Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

New Charter Causes 'No Stress' Inside Bushwick's P.S. 377, Principal Says

By Serena Dai | September 4, 2014 11:46am
 P.S. 377's first day on Thursday marked the first time the school was sharing its 200 Woodbine St. building with charter school Achievement First North Brooklyn Prep.
P.S. 377 and Achievement First's First Co-Location Day
View Full Caption

BUSHWICK — P.S. 377 Principal Dominic Zagami was hesitant about sharing the school's building with a charter when the idea came up last year.

But on Thursday morning, the principal was all smiles.

Achievement First North Brooklyn Prep opened on the third and four floors of P.S. 377's building at 200 Woodbine St. two weeks ago, and the public school's first day on the lower floors Thursday was "a beautiful thing," Zagami said.

"I have to tell you, we have had no stressful issues," Zagami said. "It's been collaborative."

Parents dropping of their kids at the K-8 school for the first time this year were slightly more divided, as some worried about kids clashing with each other, splitting resources and crowding in the lunch room.

"They'll get overwhelmed with older kids in the lunchroom," said Yesenia Cruz, 30, who has three daughters at the school.

Eighth-grader Julio Naranjo, 13, was already feeling "pretty nervous" about the new school year, citing more difficult state tests, new teachers and new subjects. The co-location is an added issue, he said.

"It's going to be harder," Naranjo said. "We're not going to have enough space."

But several parents also said they didn't mind the new co-location, including parents at both P.S. 377 and the new Achievement First K-4 school.

Deedee Lewis, 39, admitted to being "overprotective" of her 5-year-old daughter Mariyah, an Achievement student, and worrying about the school's proximity to older, bigger kids at P.S. 377.

But after checking out the school on the first day of the co-location, Lewis' nerves were eased.

"I was surprised at how separated and coordinated it was," she said.

Zaquarn Quimberly, 33, who went to P.S. 377 and had five kids at the school, felt good about the co-location.

"If there's not enough space elsewhere for them to learn," he said, "let's open the doors for them."