(2007-04-15) Voice Closing Large City Schools

Jessica Siegel of the Village Voice on the closing of many New York City large Public School-s to replace them with Small School-s. One clear issue is the reduction in spaces when the new schools take over the old building. When the city's plan is complete, Tilden's building will be home to four schools with 500 kids apiece. You end up with some 700 "leftovers," not including the students who've fallen off the official timetable for graduation and would otherwise stay at Tilden. Where are all these kids going to go? The answer for many leftovers has been to cram into the surrounding big high schools. Some schools that once had 2,500 or 3,000 students are now at 4,000 or even 5,000. In Brooklyn, parents at prized big schools like Midwood, Fort Hamilton, Edward R. Murrow, and James Madison have complained about the "dumping" of kids. Dorothy Giglio's son goes to James Madison - capacity: 2,500. Today, he's one of 4,300 students served in four split sessions.