FORT GREENE — P.S. 67 Principal Temica Francis is making sure that students — who the city recently removed from The Auburn Family Residence due to deplorable living conditions — continue to make it to class in Fort Greene.
The majority of the approximately 54 displaced students are being bused in from their new homes across the city, according to the principal.
"As soon as we heard the shelter would close for renovations we got to work to ensure these kids could continue to attend class at P.S. 67," she said. "We wanted to offer the parents a way to get to get their kids to school."
The New York Times published a series in December exposing conditions at The Auburn Family Residence including mold, vermin and the presence of sexual predators, and in response the city removed 42 families from the Fort Greene homeless shelter in February and another 64 will be removed by late June, the paper reported.
A Department of Homeless Services spokeswoman said that each Auburn shelter family is connected to a Department of Education liason who "is on-site to help [them] with a variety of issues including enrollment, transfers, truancy efforts, transportation, and need for supplies.
"As we transfer families from Auburn, DHS is working closely with DOE on relocation efforts," she said.
And Francis added that teachers and administrators at P.S. 67 — located adjacent to the shelter — are also looking out for the displaced students.
"We are trying very hard and putting in the effort," she said. "We are constantly calling the shelter to make sure as many kids as possible make it to class as possible."
