big impact on families with three and four-year-old children currently in Pre-K.

"Now is the time," Chu said of when those families should become involved in the process.

Last week, Community Board 8 voted to allow parents to sit in the CEC meetings as public members. The parents would not vote on zoning plans but would serve as liaisons between residents and the board.

The board's resolution has to be approved by the CEC. 

In recent years, improved public schools on the Upper East Side have attracted more students. That preference, combined with an increase in young families in the neighborhood, has created overcrowded schools.

The Department of Education recently created the new P.S. 272 in response to overcrowding. The school will begin classes at the P.S. 158 building, on York Avenue between East 77th and East 78th streets, this fall.

All CEC meetings, except for a few executive sessions, are open to the public. The board will have its next meeting discussing re-zoning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on the seventh floor of 333 Seventh Ave.