UPPER WEST SIDE — The Department of Education made the surprise announcement this week that it would merge an elementary school focused on STEM learning with another nearby school.
Under the consolidation plan, which needs approval by the city's Panel for Educational Policy, P.S. 241 would vacate its 240 W. 113th St. building and move in to P.S. 76, a pre-K through eighth-grade school at 220 W. 121st St., the DOE said.
P.S. 241, also known as the STEM Institute of Manhattan and a former magnet grant recipient, currently shares a building with Success Academy Harlem 4.
The announcement took education leaders by surprise and was done without community engagement, Community Education Council 3 said in an Oct. 18 letter to Chancellor Carmen Fariña.
"CEC3 is dismayed by the lack of community engagement prior to this announcement," the council wrote in its letter.
But the DOE said that Superintendent Ilene Altschul has begun conversations with the schools' principals, that engagement will happen during community meetings in October and that families have already received letters about the proposed merger.
"Each school consolidation involves an individualized approach, and includes leadership from the superintendent and extensive engagement with the school communities. The goal is always to provide a strong learning environment and expanded resources to best serve all students," said DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye.
Moving P.S. 241 to the P.S. 76 building should not mean dissolving the STEM program, CEC leaders insisted in their letter.
"District 3 schools in lower Harlem desperately need programmatic anchors that will increase enrollment and lead to stronger student outcomes," their letter stated.
The DOE said the new school will include a STEM curriculum and increased arts programming, as well as support from the nonprofit Harlem Children’s Zone and increased professional development, among other changes.
The council is also worried that the space P.S. 241 is vacating will be transferred to a charter school and asked for it to remain a District 3 school, the letter stated.
Merging the schools will help enrollment issues at both, the DOE said.
Between 2014 and 2016, P.S. 76 has seen a 14 percent decrease in enrollment, while P.S. 241 has seen a 12 percent increase during the same period, the department said.
Given that the school is moving north eight blocks, the CEC would like the current P.S. 241 zone to be redistributed equally among nearby District 3 schools, their letter stated. The DOE said it would work with the CEC on redrawing the zoning lines to make sure all area families have a zoned school to attend.
The principals of P.S. 241 and P.S. 76 did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
