Learning to Listen: Why the City Shouldn't Give up on P.S. 114

De Blasio Report Exposes Flaws in DOE Decision to Close P.S. 114 and Proposes 4 Steps to Turn the School Around

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Matt Wing (212) 669-4193, (917) 601-1572

NEW YORK – Public Advocate Bill de Blasio today released a report exposing flaws in the Department of Education’s decision to close P.S. 114 and proposing four steps to help turn the school around. The report, Learning to Listen: Why the City Shouldn’t Give up on P.S. 114 comes three days before the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) is scheduled to vote on P.S. 114’s closure, after postponing an earlier vote on its closure last month. The full report is available for download online at: http://advocate.nyc.gov/files/PS114_report.pdf or http://www.scribd.com/doc/49550496.

“P.S. 114’s parents and teachers are committed to giving their school a future; after six years of apathy, it’s time for the Department of Education to show the same dedication,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “My report outlines holes in the rationale for closing P.S. 114 and proposes steps that could help fix the school. I urge the Department and the Panel for Educational Policy to consider that the best way to serve P.S. 114’s students and parents is to help turn this school around, instead of shutting it down.”

“To provide our children with the world-class education they deserve, our first priority should be improving schools, not closing them. Closing P.S. 114 while there are strong concerns over the DOE’s grading system and when parents have not been adequately engaged falls short of the obligation we owe to our children. I commend Public Advocate Bill de Blasio for his thoughtful report and endorse his four point plan for saving P.S. 114, instead of closing it,” said Senate Democratic Leader John L. Sampson

The Public Advocate’s report analyzes the DOE’s justification for closing the school and reveals the following problems. Specifically the DOE:

• Ignored parent and community complaints for 4 years;
• Ignored the school’s history of positive Progress Report grades;
• Focused their performance evaluation solely on a year when many schools suffered from grade deflation because of outside factors;
• Ignored parents’ high level of satisfaction with P.S. 114’s education reported in School Surveys; and
• Disregarded the fact that the New York State Education Department declared P.S. 114 to be ‘In Good Standing’ in the most recent school year.

In addition, the Public Advocate made the following recommendation on steps the DOE could take to improve P.S. 114, instead of shutting it down. Specifically the DOE could:

• Forgive P.S. 114’s debt
• Recruit a new P.S. 114 Principal with experience in improving school performance
• Work to improve school safety at P.S. 114
• Provide P.S. 114 teachers with targeted professional development