Over the past decade, the city has been dividing large public schools into smaller schools, but now, the de Blasio administration is doing just the opposite. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following report.
PS 134 and PS 137, two small schools that share one building on the Lower East Side are set to merge into a single school this summer.
It was one of three school mergers approved unanimously Wednesday by the city's Panel for Education Policy, part of a wider strategy being employed by schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña to get rid of schools that she says don't have enough students to succeed.
"There is such a thing as too small," Fariña said.
Breaking up large schools into small schools was a hallmark of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's education reform efforts, and research has shown that in many cases, small high schools have done better. But the current schools chancellor is not a fan of small schools. She often talks about how they have fewer resources and extra problems, particularly related to sharing space.
"Who's going to use the auditorium? Who's going to use the gym? Who's going to be in the cafeteria? All these things that cause negative dynamics in shared space will now be decided by one principal for one group of students in one school," Fariña said.
The education panel has approved five mergers, and three more are in the works. All will go into effect by September.
In most cases, a school with a stronger academic record will absorb a school with weaker test scores and lower enrollment. In some cases, though, both of the schools being merged are struggling. In Harlem, PS 96 is absorbing the Global Neighborhood Secondary School, even though both schools had extremely low test scores last year.
Critics of the mayor's policies say consolidating weak schools is not a solution. The executive director of StudentsFirstNY says, "There is no evidence to support the de Blasio administration’s attempt to turn around failing schools by merging them."
So far, though, parents and teachers have been generally supportive.
"It's a great idea," said one parent. "I feel like two schools can bring something to each other."
Before the votes Wednesday, not a single member of the public spoke out against the idea or in favor of it.