Local School to be Shut Down

M.S. 571, a middle school serving 170 students on Underhill Avenue, was officially tagged for closure, a process that will begin next school year and be completed by 2013, the Department of Education announced this morning.

The city cited persistently poor performance on statewide scores as well as a failure to show progress to justify its decision.

"Year after year, even as we provided extra help and support, these schools simply have not gotten the job done for children," Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg said in a statement. "These are tough decisions, but we cannot afford to let schools continue to fail students when we know we can do better."

M.S. 571 was among 12 schools selected in the first round of school closures by the city. There are 55 schools in all that are eligible for closure and the rest will be announced tomorrow, education officials said.

M.S. 571 has struggled to attain a high rate of student performance on par with similar schools citywide. According to a Department of Education fact sheet, eight per cent of students are at grade level in English subjects and 14 per cent of students are at grade level in Math.

Under the proposal, current students at M.S. 571 will be allowed to finish, but no new students will be accepted for the 2011-2012 school year.

The closures are bound to be controversial for education advocates who have been critical of Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to fix failing schools since he took over the school system in 2002.  A hallmark of his administration has been to close low performing schools and replace them with charter schools or smaller specialized schools. More than 90 such schools have been closed in eight years.

Councilwoman Letitia James declined to approve of the decision and said that she is still gathering information.

"I can't accept the DOE's statement without doing my own deliberative investigation," said Councilwoman Letitia James, whose district included M.S. 571. "I am working with the administration of 571 to substantiate the claims put forth by the Department of Education."

The school, which shares its building with another school, P.S. 009, will be replaced with a charter school, according to James, which she said she learned from the Department of Education.

Administrators from M.S. 571 could not be reached for comment.