In July we wrote about community efforts to open a selective high school on the Upper West Side to be named after the late educator and writer Frank McCourt. Yesterday, Chancellor Joel Klein gave an official nod to the new school, announcing its proposed opening with a freshman class in 2010 in the Brandeis High School building.

The Frank McCourt school would be a small selective school, joining three other schools that opened this fall in the building, as Brandeis itself is being closed. The three new schools are Global Learning Collaborative, the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, and Innovation Diploma Plus, a transfer school for older students; like most new small schools, and unlike the proposed Frank McCourt school, they do not admit students based on their academic record.<!--more-->

According to Department of Education spokesperson Will Havemann, the enrollment policy for the school has not yet been determined; we anticipate that there will be some vigorous debate over the admissions policy. Parents on the Upper West Side have long lamented the lack of selective high schools in the neighborhood, especially as compared with District 2 on the East Side, which has many high-performing small schools that give preference to district residents.

In addition, school organizers hoped for a population of between 800-1000 students. But yesterday's press release calls for a small school -- which generally means an enrollment of 500 or fewer students. (Update: The DOE says the expected enrollment will be 430 students for grades 9-12.)

The school's opening will not be confirmed in time for this year's 8th-graders to list it on their high school application. According to Havemann, students will be able to apply in February when the DOE traditionally announces the opening of new schools.

The school's principal, Diane  Danielle Salzberg, was formerly an assistant principal at Millennium High School, a popular selective school in Manhattan noted for its strong humanities curriculum.

Numerous elected officials, including US Representative Charles Rangel, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and City Council member Gale Brewer, joined Kein for the official announcement at Brandeis yesterday, lending their support to the school. Brewer said "the school's mission will be to prepare students for college, while reflecting the community's literary voice, and offering students and parents a language arts school with unique strengths and a creative environment."According to the press release, the school's opening is contingent upon a community hearing to receive public feedback and a vote by the Panel for Educational Policy. The DOE has been criticized frequently for opening public schools without first getting input from the surrounding communities. No word yet on when the public hearings will be held or when the PEP vote will take place. We'll let you know when we find out.