Susan S. McKinney Secondary School Anticipates Co-location in Annual Spring Fest

https://vimeo.com/67573029

By Millie Smith and Bobbi Misick

With every close of the school year at Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Performing Arts in Fort Greene, students, faculty and parents celebrate the hard work and practice in its Spring Fest, a student talent showcase held on May 22. But unlike years past, this was the last Spring Fest before Success Academy, the charter school franchise founded by former city Council Member Eva Moskowitz, moves into McKinney’s building.

With this move, McKinney will be the latest city school to be co-located with Success Academy. Beginning this fall, the charter school will start the move into McKinney’s third floor, the floor that contains the dance, art and theater studio space. By the 2014-2015 school year, McKinney students, parents and faculty expect Success Academy to move into all of the studio space on the floor. It’s a move that educators at McKinney fear, with the reduced amount of practice space, will lead to program cuts. One of the most endangered programs is the Superior Sound marching band and its drumline, a local favorite at Spring Fest.