Harlem middle school faces possible closure

Enrollment has declined at Roberto Clemente Middle School on 133rd Street, and next year the school could shut down entirely.

Also known as I.S. 195, the school is one of 47 that the city Department of Education announced Thursday could be closed after this year due to poor performance.

“Too many kids are stuck in failing schools,” Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld, spokesperson for the DOE, said in an email. “Right now, we are looking at those schools that have been consistently struggling to determine whether they can improve with help or need to be replaced with a new school.”

I.S. 195 received a D on its latest progress report, and 74 percent of teachers reported on the latest school survey that discipline is not maintained.

It now occupies part of a school building attached to 3333 Broadway, a large 35-story apartment building at 135th Street and Broadway. Though Roberto Clemente once occupied the entire school space, it now shares the building with two charter schools, KIPP Infinity and KIPP NYC College Prep High School.

Aysha Waddell, who has two children enrolled in the KIPP schools, says she hasn’t heard good things about I.S 195 and often sees kids fighting outside. “If I had to send my kids to that school, I think I’d pay for private school,” she said.

But Suzanne Herrera, who graduated from I.S. 195 last year, said that she would be upset to see it go.

“It is a good school. I passed and so did everybody else,” Herrera, who was on the softball team, said. She said that I.S. 195 offered a lot of programs, including sports teams and Achieve Now, which took students on educational field trips on Saturdays.

According to the DOE, school enrollment has fallen by 350 students since the 2006-07 school year, and scores remain low despite efforts at teacher training.

A DOE report says that the city is launching a school review, and possibilities include changing the school leadership, curriculum changes, and phasing out over time.

“We understand that many I.S. 195 students, families, and staff members believe in the school’s potential, and we know that this is difficult news. At the same time, we hope you share our view that we can—and must—do better for students,” the report says.

But the school did receive a ranking of ‘well-developed’ in the citywide Quality Review for the 2007-08 school year and a B on its progress report, according to a city press release from 2009 that reports steadily improving test scores.

Zarin-Rosenfeld emphasized that the list released Thursday is not a final list of schools that may close, since schools could be added as new scores data comes in. And not all schools on the list will actually face closure.

The list also includes a number of Harlem schools that have faced closure before, including Academy of Collaborative Education on 134th Street.

ACE is one of the schools the DOE proposed closing last year, only to have that process blocked by a successful lawsuit brought by the city teachers union and the NAACP. This summer, a judge agreed that the city did not follow proper procedures in notifying the school community before attempting to close the schools.

Now, the city is starting that process again, and Zarin-Rosenfeld emphasized that community interaction is necessary as they move forward.

“Before we make any decisions, we are meeting with their administrators, teachers, and parents to determine the best path forward,” he said. “But we need to do right by our kids and that will involve some difficult decisions.”

sarah.darville@columbiaspectator.com