Update: DOE Announces First Round of Schools Slated for Closure

The Department of Education will begin announcing today and tomorrow schools they will shutter due to poor performance.

Currently, there are 47 schools under consideration for closure, and of those 47, 20 are elementary and middle schools, 21 are high schools, including six public charter schools.

One Bed-Stuy elementary school – P.S. 256 Benjamin Banneker, located at 114 Kosciuszko Street – is on that list.

Department officials evaluate a school’s standing based upon its progress report grades, quality reviews and the results of state evaluations.

Under this administration, New York City has phased out 117 of the lowest-performing schools and has opened 535 new schools: 396 districts schools and 139 public charter schools.

“As a result, we’ve created more high-quality schools for students and families,” said Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg in an email to reporters. “Overwhelmingly, new schools are doing better than those they replaced. But when they are not we will hold them accountable, as we do for all of our schools.”

Last year, of the 26 schools the Doe announced for closure, the City’s Panel for Educational Policy approved all but one – P.S. 114.

“Deciding what course of action can best support the students and community of a struggling school is not easy, but we are compelled to act based on our commitment to ensuring that every student has access to high-quality school,” said Sternberg.

Stay patched in for the results of the closure announcements.

Update 2:20pm:

The DOe has released the names of 12 schools from a list of 47 it is proposing to phase out, and one Bed-Stuy elementary school, Benjamin Bannekar, so far has not been named.

The 12 schools intended for closing are:

• Public School 19 Roberto Clemente, Brooklyn
• General D. Chappie James Elementary School of Science, Brooklyn
• P.S. 14 Cornelius Vanderbilt, Staten Island
• Legacy School For Integrated Studies, Manhattan
• Manhattan Theater Lab High School, Manhattan
• Gateway School For Environmental Research and Technology, Bronx
• International Arts Business School, Brooklyn
• Satellite Three middle school, Brooklyn
• Middle School for the Arts, Brooklyn
• Junior High School 296 the Anna Gonzalez Community School
• Academy of Business and Community Development, Brooklyn

Additional schools will be named on Friday.

CORRECTION, December 9, 9:10am: There were two schools named on the list for closure in Bed-Stuy, including the Academy of Business and Community Development, located at 141 Macon Street.