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Central Brooklyn's School System in a 'Sorry State,' Community Members Say

By Camille Bautista | November 12, 2014 8:28am
 District 16 Superintendent Evelyn Santiago joined principals, parents and elected officials in Bed-Stuy to discuss the state of education in central Brooklyn.
District 16 Superintendent Evelyn Santiago joined principals, parents and elected officials in Bed-Stuy to discuss the state of education in central Brooklyn.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Bed-Stuy's schools are in “crisis” and central Brooklyn’s educational system is in a “sorry state” due to lack of leadership and resources, according to community members. 

Parents, teachers, administrators and elected officials gathered at an educational forum Monday to discuss “raising the grade” for neighborhood children.

“This will be an ongoing dialogue until we get the resources necessary to make sure the playing field is level for all our students,” said Councilman Robert Cornegy, whose office helped organize the meeting.

Panelists included District 16 Superintendent Evelyn Santiago, state Sen. Jesse Hamilton, public school principals and presidents of local Community Education Councils.

Participants discussed the absence of gifted-and-talented programs in the community, as well as the scarcity of initiatives focused on the social and emotional well-being of students.

“Our children have scars because generally we are a scarred community,” said Michael West, founder of educational support group Our Communities, Our Children.

Principals also focused on the lack of access to quality test preparation.

District 16, which covers much of Bed-Stuy, had 51 percent of its students score at Level 1 out of 4 for the 2013 Common Core English Language Arts assessment, according to the Department of Education, below the Level 3 score required to pass.

In 2014, 46 percent of students scored well below the proficiency standard for English, compared to 32 percent statewide.

Figures were similar for math, with 53 percent of third through eighth-graders in District 16 scoring at Level 1 in 2014. Just 3 percent “excelled” in standards for their grade, compared to 14 percent throughout New York State.

It’s not just test results that are a cause for concern, said Kathleen Daniel, president of the district’s Community Education Council. Thirty-five percent of District 16 students come from temporary housing and shelters.

“We’re in a sorry state but, again, we don’t have to stay there,” Daniel said.

“We need to return the power to the parents and open communication to dialogue with our leaders…to humanize the process of learning. It’s not just checking off the right answer on the exam.”

Parents and educators lamented the idea of students leaving the neighborhood to attend higher-quality programs in areas such as Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge, due to a lack of viable options in Bed-Stuy.

Busing out students creates a Catch-22 situation for the area’s academic development, one parent said — children from Bed-Stuy who are succeeding are doing so in other districts, which skews statistics and leaves little funding for the neighborhood. 

Participants in the forum also called for a college readiness initiative that would provide multiple pathways for students to graduate and earn Regents diplomas, including focuses on the arts, humanities, STEM and career and technical education.

Others said the issue extended far beyond education, to economic and social issues in the neighborhood. A main problem is access and opportunity, not necessarily an achievement gap, panelists said.

“Before we are readers or writers, we are human beings,” said Adrian Straker of family organization Jack and Jill of America. “It’s bigger than all of us but it will take all of us.”