Pols support closing John F. Kennedy HS

Local politicians are weighing in on the Department of Education’s proposal to phase out John F. Kennedy High School and are in favor of getting rid of what they say is a troubled school that has not responded to repeated attempts at intervention.

On Dec. 16 then Assemblyman, now state Sen. Adriano Espaillat’s office called a meeting with officials to discuss the proposal to close JFK and replace it with two new schools by 2014. Eleanor Edelstein, education specialist from Councilman Oliver Koppell’s office attended the meeting. 

“There was general agreement that it was desirable for the school to close in view of the record of failure,” she said. 

In a letter dated Jan. 6 and addressed to Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, Mr. Koppell, Mr. Espaillat, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Councilman Robert Jackson urged the DOE to support the students already at Kennedy and involve the community in the phase out decision-making process.

“We expect you to take every possible step in soliciting input and feedback from parents and community members, and to publicize all public meetings as broadly as possible,” the letter read, in part. 

When the proposal to phase out Kennedy was announced in December, the DOE held a meeting to discuss the proposal with parents. Members of the Parent Teacher Association complained that it was sparsely attended because many could not make it with only two days’ notice.

The letter politicians sent said the schools that replace Kennedy should “go above and beyond expectations of the ‘average’ high school.” It suggested that the DOE put in a high school that goes beyond 12th grade and includes a junior college, which will help make the leap from high school to higher education easier.

Part of the vision Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted at the NBC Education Nation Summit in September 2010 is for schools to go beyond 12th grade to create partnerships with businesses, universities and other institutes to “link students to careers and college,” according to the mayor’s website.