PS 14, Staten Island: Asked for help, resources

Bruce CotlerStudents spell out their message for the borough president and the Department of Education. Bruce CotlerRandi Leibson of PS 16 is out in support of PS 14. In its “fact sheet” explaining why it recommends closing Staten Island’s PS 14, the Department of Education explained that an extensive review of the data and community feedback led it to conclude that the school “does not have the capacity to improve quickly.”

Parents and staff say that’s untrue and that their school is being victimized for political reasons. The Stapleton community school, on the island’s racially diverse North Shore, received a D on its most recent School Progress Report, a C the previous year and an A two years ago.

That it has received only one D has people in the community suspicious as to why it is marked for closing.

“I think it’s because we’re in a black community,” said Tonia Paul, the mother of a 1st-grader.

Georgene Simmons, whose child attends 4th grade at PS 14, added, “Stapleton is more an urban part of Staten Island, rather than the suburban part. That’s why they’re making this school an example.”

Chapter Leader Harold Williams said lack of support is the biggest reason why the school has slumped.

“If the department gave us the help and resources we needed and repeatedly asked for, we’d still be scoring an A,” said Williams, who noted that the school’s budget had dropped by $400,000 over three years.

The school has 8.1 percent English language learners and 15.4 percent special education students, including 5.5 percent in self-contained classrooms.

Williams said the DOE’s announcement did not come entirely out of the blue. “I knew something was suspicious this summer when repair crews showed up,” he said. “We got a new roof, air conditioning and other improvements. It seemed too good to be true.”

At a feisty and well-attended demonstration in front of Staten Island Borough Hall on Dec. 9, parents, students and teachers chanted “fix it, don’t close it” as they urged Borough President James Molinaro to accept the recommendation of a delegation from PS 14 delivering more than 1,000 messages of support for the school. Molinaro had earlier told the press that he supported the closing.

Parents’ Association President Iris Perez, who has two children at the school, told rally-goers, “All we are asking for is what we deserve: support for our community school.”

Added City Councilwoman Debi Rose: “It was the DOE that failed, not the teachers, administrators or students at PS 14.”

— Michael Hirsch