We Need School Improvements, Not Just School Closures
by Reina Foster
Reina Foster is a parent of three students at PS 332 in Brownsville, Brooklyn and one student at W.H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School in East New York, Brooklyn. She is a member of New York Communities for Change.
I have the unique and unfortunate experience of having children in two schools that the Department of Education tried to shut down last year. These schools are in Brownsville and East New York, two of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the United States. The percentage of students living below the poverty line would rival any of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. Although this might seem like a coincidence, I do not believe that it is an accident. The DOE is targeting low-income neighborhoods for their experimental programs and shutting down our neighborhood schools in their so-called “reform” efforts.
Last year, hundreds of parents rallied at PS 332 and at Maxwell to stop their shutdowns. A lawsuit was filed, and the schools were kept open. This was the perfect opportunity for the DOE to step in and say: “We are going to