At PS 226: ‘Yes, We Can!’
July 2, 2010
PS 226 ART TEACHER WENDY GUAGENTI, PRINCIPAL GLORIA DARDEN, AND SEVERAL OF THE SCHOOL’S BUDDING ARTISTS, BY A MURAL OF OBAMA THEY CREATED. (PHOTO: A. WATKINS)
By JAMES FERGUSSON
President Obama’s poll numbers may be slipping, but the man – and his words – still resonate strongly at PS 226, an elementary school on Sedgwick Avenue.
Students and teachers there recently unveiled a mural of America’s 44th President, whose face is set against a backdrop of the national flag and the text from his famous “Yes We Can” speech.
The mural, which is 4 foot by 8 foot and made of ceramic tiles, took two months to create. It was painted by nine students enrolled in the school’s Art Enrichment program.
Wendy Guagenti, the school’s art teacher who helped guide the project, said that Obama was chosen as the subject because his rise to the presidency fascinated the school’s students and inspired them to work hard.
The mural is one of three that now decorates the school’s walls.
“I felt – and luckily my principal agreed with me – that children should feel very comfortable in school and that art should be all over,” Guagenti said. “It should almost be like a gallery because it brings an energy of joy, accomplishment, creativity, and enthusiasm.”
The mural is located just inside the school’s main entrance.
Carnival Raises $ for Teen Media Center
June 4, 2010
By JEANMARIE EVELLY
Students and teachers at MS 331, the Bronx School of Science Inquiry and Investigation, kicked off the start of the warm weather season with an outdoor fundraising carnival on May 28.
The schoolyard was transformed into a fairground, where students could buy 50-cent tickets to drench their teachers in a dunk-booth or throw a whip cream pie at their friends—the two more popular games of the day—as well as have their faces painted or jump in an inflatable bouncy castle.
“It’s been a great day to celebrate,” said assistant principal Roberto Padilla.
The event was organized to raise money to turn an old computer lab on the school’s fifth floor into a “teen media center”—a tech-savvy library space for students to read and do research that would emphasize digital literacy, according to English teacher Adam Fachler, who is helping to plan to project.
The middle school shares the building with two others—an elementary and special needs school—so the current library can get crowded.
“There’s only one library,” said 8th-grader Veronica Dias, who helped plan the carnival and ran a face-painting booth that day. “I know some kids don’t have the space to study at home, with their sisters and brothers running around. I kind of hope it can be a quiet space.”
The school’s goal is to raise $10,000 to build the new center. They’d already raised $2,580 prior to the fundraiser by selling t-shirts, and were hoping to get much closer to their goal by the end of the day.
Parent volunteers cooked food for the festival, which was open to the public for the later half of the day. In addition to raising money, the event was also a graduation gift to the school from the eighth-grade class.
Even though they won’t be around when the new library is finished, graduation students saw the effort as a community investment—a gift to both the current students and to younger ones who will eventually take their place.
“My little sisters can use it,” eighth-grader Dias said.
Youth Entrepreneur Gifts 30 Computers to MS 390
June 4, 2010
- AJENE WATSON (RIGHT) AT THE RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY FOR THE TRYWA WATSON COMPUTER LAB, WHICH IS NAMED AFTER HIS LATE MOTHER (PHOTOS: J. FERGUSSON)
By JAMES FERGUSSON
Robert Mercedes, the principal of MS 390 in University Heights, has fond memories of math teacher Trywa Watson, who taught at the school until her death from Lupus in 2007.
Peeking into her classes “you could hear a pin drop,” Mercedes said – a sure sign that learning was in progress. She was a “tireless educator,” he said, with who “worked with the most difficult kids and turned those kids into stars.”
MS 390 STUDENTS RAYFER CARRERO (LEFT) AND NILCIA PEREZ
Mercedes was speaking yesterday at a ribbon-cutting for a new computer lab, which is named in Watson’s memory. The lab was paid for her son, Ajene Watson, an entrepreneur who runs a financial services company in Manhattan.
The 34-year-old has put up $30,000 for 30 Dell computers, four printers and a SmartBoard.
“Empowering children through education was my mother’s mission in life,” said Watson, who said he was “extremely proud” to know that the lab would play a part in continuing that mission.
After the ribbon-cutting, a handful of students gave the new computers a test drive. “They are a great asset to our school.” said Nilcia Perez, 14. “He’s [Watson] very generous. A lot of people wouldn’t do that. I appreciate him for that.”
Cabrera Rips the Dept. of Education Over School’s Relocation
May 8, 2010
COUNCILMAN CABRERA (RIGHT) AND UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS CRITICIZED THE DOE AT A PRESS CONFERENCE (PHOTO: R. THOMAS)
By REBECCA THOMAS
Councilman Fernando Cabrera had harsh words on April 26 for the Department of Education, which continues to be unreceptive to his proposal to keep University Heights Secondary School in his district.
“The DOE has been duplicitous in their dealings with my office and our constituency,” said Cabrera in a statement released that day. “They never intended to prevent the move of University Heights and falsely gave the impression that they were willing to negotiate with CUNY and the community in order to provide the best for the kids. It is time they be held accountable.”
The school is located on the Bronx Community College campus in University Heights, but will have to leave because BCC – a CUNY college – needs the space in time for the new school year.
That afternoon, the councilman and 13 students from the school gathered at the corner of 179th Street and Jerome Avenue for a press conference. They stood outside a newly constructed four-story building that Cabrera described as “ideal” for the school but which the DOE has rejected in favor of the South Bronx High School campus in Morrisania.
Cabrera says he suggested the 179th Street site in January after the DOE had said that the lack of suitable buildings was the obstacle to keeping the school in the local area. The building is a five-minute walk from University Heights Secondary School’s current site, but Cabrera’s proposal was greeted with inaction.
“They asked me to find a building. I found a building, but now nothing!” he said at the press conference. “Don’t ask me to do something if you know at the end that there is no hope!”
Frank DeLeonardis, the owner of the 179th Street building, is willing to outfit it for the school and include this price in the monthly lease, so that it would not be a large upfront cost for the DOE, according to Cabera’s office. Retrofitting the building would take until the middle of next academic year. The school would have to remain on BCC’s campus until then – something the college has been willing to consider but which the DOE has not, Cabrera said.
Almost 80 percent of students at University Heights are from the community and walk to school. Many feel the building on 179th Street is a better option than moving the school to Morrisania, which is almost an hour away by public transport. They shared the councilman’s frustration with how the DOE has handled the move. “The students feel the DOE has not listened to anything we have had to say,” said Maria Ruiz, a student.
Cabrera scheduled Monday’s press conference following discussions last week with the DOE, during which it became clear that the Department wasn’t interested in revisiting the move, his office said. The city made its final decision almost a month ago. At the time, the DOE said it would look at alternatives if they came up.
Cabrera said he intends to keep putting pressure on the Department. “We are going to continue to negotiate… and let them know that now is the time to step in,” he said. “We are running out of time to solve this.”
The DOE did not return calls seeking comment.
Related articles:
City Approves School’s Move to the South Bronx High School campus
Protests Continue Over H.S.’s Relocation; School’s Fate May Be Decided at March Meeting
Local High School Could Move to the South Bronx
Opinion: BCC Must Rethink Decision to Evict High School
School Community and Local Politicians Criticize Plans to Relocate High School
BCC to Expel University Heights Secondary School
City Approves Local High School’s Move to the South Bronx; Students Slam the Decision, Vow to Fight On
April 3, 2010
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL WILL HAVE TO LEAVE ITS CURRENT BUILDING (PICTURED) AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR (FILE PHOTO BY REBECCA THOMAS)
By JAMES FERGUSSON
The city’s Panel for Educational Policy has voted to approve the Department of Education’s recommendation that University Heights Secondary School’s move to the South Bronx High School in Morrisania.
The school has to relinquish its current building on Bronx Community College’s campus at end the school year because the college needs the extra classroom space.
Many students and teachers are furious with the DOE for not doing more to stop the eviction, and for then suggesting a move to the South Bronx.
Nine Panel board members voted in favor of the relocation at a meeting in Staten Island on March 23, and only two against, according to Margie Feinberg, a Department of Education spokesperson.
The Panel’s decision is final, unless the DOE decides to revoke it (which happens very rarely), or BCC announces it doesn’t need the building after all.
Despite this, students have vowed to fight on. And they have taken heart from the New York State Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn 19 school closures ordered by the DOE.
“University Heights High School students, we don’t give up,” said Astrid Barreras, 17, a senior. “We know what the Department of Education is doing is an injustice.”
Astrid and more than 200 of her peers made the trip to Staten Island that night to state their case: namely, that it makes no sense breaking up a high-performing school, and that South Bronx High School is miles from most students’ homes.
But they failed to convince the Panel. “We could tell they came to Staten Island with their mind set,” Astrid said.
If the school has to move, students would rather see it take over an empty four-story building on Jerome Avenue at East 179th Street, which is just seven or eight blocks from BCC.
This is the location favored by Councilman Fernando Cabrera, and, perhaps not surprisingly, the developer, Frank DeLeonardis, who has been looking for a tenant.
DeLeonardis says his 56,000 square-foot building would be perfect for a school because it’s close to public transportation, and is “unfinished” inside, which would allow the DOE to customize it, at a cost of approximately $5.6 million. He’d charge the department $2 million a year in rent – a reasonable price, he said.
Greg Faulkner, Fernando Cabrera’s chief-of-staff, said DeLeonardis’ building is a “viable alternative,” but that the DOE hasn’t been responsive.
“Every time we solve a problem they create another challenge,” Faulkner added. The building is on the DOE’s radar screen, but now they’re saying they don’t do mid-year moves, Faulkner said. (DeLeonardis’ building wouldn’t be ready for students until early 2011.)
“Here we have a successful high school, that does very well, and we can’t find a way to keep it intact… in the community,” said Faulkner.
INSTEAD OF MOVING TO THE SOUTH BRONX, STUDENTS WOULD RATHER THE SCHOOL RELOCATE TO THIS BUILDING ON EAST 179TH STREET AT JEROME AVENUE (PHOTO: J. FERGUSSON)
Department of Education officials also say money is an issue; there are no capital funds for new high school capacity in Education District 10, in which the Jerome Avenue building sits. (At present, the DOE doesn’t pay rent for the building on BCC’s campus, according to college spokesman, Bryant Mason.)
So it is over? Is the local area going to lose its only high school?
In a statement emailed to the Monitor, DOE spokesman Danny Kanner hinted that the agency was still keeping its options open. He wrote, in part: “We will work with Councilmember Cabrera to review alternatives that come up, but first and foremost we must make sure every student at University Heights has a seat in September.”
Beyond that, the DOE made no commitments, and wouldn’t discuss the Jerome Avenue building with a reporter.
As Faulkner sees it, if BCC would allow the school to remain on its campus until January 2011, the school could then take over the Jerome Avenue building – providing the DOE okayed a mid-year move.
“We’re going to try to resolve this,” Faulkner said. “We’re going to get all the parties in one room.”
Related articles:
Protests Continue Over H.S.’s Relocation; School’s Fate May Be Decided at March Meeting
Local High School Could Move to the South Bronx
Opinion: BCC Must Rethink Decision to Evict High School
School Community and Local Politicians Criticize Plans to Relocate High School
BCC to Expel University Heights Secondary School
Protests Continue Over H.S.’s Relocation; School’s Fate May Be Decided at March Meeting
March 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS PROTESTING BRONX COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S DECISION (PHOTO: R. THOMAS)
By REBECCA THOMAS
Undeterred by the gathering blizzard, more than 40 University Heights Secondary School students rallied on Thursday, Feb. 25 to protest their school’s planned transfer from the Bronx Community College campus.
The students held signs and chanted, “BCC don’t move me,” during the hour-long demonstration on the sidewalk opposite the University Avenue entrance to BCC.
Thursday’s protest was the most recent organized by the students since they learned in December that the college wants the school’s building back at the end of the school year, so it can use the additional classroom space.
The Department of Education has proposed a new site for the school on the South Bronx High School Campus, which currently houses three other schools – a solution both students and teachers find unsatisfactory.
“I don’t want to go,” said 11th grader Maria Candelier. “It’s a bad area. I feel safe here and not there.” Many students echoed her fear that the new campus is in a dangerous neighborhood. They also said sharing it with other schools would destroy the community spirit of UHSS.
The proposed site is also far from where many UHSS students live. It’s in the southeast Bronx on Saint Ann’s Avenue near East 156th Street, several miles from the college.
“Most of the kids live in my district,” said local Assemblyman Nelson Castro in a phone interview. “That means they have to take public transport to get to the new school.” Castro added that he thought there were other sites closer to the current campus that could be retrofitted to house the school in its own building.
One of these sites has been suggested to the DOE by Councilman Cabrera. It is an empty, recently constructed, building on East 179th Street on the corner of Jerome Avenue. The DOE has said it will consider the location, according to Cabrera’s office.
“He’s [Cabrera] very passionate about putting on pressure to get the DOE to use a viable site,” said Zellnor Myrie, Cabrera’s press director.
In addition to petitioning for the support of elected representatives, the students have planned further protests, including one on March 4, as the Mount Hope Monitor went to press.
They will also be there in force at the DOE’s public hearings on March 9 and March 11. The meetings will be held on the BCC campus and the South Bronx High School campus respectively. Beforehand, students plan to write letters to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein criticizing the move. The final decision on whether the school will relocate to the South Bronx will be made by the Panel for Educational Policy on March 23. (The meeting has been rescheduled from the 22nd.)
While UHSS students are determined to see the school stay where it, not everyone is behind them. Andisha Steele, a 19-year-old BCC student who passed the protest on her way home, talked about the effect overcrowding was having on her college. She believes a new home should be found for the school.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that students are fighting for their school,” Steele said. “At the same time, I think they should be fighting for a space of their own, instead of a small piece of someone else’s.”
Related articles:
Local High School Could Move to the South Bronx
Opinion: BCC Must Rethink Decision to Evict High School
School Community and Local Politicians Criticize Plans to Relocate High School
BCC to Expel University Heights Secondary School
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