Let’s talk about schools

A survey

Posted

Update: The survey will run through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21.

Come Nov. 1, the Spuyten Duyvil School (P.S. 24) will have been without a permanent principal for one year. Overcrowding problems have besieged the school for much longer. With more than 1,000 students, P.S. 24 now serves twice the number of children it had been designed to accommodate. 

Overcrowding is not uniquely inherent to P.S. 24. It is a widespread problem that affects scores of schools in the northwest Bronx and the city. A school that shows better academic performance than its neighbors becomes a top academic choice for an increasing number of families, who want the best possible education for their children. Education officials try to accommodate the parents’ wishes when they can. But each school’s space and faculty resources are limited, and having more children in a classroom means less space and less attention from the teacher for each child. When overcrowding rises, academic performance tends to fall. 

P.S. 24, once a leading school in the city, is now academically lagging behind what the Education Department terms its “comparison group” - students with similar economic backgrounds and incoming scores. It still, however, performs better than many nearby schools – making it remain a top choice for many families. 

The school is also at the center of a fierce legal and political dispute. P.S. 24 assistant principal Manny Verdi accuses education officials and local politicians such as Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz of trying to block minority children from enrolling at the Riverdalian school. Dinowitz and his allies maintain they were merely trying to uphold school zoning rules and prevent large numbers of out-of-zone students from flocking to the already overcrowded school. 

The dispute has already cost at least three people their jobs. Former principal Donna Connelly resigned on Nov. 1, 2015 amid a series of controversies, acting principal Andrea Feldman was demoted last week to assistant principal, and an Education Department official, Melodie Mashel, resigned as District 10 superintendent on Sept. 14 and retired on Oct. 1 this year. 

Worst of all, none of the children – the young people whom schools are intended to serve – benefit from functionaries’ squabbles, legal disputes, overcrowding and the lack of a permanent principal. 

This is far from a fortunate situation. 

Typically, The Riverdale Press uses its editorial-page column, such as this, to advocate or dispute a point of view and to present the newspaper’s opinion. But this week, The Press would like to offer a platform for our readers to share their views on the situation around P.S. 24 – and to learn the opinions of others in the community. 

Please take a few moments to answer our brief survey about the problems around P.S. 24. The Press also, as always, welcomes letters from readers on this and other topics. We will publish the results of the survey to let you know opinions in the community in one of our upcoming issues. 

To complete the survey, please go to: www.surveymonkey.com/r/PG8YHLQ

PS 24, Jeff Dinowitz, Manny Verdi, Donna Connelly, Andrea Feldman, Melodie Mashel, DOE, survey

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