Parents press for a new school to honor Frank McCourt
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A group of Upper West Side parents, elected officials and other concerned citizens has been meeting this summer to plan a new, academically challenging high school focused on journalism and writing to open with a 9th grade class in fall, 2010, in the Brandeis High School building on West 84th Street. The group, organized by City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, hopes the school will be named in honor of Frank McCourt, a former Stuyvesant High School teacher and author of the bestseller Angela’s Ashes ,who died on Sunday.
The school is still in the planning stages, but the parents, led by Tom Allon, publisher of the West Side Spirit who taught with Frank McCourt at Stuyvesant, hope it will grow to serve between 800 to 1,000 students. That’s small enough to give students a sense of community, but large enough to offer art, drama, several foreign languages, Advanced Placement, special education and services for English Language Learners that are often missing at the new small schools that have been created in recent years. The Department of Education is interviewing prospective “project directors” for the school this summer. The “project director” will be hired part-time in the fall and, if the school is approved by the DOE, will likely be assigned as principal early in 2010.
Some questions remain unresolved: Will the school give preference to District 3 residents, as the popular Upper West Side Beacon High School used to do? Most New York City high schools are open to applicants from all five boroughs, but some of the most sought-after small schools in the city are located in Manhattan’s District 2. Many of these schools limit admissions to District 2 students, sparking complaints from parents in other districts.
Other elected leaders involved with planning include: Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, State Senator Bill Perkins, State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
Brandeis, which had an enrollment of 2,348 last year, is closing because of poor performance. Current Brandeis students will be allowed to stay until graduation, but no new 9th-graders are being admitted this fall. The DOE has already announced two new, small schools will open in September with 108 students each: the Urban Assembly for Green Careers and the Global Learning Initiative. In addition, the DOE plans to open a transfer school, Innovation Diploma Plus, for students who have been unsuccessful or unhappy at other schools.
For further information contact Tom Allon at tallon@manhattanmedia.com
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it would be wonderful for district 3 parents to have a viable neighborhood high school.
Comment by bonita ganot — July 28, 2009 @ 3:40 pm
I was a student of Mr. McCourt at Stuyvesant in the original building; his classes were filled with students from all 5 boroughs, from all ethnicities and walks-of-life. He himself lived in at least four of the boroughs during his lifetime. Therefore, the new high school should admit students from all over the City. The Upper West Side does not have a monopoly on students interested in writing. As he suffered and experienced resentment when he was young, Mr. McCourt would not want to exclude anyone. That is the only way to honor someone whose books have been printed in many countries and in many languages. It is only right; it must be a City-wide school.
Comment by C Brown — July 28, 2009 @ 6:08 pm
I think that is a wonderful idea. As Frank McCourt has done a lot for the children of New York City. This would be a great tribute Frank and the rest of the McCourt clan.
Comment by Larry Fisk — July 28, 2009 @ 6:51 pm
I completely agree with C Brown. This city has quite a few schools dedicated to math, science and engineering and lots of schools dedicated to the performing arts. When it comes to writing and history there are almost none. If you are going to truly honor Frank McCourt then every NYC student should be able to apply
Comment by CGMom — July 28, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
I love the sound of this school, so I ask this as a devil’s advocate.
From what I gather, none of the other schools that were selected for Brandeis were vetted by the CEC. Contrary to proper procedure, they just appeared. While the McCourt school was formally discussed, and it was quite appealing to many, it was meant to be just one of the schools vying for this space, no? Shouldn’t other options gete presented to the CEC? I ask this because it seems we are willing to let procedure slide when it’s a school we like that is being inserted, but we cry foul when either we don’t like the selection or the DOE ’surprises’ us.
Comment by Anonymous — July 28, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
In response to C.Brown comment about possibly giving priority to students from all of Manhattan instead of only District 3 where the school will be located: Stuyvesant may serve a diverse student body but it is in no way offering opportunity to anyone but the highest achieving group of students. All other districts have many high schools that give priority only to their district students. District 3 is lacking in this area. Mr. McCourt’s classes may have been filled by students from all boroughs, but Stuyvesant continues to be one of the MOST exclusive and exclusionary public high schools in NYC. For District 3 to have one decent high school that might give priority to it’s residents seems only fair.
Comment by SH — August 15, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
If the school in Brandeis building is to be restricted to District 3-only, then they should look for a District 3 teacher to name the school after. This restricted school should also have a general theme, for young writers are not limited to the Upper West Side.
Comment by C Brown — August 17, 2009 @ 3:37 pm