THe CEC 15 and Department of Education held a community meeting on May 11 to present the final research outcome of the PAR team and a proposed rezoning plan for the rezoning of 7 elementary schools in District 15. Soon the superintendent will officially submit a rezoning plan to the CEC which then has 45 days to vote on it. The CEC hopes to vote on this rezoning before the end of their term by end of June. This rezoning will affect Kindergarten & Pre-K admissions for school year 2022/23.
The PAR team recommends a “hybrid” model to continue using school zones close to home and shift the zone lines for more equitable enrollment. They also recommend access to all schools for NYCHA residents, English Language Learners, low-income students and students living in temporary housing.
PS 676 Red Hook Neighborhood School will be turned into a middle school. Beginning 22/23 school year a middle school grade will be added every year for the new middle school with maritime focus. All residents in Red Hook will have access to PS 15 in Red Hook.
Draft rezoning map and admissions plan
The colorful boxes are existing school zones, the thick black lines are the new proposed zone lines. 30% of seats at each school will be prioritized for low income students and English Language Learners. In this new map the zone sizes of PS 29 and PS 58 will be decreased to the extent that the diversity admissions plan will work for those schools. The school zones of PS 15, PS 32 and PS 38 will be increased.
Who will be impacted by this rezoning
Background
The Department of Education has been partnering with CEC 15 and school communities since spring 2019 to develop a collaborative rezoning and admissions plan that aims to increase diversity and integration, reduce overcrowding, and advance equity in District 15. The process was initiated by the opening of the annex at PS 32 in Carroll Gardens that brought over 430 new seats to the Subdistrict and needs to be filled.
This planning has involved seven zoned schools: P.S. 38, P.S. 261, P.S. 32, P.S. 15, P.S. 29, P.S. 58 and P.S. 676 Red Hook Neighborhood School. In response to feedback from community discussions, the DOE committed to further empowering historically underserved communities in this area through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) process.
