December 5, 2008

DOE announces their decision that will enable our neighborhood's young children/kindergarteners to attend PS199. DOE Confirmation of policies that will be implemented for school year to start fall of 2009 (PDF)

Link to the DOE confirmation on the DOE web site (towards the bottom of the page, click on "District 3 Decision")

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VIDEO INTERVIEW - NY1: Inside City Hall - 11/25/08 Gary Goldstein, former Principal at PS199 & Michelle Ciulla Lipkin discuss why the CEC's recommendations are absolutely the right decision & why the community supports the resolution. This interview provides details about the overcrowding situation at PS199. It clearly refutes all the Center School's slanderous lies about PS199 & denounces the Center School's on-going malicious campaign to dupe the public & destroy our community.
CPR for PS199 Fully Supports CEC Resolution

Concerned Parents & Residents (CPR) for PS199 is an organization comprised of parents of future/incoming PS199 students, parents of current PS199 students, neighborhood residents and educators, who want to ensure that neighborhood children are able to attend PS199 in the future. We represent thousands of people who live in the community who care about the education and safety of our young children/kindergarteners and support the fundamental principle that young children should be able to attend their local, neighborhood elementary school.

November 20, 2009

We fully support the resolution passed by CEC District 3 on November 19, 2008 which will:

• Allow kindergarteners to attend PS199, their neighborhood elementary school
• Reduce overcrowding at PS199 so that kindergarteners can attend in Sept 2009
• Relocate the Center School, an unzoned middle school with older commuter students that occupies space in the PS199 building, to nearby PS9.

We want to thank the CEC for caring about young children/kindergarteners and for finding a fair answer to complex challenges.

However, It's Not Over ... There is Still More to Do

The passing of the resolution of the CEC was a big step for us. However, it is just a step as there are still more steps to go through... for example, the DOE still has to issue their final decision (due Nov 30).

It is critical that we let the DOE, elected officials etc know that we support the passing of the resolution. Please send another email to the following people letting them know that we support the Resolution and that "young neighborhood children need to attend their local elementary school":

JWhite8@schools.nyc.gov;jklein@schools.nyc.gov;mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov; dwalcott@cityhall.nyc.gov;CEC3@schools.nyc.gov;D3Rezoning@yahoo.com; mbarr2@schools.nyc.gov; kgrimm@schools.nyc.gov;

and CC: duane@senate.state.ny.us; BP@manhattanbp.org; brewer@council.nyc.ny.us; Quinn@council.nyc.ny.us; RosentL@assembly.state.ny.us; office@cb7.org; KWong9@schools.nyc.gov; rsalave@csd3.nycdoe.org; SBernstein@manhattanbp.org; kate.seely-kirk@council.nyc.ny.us; dickens@council.nyc.ny.us; Odonned@assembly.state.ny.us; gottfrr@assembly.state.ny.us; schneider@senate.state.ny.us; perkins@senate.state.ny.us; Portfolio@schools.nyc.gov; ps199community@yahoo.com

THANK YOU CEC ! CPR for PS199 would like to thank the Community Education Council for supporting the principle that young children should be given priority to attend their neighborhood school. We understand how difficult this discussion has been for all involved. There is no perfect solution but the resolution put forward recognizes that priority must be given to creating room for neighborhood children at a neighborhood elementary school.

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Status Update: 11/3/08
Thousands of people in the PS199 community are upset and concerned by the possibility that our zoned children may be prevented from enrolling at PS199 starting in Sept 2009, due to capping. The community is baffled as to why the DOE, CEC and elected officials would consider preventing kindergarteners from attending PS199, an elementary school that is in the heart of their community; and would consider sending them somewhere else - when the near-term solution is so obvious ... and that is to relocate the Center School, a non-zoned/non neighborhood middle school, that occupies space in the PS199 building.

Our community including parents of incoming/future PS199 students, concerned residents and parents of current PS199 students, is now mobilized to fight for our children's education and safety. In less than 3 weeks, we have organized. Fliers are being circulated and petitions are being signed in the entire PS199 catchment area.

Here's How You Can Help !

1. CONTACT DOE, Community Boards and Elected Officials
Voice your support for neighborhood children and the need to relocate Center School
* You can print out this flyer and distribute it. You can also email the PDF to others.

2. Sign Up to this Web Site to Get News Updates & If You Want to Join One of Our Committees

3. Distribute the "Jumpstart" Flyer

4. Help Get Petitions Signed
If you are interesting in getting signatures for our petitions, then Email Us at: ps199community@yahoo.com
.

5. Answer Community Board 7's Question of the Month
What are your thoughts about the DOE proposals to alleviate overcrowding in our schools?



Email Us at: ps199community@yahoo.com

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Don't Turn Away Zoned Kindergarteners from PS199. Don't Implement Capping at PS199. Don't Send Our Kindergarteners to Other Parts of the City.


** RELOCATE CENTER SCHOOL ** a non-zoned middle school occupying space in PS199 building It's the CLEAR answer
Status Update: October 31, 2008

We are now organized and continuing to fight for the education and safety of our children.

Our community (including parents with future/incoming PS199 students, concerned residents, parents of PS199 students and local businesses) is now aware of the very real possibility that the DOE may cap enrollment at PS199 and send our kindergarteners to other schools around town.

Clearly this has outraged the entire community. Everyone realizes that our children's education and safety are at risk; and that it would cause serious hardships to many families in the area.

It's also clear that the obvious solution is to "Relocate the Center School," a non-zoned middle school that occupies space in the PS199 building.

The fear caused by the possibility of capping enrollment and sending kindergarteners has led to our community getting united and mobilized in an incredibly short period of time.

In less than 2 weeks, our organization (CPR for PS199) has reached thousands of parents and neighborhood residents. Our reach grows every day.

We have a

• 50 person Core Team of Concerned Parents & Residents
• Multiple Committees
• "School captains" at almost every pre-schools in the neighborhood that disseminate news updates&calls to action to all the parents and administrators
• "Building captains" in the majority of buildings in the neighborhood that disseminate news updates & calls to action to building residents and building boards.
• More teams about to be mobilized.

Petitions, fact sheets and fliers are being circulated.
Here are 2 documents (PDF) that you should read and can share with others:

Flyer - Overview of Situation: Call to Action

List of DOE, Elected Officials, Community Boards for you to contact to show your support for neighborhood children and the need to relocate Center School
* This list contains many new contacts (Chancellor Klein, Mayor Bloomberg etc) that were not in older lists

TIME IS SHORT, SO JOIN OUR TEAM NOW

The DOE plans to make a decision by November 30, 2008 for implementation in September 2009. That means, for example, there is a very real possibility that although you are zoned for PS199, your 4-year old child will NOT be allowed to enroll at PS199 in Sept 2009 and will be sent to another school somewhere in the city.

If you want to join our team and Fight For Your Children's Future and Your Family's Future, then:

Sign Up to this Web Site

If you are interesting in getting signatures for our petitions, then Email Us at: ps199community@yahoo.com

Best Wishes to You and Your Children,
Concerned Parents & Residents for PS199
(CPR for PS199)

* NOTE: This web site will be undergoing a redesign shortly to better organize information and calls-to-action.

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10/23 Meeting: DOE and CEC Appear to be Leaning Towards CAPPING PS199 which would prevent zoned kindergarteners from enrolling at their neighborhood elementary school

The CEC/DOE meeting on 10/23 which was open to the public was a bad night for the entire PS199 community: children, parents and residents. At last night's CEC/DOE meeting, there was:

• More discussion about CAPPING at PS199 to prevent zoned children from attending PS199. The DOE talked about Capping in Sept 2009 to ONLY 2 Kindergarten classes.
• There was NO discussion about relocating Center Shool.
• There was more discussion about moving other schools but leaving Center School in PS199 building. For example, they brought up for the 1st time relocating Hudson Honors, a middle school in the PS191 building to an undetermined space, while leaving Center School where it is.
• Several of the pro-PS199 members on the CEC were NOT at the meeting, while the anti-PS199/pro-Center School CEC members were there
• CEC/DOE don't plan to have any more public sessions

Many people in our community are now demanding an answer to the following:.

• "How can the Center School wield so much power that they appear to be untouchable, while any other school would have been moved a long time ago."
• "How can the Center School wield so much influence that they appear to control the discussion and are the only ones able to inject new options for consideration that support their position, while PS199 and other schools are ignored."

What's going on here ?

Show your support for our children and the relocation of PS199 by contacting DOE, Press, Elected Officials and CEC. Also sign up to this site to get involved and active.

Don't Turn Away Neighborhood Children from PS199. Don't Implement Capping at PS199
RELOCATE CENTER SCHOOL a non-zoned middle school occupying space in PS199 building to reduce severe overcrowding at PS199 elementary school

• Show your support by contacting the DOE, elected officials & community reps
• PS199 officially supports Relocation of Center School
• Center School appears to be the only remaining obstacle that is preventing our neighborhood children from attending PS199 & having more space to learn
• PS199 projected overcrowding and CAPPING if Center School is not relocated
• See how relocating Center School will help address PS199 overcrowding
• DOE's Proposals

Problem: PS199 is Overcrowded & Capping Kindergarten Enrollment is a Possibility
PS199 is a neighborhood elementary school for young children. Kindergarteners are looking forward to enrolling at PS199 to get a first-rate education from its wonderful teachers. Many parents work hard so they can move into the zone specifically so their children can attend PS199. Unfortunately, due to new real estate development in the area, PS199 is now way overcrowded. For example, PS199's Kindergarten class has doubled in 5 years from 81 kindergarteners in 2003 to 160 Kindergarteners today. Therefore:

Since PS199 is so overcrowded, they may prevent zoned children from attending PS199 starting in September 2009 by implementing "Capping". We can't let this happen.
Check out all the coverage:

• PS199 Stats: 81 kids->160 | No Room for 2009 Students | PS199 Enrollment
• Media: New York Magazine | West Side Spirit | New York Times | CBS News
• Elected Officials: Tom Duane, NYS Senate and Linda Rosenthal, NYS Assembly | Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President
• Dept of Education (DOE): Proposals from DOE to address overcrowding at PS199/District 3, to be implemented in Sept 2009.

Solution: Relocate Center School
The Center School is a NON-ZONED MIDDLE SCHOOL that occupies a floor in the PS199 building. Approximately 90% of these older children are NOT from the community. The Center School is NOT related to PS199 at all.

Once Center School is relocated, then PS 199 would be able to utilize the school building in its entirety (800 or so students).

The DOE's Proposal B recommends relocating the Center School to PS9 and the Anderson School would be relocated from PS9 to MS44.

PS9 Parents welcome Center School and Anderson’s leadership think that a relocation could work.

• PS199 Officially Supports Proposal B

• See How Relocating Center School Will Help Address PS199 Overcrowding
• PS199 Projected Overcrowding and CAPPING if Center School is not relocated
• Show Your Support

Build New Schools
In addition, for a longer-term solution, it is critical that new schools be built to handle all the residential buildings that have been built recently as well as ones that are in the process of being built.

* Representatives of the Center School have made comments that imply that PS199 parents and others who call this neighborhood home, want the Center out of the building for reasons other than to gain additional classroom space for our young children. These communications are an attempt to distract the decision makers from the real problem, overcrowding at PS 199. We have full confidence that the DOE, elected officials and community representatives will focus on the facts of overcrowding at PS199.

Results: PS199 Will Have More Space for Students & Not Need Capping
Once Center School is relocated, then PS 199 would be able to utilize the school building in its entirety (800 or so students). This would allow PS 199 to reduce its class sizes, and likely bring back its art and music class rooms among other pluses. Young children who live in the zone would then be able to attend PS199 because Capping (unilaterally preventing zoned children from attending PS199) would not be necessary. The Center School would have a good new home in PS9 for their middle school students.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT To show our community's support for our neighborhood children, we need to support the Relocation of Center School and the DOE's Proposal B. It is imperative that we contact the Department of Education (DOE), our elected officials, community representatives and the media/press. Therefore, please send emails and letters, and call the following officials and representatives.

View Contact List (you can save the PDF and send it to your neighbors)

• John White, DOE Office of Portfolio Development: JWhite8@schools.nyc.gov
• Joel Klein, NYC Schools Chancellor: jklein@schools.nyc.gov
• CEC - Community Education Council, District 3: D3Rezoning@yahoo. com, 212-678-2782
• Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President: BP@manhattanbp.org, 212-669-8300
• Gale Brewer, Council member: brewer@council.nyc.ny.us, 212-873-0282
• Linda Rosenthal, 67th Assembly, Assembly member: RosentL@assembly.state.ny.us
• Mayor Bloomberg: mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov
• Tom Duane, New York State Senator: duane@senate.state.ny.us, 212-633-8052
• Helen Rosenthal, Chairperson, Community Board 7: office@cb7.org, 212-362-4008
• DOE Portfolio Department Portfolio@schools.nyc.gov
• Rob Willison, Education Director for Gale Brewer: robwillison@gmail.com
• PS 199 PAC: ps199.pac@gmail.com

Media/Press

• Elissa Gootman, NY Times, gootman@nytimes.com
• Sarah Seltzer, West Side Spirit, sarah.seltzer@gmail.com
• Meredith Kolodner, NY Daily News, mkolodner@nydailynews.com
• S. Jhoanna Robledo, New York Mag, jhoanna.robledo@nymag.com
• Yoav Gonen, NY Post, yoav.gonen@nypost.com
• Cindy Hsu, CBS News, chsu@cbs.com

SAMPLE LETTER:
Here is a sample letter. The key points are in the sample, but please customize your letter, depending on whether you are a parent of a future/incoming PS199 student, a parent of a current PS199 student, or a concerned neighbor. Thank you for taking the time !

Dear "Recipient Name":

My name is "Your Name". I hope to enroll my four year old daughter in PS199 in September 2009. We have been looking forward to her attending this wonderful public school. I am writing to let you know that I support DOE proposal B which moves the Center School out of the PS199 building.

Unfortunately , since city planners did not think about where they were going to send hundreds of children to school when they decided to build 5-6 new high rise apartment buildings in the PS 199 zone, I have no choice but to support moving the Center School to a new location.

Hopefully city planners and politicians will learn a valuable lesson next time they allow real estate developers to build massive high rise apartments without having the responsibility of funding classrooms or new schools to accommodate the influx of new students to existing schools as a result of new construction.

I thank you for reading this and for addressing the overcrowding at PS199. It is a fantastic public school that I chose for my daughter and specifically purchased an apartment in what I thought was the catchment to ensure a good education for her.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
"Your Name"


Here are Other Ways to Show Your Support for Proposal B:
1. Join this web site's online community to show your support and to get news updates.

2. Attend community meetings that discuss "overcrowding at PS199/District 3 schools."

3. (Coming Soon !) Print out this flyer and distribute to your neighbors and post on your building's bulletin boards.

4. Invite your friends, neighbors and colleagues to visit this site.

5. Contact the media, post blog entries, and respond to articles on web sites about PS199 overcrowding.

Situation: Where Are We in the Process ? How Is a Decision Made ?

• Sept 2008 - To address overcrowding in PS199/District 3, the Department of Education (DOE) presented two proposals in 9/08 for the Community Education Council (CEC) and the community to consider. The DOE would like to implement something by September 2009. - "Proposal A - Rezoning and Capping" is unacceptable because it does NOT address the overcrowding problem. There are few children in the proposed zoned out area so it would simply result in CAPPING, which arbitrarily prevents zoned children from attending PS199. - "Proposal B - Relocate Center School" proposes relocating Center School to PS9 which has very nice facilities. The Center School is a middle school for older students, that occupies space in the PS199 building. It is NOT a neighborhood school as it is not zoned. Therefore, a very small percentage of students live in the neighborhood.
• Sept 29, 2008 - PS199 (Principal, PTA, School Leadership Team) officially supports "Proposal B - Relocate Center School".
• Parents of incoming/future PS199 students and members of the PS199 community are being informed of the issues, proposals and are showing support for "Proposal B" by contacting their elected officials, the DOE and the CEC.
• Oct 7, 2008, the Community Education Council (CEC), rejected both proposals and plans to present their response to the DOE at an 10/15 meeting (which everyone should attend).
• 10/15/08 - DOE Speaks at CEC Meeting to Big Audience

Please support Proposal B: Relocate Center School so that our young children can attend their neighborhood elementary school, PS199 and all its students have sufficient space to learn and develop.

This is a Repost of a good summary email that I received with some tweaks for additional clarity.

Department of Education (DOE) Presentation on Addressing Overcrowding in PS199 and Other District 3 Schools Mid-September, 2008
At the District 3 Community Education Council Meeting this evening, John White from the Department of Education presented a proposal for addressing the overcrowding issue in District 3, including PS 199. His presentation consisted of two proposed plans to address this issue. View the full presentation.

Here is a summary of the presentation:

PROPOSAL A:
REZONE PS 199. IMPLEMENT CAPPING (unilaterally preventing zoned children from attending PS199)
We are AGAINST Proposal A

The following area will be zoned out of the PS 199 catchment and
moved to the PS 87 catchment: from the east side of Broadway to
Central Park West, from 72nd to 68th Street.

The DOE acknowledged that this rezoning would not be sufficient to
address PS 199 overcrowding issue by 2009 and would have to be
coupled with capping enrollment at PS 199; Capping refers to unilaterally preventing zoned children from attending their neighborhood elementary school.

The rezoning plan will only affect children who are not yet enrolled
in PS 199. Siblings of current students who are in the carved-out
area will not be given a space at PS 199 unless they are granted an
exception if space became available at PS 199.

PROPOSAL B:
RELOCATE CENTER SCHOOL
We SUPPORT Proposal B and Hope You Do To

The Center School would be relocated to PS 9 and the Anderson School
would be relocated from PS 9 to MS 44.

PS 9 parents say they would welcome the Center School as a good fit, in terms of both size and philosophy.

Anderson’s leadership (both the principal and the PTA board) think that a relocation could work.

PS 199 catchment lines remain the same while others in the District would change. PS 199 would utilize the school building in its entirety (800 or so students).

Here are ways to show your support.

WHAT IF NEITHER PROPOSAL IS ACCEPTED BY THE CEC ?
If the CEC does not approve either of these 2 proposals, the DOE will
address the overcrowding in District 3 by what they
term "administrative solutions" which include phasing out programs,
capping schools or relocation of schools.

10/7/08 UPDATE
At 10/7/08 meeting, the CEC did not approve either of the two proposals.
Read details for recap

Please attend next CEC meeting on 10/15