May.29.2009
5:12 pm
by admin
Breaking: HLA to Go Away! Will Not Be In I.S. 278
Sources tell GerritsenBeach.net that the Hebrew Language Academy has agreed NOT to use IS 278 as their temporary location. Details are still coming in, but sources claim that our own State Senator Marty Golden played “a significant role” in the negotiations with HLA, who are reportedly looking for an alternate location, possibly in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Brooklyn. Phone lines are lighting up all over Brooklyn, including mine! More news to come!
Filed in Uncategorized | 28 responses so far
Had to thank you again for the tremendous role you played in the community’s success. I hope we’ll use this resource to work together and decide where we want to go from here.
I think you all did a great thing for this community. Let’s not stop here! We need to continue to unite. Keep Marine Park strong, along with our MIddle School. Let’s take out school back by sending all of our kids there so that there is NO room for a charter school or anything else! It is a great school, with good teachers many live in our own backyards. Let’s entrust our kids to them. It takes a village.
I’m with you, Joan.
I can’t say it loud enough how happy I am that we stood together and were victorious. I think we need to continue to fight for our schools especially with the up and coming budget cuts to our educational system.
I am curious however what was it that made HLA GO AWAY.
This is amazing. I am so happy for your neighborhood. My name is Elva Croston and I am a concerned parent with a child who attends PS 160 in Co-op City in the Bronx. The DOE has already “approved” a middle school/high school charter to be housed in this “tiny” elementary school. Although, some parents are divided on this issue, the majority of parents are saying “NO”. We had a march today to oppose this which can be seen on Bronx news 12. Another hearing is set for June due to a techinicallity on the charters originally application. Apparently, the charter was already approved and set to open in District 12 but then the DOE decided to place them in District 11 without notifing the community first. The biggest mistake we made as a community is listening to those who think this is a good idea. The DOE is standing their ground to open the charter in September. But guesss what…. so will the parents of PS 160!
Anonymous,
Their lawyer wrote saying that “HLA wants to be good neighbors” Pls. keep in mind that the DOE did NOT make this decision — the HLA on their own, after hearing the collective “us”, including the community and our politicians, made this decision!
Good Luck to your community! The DoE does not seem interested in our communities. We had help from our local politicians as well. Get everyone involved. It is NOT a good idea to have elementary students with older students unless the culture of the school is one of growth from the younger grades to the older.
HLA withdrew the petition…What does the DoE have in store for our neighborhood…
Where is the HLA going exactly? Still in D22?
I wish you the best of luck in your fight to reclaim your school. We were lucky in that the charter withdrew their application voluntarily. I doubt we would have had as much success against the DOE. Have your parents, friends, neighbors and everyone you know bombard 311. Hit the streets with your petition (everyone should carry identical petitions and ask everyone to please only sign once. You want everything completely above board) and notify every media outlet you can think of. Local blogs like this one are invaluable for rallying large numbers of interested supporters. Write to every elected official and stop in at the mayor’s campaign office. Could you find a lawyer to look over the charter pro bono? If there are irregularities, maybe you could hold them up.
I hope the outcome will be successful for you. What a shame that instead of parking charter schools all over the city, the DOE doesn’t use those resources for the benefit of all of our children!
Joan, I believe that HLA is being housed privately so no DOE properties will be affected.
On behalf of all the staff that feared for our jobs if the charter school moved in and pushed us out, THANK YOU!!!! Our opinions were silenced by the DOE and to some extent, the union. Many of us were afraid to express what we truly felt for fear of losing our jobs. The meeting on Tuesday was an amazing experience. Most of us really felt the support for the hard work we do to care and educate ALL students. Thank you again for supporting us as we educate and enrich the students we serve at IS 278.
Thank you to the parents and students who worked so hard to help the staff at IS278 fight this battle. Even though we had to remain silent at that meeting, we supported you 100%. I had tears in by eyes when my kids marched into that auditorium with their signs. What better way to teach about Democracy in action. I am so glad that their first battle was successful. It showed these children that when your cause is just, you have a responsibility to fight for it! Congratulations!
Huzzah! This is the greatest victory since VE Day!!!!
They had the sh*t scared out of them last Tuesday and realized how dangerous it would be to accept the DOE’s offer.
HLA never asked for 278. This was all the DOE’s fault.
Sara Berman is a lovely lady with five adorable kids, a wonderful mother, and a not-so-wonderful father. I’m sorry that she was booed by the folks who came out to protest, but such is life in Brooklyn and elsewhere in the Big Apple. In any event, they weren’t booing her, but some other Steinhardt by proxy.
The idea of housing this school in IS 278 was a bad one from the get go, but even worse than a charter school specializing in Hebrew instruction, which I suspect was a quid pro quo from Mayor for Life Mike to the other Mike because the latter pushed for Bloomberg as president, was the idea of ramming it down peoples’ throats. Thanks to the overwhelming response from the community, the Hebrew Language Academy, which would be a good idea if it were done under a voucher program thereby avoiding establishment clause issues, will not usurp space from a DOE school, even if said school were presently underutilized.
Mayor for Life Mike should heed this protest, as it shows his support isn’t as overwhelming on the streets as it is in the suites. This goes for other Bloomberg non-starters as building a football stadium near the Lincoln Tunnel, his tax on folks outside Manhattan driving into the boro (enthusiastically supported by the NY Times), his tolls on the currently non-tolled bridges on the East and Harlem Rivers, and last, the totally verruckt idea of closing Broadway to traffic in the Times Square and Herald Square areas.
Perhaps Mayor Mike won’t be Mayor for Life Mike after all.
“Perhaps Mayor Mike won’t be Mayor for Life Mike after all.’
From your mouth…
It’s a done deal, they’re gone and they’re not coming back, so it’s not really important any more.
However, let’s be clear that however silly HLA’s idea may be, there are no Establishment Clause issues because the school will focus only on language and culture, not religion. It would not have had its charter approved by the State otherwise. However much pull Steinhardt might have with Bloomberg, it’s unlikely he can manipulate the Board of Regents.
As for Bloomberg, I haven’t seen any evidence that he has been involved in this particular charter school in any significant way. He supports charters and the DOE attempting to foist HLA on the community without its consent is emblematic of the excesses of mayoral control, but there are conspiracies and there are conspiracies.
Of course, it’s questionable just how much this school was being “rammed down anyone’s throats.” Under the present system, the DOE has complete authority over the facilities of the public schools in the City, but in all decisions of facility usage they are required to hold a public hearing. HLA would not have been put into 278 without a public hearing and in this case the DOE actually listened to the public — unlike the MTA. So, rather than a victory AGAINST the system, this can be seen alternatively as the system working.
The DOE did not listen to the public- HLA withdrew voluntarily. If it were up to the DOE, this would have been a slam dunk. I’m convinced that it really was a done deal until Sara Berman wisely changed course.
The issue of religion and HLA was never really addressed because we did not want that to become the focus of this conflict though, in my opinion, it is impossible to focus on the culture of the Hebrew language without referring to the Jewish faith and Ms. Berman has said as much in interviews. I can guarantee that my child will never sing “Silent Night” in a public school, culture notwithstanding. I’m not so sure about “O Chanukah, O Chanukah” at HLA.
My mother told me this story about when I was in kindergarten, which was several years ago:
The kids were led in singing “Silent Night.” All the kids complied, except this one little wiseguy, who sang “O Chanukah, O Chanukah…”
The little wiseguy was immediately carted off to the principal’s office. The principal, who was Jewish, patted him on the head and asked him to sing “I had a Little Dreidel.”
That aside, I can’t figure out how one can teach the Jewish holidays without at least some religious indoctrination. When the teacher asks little Joshie who parted the Red Sea, is little Joshie gonna answer, “Michael Steinhardt?”
I heard that the potato chip place (Herr’s) on Quentin and 36th has been sold and will become a Yeshiva. Maybe all those parents looking to enrich their kid’s lives with the Jewish/Israeli culture/language can send their kids there…….
Though it is true that Herr’s has been sold. I have spoken to individuals @ Herr’s and they themselves are not 100% sure that a Yeshiva will be placed there. I was told that they heard that the possibility of a Girls Yeshiva is likely but not confirmed. I have also heard that a Mikvah will be opening on East 36th Street and Avenue S. I want everyone in the community that are concerned to be advised that “everyone has a right under the First Ammendment of the Constitution to freedom of speech and religious practice”. This Ammendment was written for everyone. With this in mind, let us open our hearts & minds and be respectful of everyone’s religious choices, whether they are Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Lutheran, Korean Prebstbyterian or Scientology. What we practice in Churchs, Synogogues or Mosques should only influence everyone positive manner, let’s accept and respect everyone as you, yourself expect to be respected. The HLA defeat was not an anti-semitic victory. It was a defeat against the Department of Education. It was against any Charter School in District 22. Whether it is a Muslim, Hebrew, Italian, Gaelic, Russian, Hunan Charter School, it is the Charter School that is not welcome in District 22. I respect the decision of Sara Berman to withdraw it’s application from placing the HLA Charter School in IS 278. I am sure her decision was made after considering the atmosphere the incoming children would have been subjected to. I know everyone is gloating about this victory. I would like to say Thank You Sara for hearing what our community had to say and respecting our wishes.
The Mikvah on East 36th Street is old news and the Herr’s real estate deal is new news. You really don’t have to get up on your soap box and speak about First Amendment Rights.
And what checks or balances would we have against the HLA if they turned around and did whatever they pleased? What defense does the public have against charter schools? If we cannot get our own Department of Education of listen to the voice of the people then how would we expect anything more form a charter school?
I have attended every meeting regarding the HLA and their proposal regarding the curriculum was vauge at best. The fact is they could around and teach whatever they wished once they were established and we would have recourse but to wait five years forthem to revalidate their charter.
Please read this article Sara Berman was not fond of our community… She did not get it!
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a15985/News/New_York.html
I also read an article where she states the importance of being Jewish and how she wants to help nomads become more religious. She has one goal and one goal only….to teach religion!
Fear of any of our orthodox Jewish neighbors sending their children to the HL charter school, are unwarranted. These Orthodox Jews send their kids to private schools, not to public schools. None of these orthodox Jews were likely to have sent their kids to this school. Most likely, it would be a wide assortment of non-orthodox neighborhood kids.
Since this never had anything to do with the whether or not the kids were Jewish, this is irrelevant. That “wideassortment of non-Orthodox neighborhood kids” should attend the excellent local schools and take the federal funds attached to them with them.
why is Brooklyn becoming little Israel? Open your eyes people they are taking over this seciton of Brooklyn and they will force you out
And how will “they” “force” people to leave?