Parents, Pols Pledge to Keep M.S. 571 Open

Doomed for closure, M.S. 571 won't shutter without a fight, its parents and officials made clear at a community meeting at the school last night.

More than 100 people, including elected officials, parents, and ministers, pledged to challenge a plan that would begin a shut-down proceedure for the school next year. From flooding the city's help line to writing letters, to pursuing legal action, organizers said they would do all that they could do to keep the doors open at the school, located at 80 Underhill Ave. in Prospect Heights.

City Councilwoman Letitia James and State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries disputed the Department of Education's evaluation process for selecting M.S. 571 for closure and laid out their legal reasons for why it should remain open. They included inconsistencies between city and state evaluations and recent progress reports, on which the city gave M.S. 571 solid marks.  

"They failed to follow their own rules," James said. "We will join with the UFT (United Federation of Teachers), put our heads together, and perhaps we can pursue some legal actions."

The opposition comes a week after the city announced proposals to close 26 low-performing schools, a controversial decision that critics believe is not a solution to fix failing schools. The potential of a legal challenge is reminiscent of a law suit that successfully challenged the city's process for closing 19 schools last year and prevented them from closing.  

Of the 170 students who attend M.S. 571, only 8 percent tested at grade level in state testing last year, "making M.S. 571 one of the very lowest-performing middle schools in the entire city," according to a "fact sheet" memo that the DOE published with the closure announcement. M.S. 571 was also on a list of schools eligible for closure since October and the education department held preliminary meetings to discuss the possibility of closure.   

But parents and students who attended Wednesday's meeting testified that the school was making strides to improve. Malcolm Laguerre, a seventh grader at M.S. 571, drew a standing ovation when he pointed at the crowd and called on them to save his school.

"This is a good school," said Laguerre. "I'm learning. I just got here a few months ago and I can already see grades going up."

Ray Lopez, a parent who attended one of the preliminary meetings on Oct. 27, accused the DOE of taking comments he made about school safety out of context and using it to justify the closure. In the memo, the DOE cited parents with "serious concerns about student safety." But Lopez said he was the only parent to bring it up and only meant that more security was needed outside of the building, which is shared by two schools.

"They switched my words around," said Lopez, whose son is in sixth grade at 571. "I don't think it's fair that when a parent says something you go type something on the computer and mistake what they say. That wasn't true."

In addition to pursuing legal action, James asked for sustained support from the community in opposing the closure. She told people to call 311, sign a written letter, and recruit more parents for what will surely be a contentious month ahead.

On Friday, the DOE is expected to announce a detail plan for replacing the closing schools. Next month, the DOE will hold a joint public hearing, to which all members of the community will be invited.

A final vote on the closure proposal will be held in early February. If approved, current students will remain in the school until they graduate, but an no more incoming grades will be enrolled.