The Upper East Side will be getting a new elementary school next fall to help alleviate overcrowding which caused long wait lists for kindergarten last year in the neighborhood's schools. The Department of Education plans to open PS 267 in the PS 158 building, occupying space which now houses the East Side Middle School. East Side Middle will move to its new building in September 2010.

The decision follows a unanimous vote by District 2’s Community Education Council to open a new school and will be voted on by the Panel for Educational Policy in its March meeting

In an email sent Tuesday night to state and local representatives, Andy Lachman of the grassroots organization, Parent Leaders of Upper East Side School, announced the DOE decision and thanked officials for helping “put a serious dent in UES overcrowding.”<!--more-->

Plans are for PS 267 to open with 60-75 kindergarten students in September 2010 and add an additional grade each year until it reaches its full capacity as a K-5 school in 2016-17.PS 267 will eventually move to a permanent location in The Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital building at 213 East 63rd Street. That space is occupied by PS 59 while its' building on East 56th undergoes renovations.

Once PS 267 moves into a permanent space it will have its own school zone, but for now it will give priority admission to kindergarten applicants zoned for PS 59, PS 183 and PS 290, all overcrowded neighborhood schools. The announcement of the new school comes one year after the re-opening of PS 151, a zoned school that was closed for many years after its building was demolished. The re-opening of this school, located in the northeast corner of the district, also helped to alleviate over-crowding in nearby schools

The full District 2 CEC proposal, (Resolution 25), which also includes plans to open a new middle school in PS 158 once PS 267 moves to its permanent space, can be read here.

You can also read theEducational Impact Statement and public notice regarding the opening of PS 267 onthe Department of Education’s website.