Millions of federal dollars are coming to public schools on the Upper West Side and in Harlem, and local parents and teachers are waiting to see how the funds will be divided.
Six public magnet schools in Manhattan’s Community School District 3—which includes the Upper West Side and Harlem—will be receiving $3.76 million in federal grant money from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced at the end of September.
The grant, which spans three years, will allow neighborhood schools to develop specific programs aimed at reforming curriculums in communications, science, engineering, math, and language, according to Schumer’s office.
District 3 representatives who drafted the proposal requested about half a million dollars per school, said Mark Diller, the Youth, Education & Libraries chair for Community Board 7.
“Most of the schools up in this end do need resources,” said Monique Akonor, a parent at P.S. 145 on 105th Street. “There’s never enough funding,” she said, adding that there is “always money to be put into the public schools.”
Each school requested money to target its own specific needs, in subjects like science or language, creating what is called a magnet grant. One school, for example, specifically requested money to become an International Baccalaureate school with French language. The grant will also help provide professional development for teachers.
Goals of this grant include reducing minority group isolation, and helping students meet or exceed adequate yearly progress standards for their grades, Schumer’s office said.
Officials at P.S. 185 in south Harlem said that the school seeks to develop a program—based on research from Tufts University—designed to teach technology and computer programming to young children.
One local principal who requested anonymity due to DOE protocol, said that the funds are important, but are not a final solution. “We are up against challenges in this neighborhood…We just haven’t had the economic opportunity to be competitive.”
Still, Diller said, a grant of this scale means a lot, since grants are often only thousands of dollars. “That would be a big deal for us,” he said of the nearly $4 million grant.
“Educational excellence is the key to success for our students - and for New York - and this grant will help us achieve that in these first-rate schools in Manhattan,” Schumer said in a release. “By focusing on reshaping and improving academic standards, these institutions will guarantee the highest quality education for all its students.”
Upon hearing the news of the grant, Barrie Romero, who moved from Connecticut to New York in May and now has a daughter at P.S. 145, said, “I think that’s wonderful. I think it will definitely benefit the schools. I’m curious to see what it’s going to go towards.”
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