Tineisha L. Sulker: No One Wants To Leave: Overcrowded New York Schools

TALLAHASSEE, FL. – Have you ever heard of a school where no one wants to leave? Well that is the case with Public School 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Education Department in New York is planning to down size the zone in which P.S. 321 falls because the school has become overcrowded. That means if students don’t fall into the new zoning plan they will have to relocate. The new plan could be decided on in the next few weeks and if approved it will be effective for the next school year.

“Parents want their child to go there because it has a good reputation,” said Maxine Robinson, a teacher at Trey Whitfield private school in Brooklyn, New York. “The parents feel that it’s unfair, but unfortunately that’s how the system works.”

Over Crowded New York Classroom, Class Size Matters.org

The Education Department’s plan is to build another school so the overcrowding won’t have to be an issue. But, some parents initially moved to the area just so their child would be in the zone for this particular school.

“They’re safe,” said Leslie Uretsky, a parent of two students who are being zoned out of P.S. 321. “My daughters would be an experiment.”

The regulation in New York was that if a student had already been enrolled into a certain school they can remain there until they graduate. This rule still applied if the student moved out of the school zone after they enrolled. That rule will no longer stand if the plan goes through.

“Switching schools disrupts education,” said Carrie Marlin, a planning official at the Education Department. “We think all students deserve continuity.”

Some parents, who live in the zone, blame the over-population of students on those parents that move into the area long enough to enroll their child, then leave. Although that may have been the case for some parents, it’s not for all.

“It was not our intention to zip in and zip out,” said Stefan Fredrick, who moved from an apartment near Park Slope to another apartment in the zone, so their daughter could attend P.S. 321. “It cost a fortune,” he said, “and to spend that and having mice running around wasn’t great.”

Elizabeth Phillips, the principal of the school said that some parents lie about their addresses to get their child in, but the school does its best to weed those parents out. While that alone won’t solve the issue of over-population, it’s still a step that has to be taken. After all, some people just can’t afford to stay in the area where the great schools are.

“You can’t really fault a parent for trying to get their kid the best situation they can,” said Katie Keating a P.S. 321 parent.