A group of Upper West Side parents, elected officials and other concerned citizens has beenmeeting 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.<!--more-->

Some questions remain unresolved: Will the school give preference to District 3residents, 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