To: Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mayor, New York City and Carmen Farina, Chancellor, Department of Education, NYC
Mayor de Blasio: REPLACE OUR CHILDREN'S SPACE!
We, the community of PS 24 in the Bronx, demand that the NYC DOE replace the loss of the our entire 5th Grade's classrooms, at the Whitehall Annex space, with a community space-leasing option located in close proximity to PS 24.
Why is this important?
Due to lack of planning and ineffective negotiation by New York City's Department of Education (DOE) we have lost our 5th Grade's classrooms at the Whitehall Annex!
Our Bronx elementary school, PS 24, is already filled beyond its legal capacity, yet the DOE is attempting to make up for its planning debacle by bringing the 5th grade back into the main building.
Our student population has increased by 36.3% over the past seven years, from 769 students in 2008 to 1048 students in 2015. The PS 24 main building is built to accommodate 610 students. This is a major safety issue. The current overcrowding is detrimental to our children and shows little consideration for the teachers in our school. Overcrowding and lack of planning has already caused the loss of the school library and classrooms specialized for music, science and Spanish. We could lose the art room next year. Indoor recess space is extremely limited. There is simply no room for additional classrooms in the main building.
We petition the NYC DOE to seek space equivalent to the Annex to lease as soon as possible and to not attempt to build additional classrooms within the already overcrowded space of the PS 24 main building.
Our Bronx elementary school, PS 24, is already filled beyond its legal capacity, yet the DOE is attempting to make up for its planning debacle by bringing the 5th grade back into the main building.
Our student population has increased by 36.3% over the past seven years, from 769 students in 2008 to 1048 students in 2015. The PS 24 main building is built to accommodate 610 students. This is a major safety issue. The current overcrowding is detrimental to our children and shows little consideration for the teachers in our school. Overcrowding and lack of planning has already caused the loss of the school library and classrooms specialized for music, science and Spanish. We could lose the art room next year. Indoor recess space is extremely limited. There is simply no room for additional classrooms in the main building.
We petition the NYC DOE to seek space equivalent to the Annex to lease as soon as possible and to not attempt to build additional classrooms within the already overcrowded space of the PS 24 main building.