PARK SLOPE — A neighborhood K-8 school could gain elementary seats and lose its middle school under a proposal by the Department of Education.
The DOE wants to phase out grades 6-8 at P.S./M.S. 282 on Sixth Avenue and Lincoln Place over the next three years while adding about 330 K-5 seats, parent leaders told DNAinfo New York.
The proposal addresses a rare problem in a city full of overcrowded schools — an oversupply of middle school seats in District 13, the DOE said in an Educational Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed change released Nov. 3.
"This proposal is expected to help reduce the excess of middle school capacity in District 13, by decreasing the number of middle school seats at P.S. 282 and allowing this middle school seat capacity to be repurposed for much needed elementary school capacity," DOE officials wrote in the EIS.
If approved by the Panel for Educational Policy, the change would go into effect in the 2017-2018 school year, when the school would stop enrolling sixth graders. It would stop serving seventh graders in the 2018-19 school year and stop enrolling eighth graders in 2019-20.
Meanwhile, the school's K-5 seats would grow by about 330, DOE officials have told parents, said P.S./M.S. 282 school leadership team co-chair Steve Hamill. P.S./M.S. 282 currently has 817 students total in grades K-8.
The proposal isn't expected to have any impact on P.S./M.S. 282's 90-seat pre-K program or on its gifted and talented classes, according to the EIS.
Cutting the school's upper grades would "provide P.S. 282 with the opportunity to focus exclusively on its elementary school grades and further P.S. 282’s ability to serve as an elementary school option for the students in its community," the EIS says.
P.S./M.S. 282 parent leaders said they have a lot questions about the proposal, and didn't want to offer an opinion until they know more about plans for their school.
"282 has become a District 13 academic leader, won a national chess championship, and will be profiled in the 'New York City's Best Public Pre-K & Elementary Schools' publication, to name a few achievements," Hamill said in an email. "We’ve got a strong foundation for growth. But we want to make sure that this proposal will be good for our families and we retain a strong pipeline to excellent middle schools."
District 13 — which covers Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant and a sliver of Park Slope — is one of the fastest growing districts in the city and demand for elementary seats is increasing, a DOE spokesman said. The proposal would address that trend by shifting capacity from the middle school level to the K-5 level, the spokesman said.
Though District 13 middle schools have the capacity to serve approximately 3,300 students in sixth through eighth grades, only 2,147 students enrolled in 2016-17, according to the DOE.
"Any proposal to change a school involves an individualized approach around the unique needs of each community, including leadership from the superintendent and extensive engagement with the school community," said DOE spokesman Michael Aciman. "Our goal is to provide a strong learning environment and expanded resources to all students, and this proposal will help increase the number elementary school seats in District 13."
Parents can learn more about the proposal at two upcoming public meetings at the school, located at 180 Sixth Ave. The P.S./M.S. 282 parent-teacher organization will hold a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. and a public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16 where DOE officials are expected to take feedback and potentially answer questions, Hamill said.
"Our district is one of the fastest growing in the city and it's critical that we find commonsense solutions to help meet the rising need for elementary school seats while meeting the needs of middle school students," said principal Rashan Hoke in a statement provided by DOE. "I look forward to the opportunity to engage our school community as we continue to consider our options."
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