UPDATE Feb. 1: Two dozen protesters were arrested at Monday afternoon's rally, NY1 reports. Brooklyn City Council members Charles Barron and Jumaane Williams were among those carted off in paddy wagons. Tonight's PEP meeting at Brooklyn Tech High School, the first of two this week where panel members will vote on school closures, promises to be equally contentious. A PEP meeting a year ago about 19 school closures lasted until 4:30 a.m.

An afternoon rally today at 4:30 outside of Department of Education headquarters is the latest protest by parents, students and teachers against the Department of Education's plan to close 26 low-performing schools. The Panel for Educational Policy will hold two special meetings, onFebruary 1 and February 3, atBrooklyn Tech High School to decide the fate of the schools.

At PS 114 in Canarsie, a meeting turned rowdy on Friday night and at MS 571, Bergen Upper School in Prospect Heights on Saturday, politicians joined parents to protest its closing. In both instances, charter schools are slated to move into buildings as the schools are shut down. Some parents charge that charter schools will receive more amenities than schools already housed in the building.

Several hundred protesters from an ad hoc committee to stop school closures and charter takeovers rallied during the snow day last Thursday, with a band playing, students chanting slogans, and protesters carrying signs proclaiming "fix our schools, don't close them."  (See video of the event here.)<!--more-->

In December, the DOE identified 55 "struggling schools"and proposed phasing out 25 schools and not renewing the charter for the Ross Global Charter School. Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg said, "Year after year, even as we provided extra help and support, these schools simply have not gotten the job done for children."

Michael Mulgrew, head of the teachers' union, last week called for an  warning system that would alert schools earlier that they might be closed. He also said that the Department of Education should send additional educational resources to those schools before deciding to close them.

For a firsthand account of what it's like to be a student at a closing school, read Melissa Kissoon's story: "A student's view: How not to close a school."

For a round-up of the issues surrounding the closing of low-performing schools, and whether this policy works, read Gotham Gazette's January Education piece, "With More Schools Closing, Debate About Policy Continues", by Gail Robinson.