Marine Park JHS Victorious In Latest DOE Battle

Parents, teachers and the Marine Park community are victorious in their latest battle with the Department of Education.  They won their fight against placing the New American Academy, a K-5 public school, in the same building as Marine Park Junior High School (I.S. 278) for the next school year.

Councilman Lew Fidler has confirmed rumors first published on GerritsenBeach.net that the persistence of parents and the community, including strong letters from the local elected, had convinced Chancellor Black to pull the idea.

It makes the score three-to-zero in favor of Marine Park Junior High School (1925 Stuart Street) administrators, who have already fought off an attempt to put a high school and a Hebrew-language charter school in the building.

After some praise for new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, who also reversed course on the planned closure of P.S. 114 in Canarsie, Fidler said he is hoping the DOE’s recent goodwill will soon extend to Marine Park J.H.S.’s attempts to open a NEST program for autistic children. The program is already operating in District 22 elementary schools only, and middle school-aged children must travel across the borough.