UWS, Harlem School Diversity Plan May Be Working, Data Shows

UPPER WEST SIDE-HARLEM, NY — An initiative to desegregate middle schools on the Upper West Side and in parts of Harlem is set to take effect at the beginning of the next school year, and new admissions data for the district shows it may be working.

More offers to low-performing students who qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program were made at the high-demand middle schools in Manhattan's third school district for the 2019 school year as opposed to the 2018 school year. A plan passed by the Community Education Council for District 3 reserves 25 percent of seats at district middle schools for these students.

Students that qualify as low-performing must grade no higher than 30% on their grade English and math classes and score no higher than 20% on state English and math tests, city officials said. The lowest-performing students will be placed in "Group A" and the lower performing students that still qualify will be placed in "Group B," city officials said.

Admissions data released by the city Department of Education showed an improvement in most district schools, but the effectiveness on a school-by-school basis was varied. At high-demand Booker T Washington Middle School the number of students who meet the criteria for both groups increased from 10% to 18%. West End Secondary School reported an increase in offers to these students of 11% compared to 2018.

Another high-demand school, M245 The Computer School, saw a more modest increase from 18% to 20%.

Effects of the plan were greater on the other end of the spectrum. Schools that historically have struggled offered a lesser percentage of their admissions this year to low-performing students from low-income households. In 2018, 83% of offers made at P.S. 149 Sojourner Truth were for low-income, low-performing students compared to 68 percent this year. Schools such as West Prep Academy and P.S. 180 Hugo Newman also saw drops of 23% and 28% respectively.

Members of Community Education Council 3 seemed encouraged by the data, education publication Chalkbeat first reported.

"I’m really happy that we are moving closer to the district average, which is part of the goal, and that we’re seeing movement at the high demand schools, and at the lower demand schools — which is crucial," Kristen Berger, the council's middle school chair, told Chalkbeat.

Community Education Council 3 passed the plan last year after months of discussion. The plan drew criticism from some members of the council and district parents, who claimed it didn't do enough to improve struggling schools. Another group of parents thought that the city should just leave high-performing schools as they are.