Parents, Teachers, And Community Leaders Envision New Middle School On Atlantic Yards Site

BY MEGAN MCGIBNEY

The need for a middle school in Prospect Heights serving the entire School District 13 community is so great, say parents and educators, that the city’s plan for a combination K-8 elementary-middle school on the Atlantic Yards site at Dean Street and Sixth Avenue is not enough.

That is why several local parent-teacher organizations (PTO) have teamed up with civic groups and elected officials to form “M.S. OneBrooklyn,” a grassroots community coalition designed to pressure the city Department of Education and developer Greenland Forest City Partners to change the plan — into one that calls for a stand-alone, dedicated public middle school, to be open by September 2018.

“M.S. OneBrooklyn is a vision school for district 13,” says Gib Veconi, the chair of Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council. “It will be accessible for all students in district 13, and it will concentrate on three academic areas: arts and culture, STEM, and dual language. The intention is to have arts and technology to leverage with Brooklyn’s art and technology community, and bring it to the students.”

The group is also circulating a petition to pressure Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYCDOE to take the MS OneBrooklyn community’s vision seriously.

The idea and proposal for M.S. OneBrooklyn was born at P.S.9’s PTO out of a need to address the overcrowding and sustainability of the growing communities of Prospect Heights, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

“This is not the one answer to the problems,” admitted Assemblymember Walter Mosley. “But by doing nothing, we’re not solving the problems.”

With the growing need for more schools in an ever-growing borough, M.S. OneBrooklyn would provide many families in Fort Greene with a middle school once their children reach that level.

Cynthia McKnight, co-president of the P.S. 11 PTA in Clinton Hill, stated that “our children deserve the opportunity to continue their first-rate elementary school education, which includes arts enrichment and real-world application of their math and science learning. The M.S. OneBrooklyn vision offers that, in a middle school community that prioritizes diversity, safety, strong relationships and the important social and emotional needs of young adolescents.”

This is something Mosley is also familiar with. His son is a third grader in District 13 and his parents are already wondering about where to send him to middle school.

“For us, it just gives us another option, so we don’t have to send our child to Greenpoint or Coney Island,” Mosley explains. “We should have viable middle schools right here in the neighborhood to create continuity, safety and concern as well as the ability to come back and forth freely without worry about how am I going to get my child from point A to point B. This is just one of many issues and concerns that we’re addressing, and it’s the first step.”

Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo agrees the need for a middle school is important for the area, and M.S. OneBrooklyn’s location at Atlantic Yards may be suitable for Brooklyn’s future generations.

“I think the need for a middle school has been more pronounced than any other conversation I had heard from educators,” Cumbo said. “We’re at a place in history where people want as many choices as possible. It’s not only capacity, it’s also about selection of choice to find a school that’s more tailor made for your child’s interest.”

Cumbo points out that the school’s future location in Atlantic Yards offers many opportunities in Brooklyn’s most viable industries: arts, technology and hospitality.

“These are areas that are booming so it is important that we create schools that allow transition into these industries.”