The recent news of the DOE’s decision to drop the proposal to move IDP is a victory not only for all four high schools co-located in the campus, but for all public schools in the city.
In my experience as an involved parent, PTA president and previous member of the Community Education Council, I have seen the DOE at many times make decisions on rezoning, co-location, moving and closing schools without the support of the community. I am thrilled that this time we were able to join together, raise our voices and say “NO MORE!”

I appreciate that many of us spent endless hours in our efforts to keep IDP “home.” We have spent valuable time needlessly, much of it parent volunteer time. It is time we would rather have spent bettering our schools and communities. More importantly, I hope the DOE realizes that we don’t want to do it again.
— Robin Klueber President, Frank McCourt High School PTA

Only Adopt
I was pleased with much of Cori Menkin’s story educating readers regarding pet shops and their relationship to commercial breeding facilities known as puppy mills [“Don’t Be Fooled By Deceptive Puppy Mills,” Jan. 17], but I do have one major point of contention: Menkin writes of making adoption the “first option” when looking for a companion animal. I say it should be the first, second, third and only option.

There is no reason to purchase an animal via pet shop, over the Internet or from those whom Menkin labels “responsible breeders.”

For the thousands of animals living and dying every year in shelters and breed-specific rescue groups, I suggest that “responsible breeders” put a temporary halt to their puppy/money-making operations, and, instead, lead all potential customers to the many shelter animals already looking for homes.

Menkin, an ASPCA employee, understandably mentions only the ASPCA facilities, but there are many other shelters and small rescues to visit, including Animal Care & Control at 326 E. 110th St., where you will save a life and a great deal of money.
—  Mickey Kramer, President and founder of Iadoptedmypet.com

Saving the Horses
Many people want to see the horse carriage trade come to an end in NYC, and with the looming mayoral election, now is the time to get serious and support legislation that could make it happen. We started this campaign in 2006, and all online polls done since that time show between 75 and 80 percent of respondents favoring a ban of this trade.

Most people who support a ban just want to see the horses off the street and have not analyzed the electric car bill—Intro 86A. But the money does not exist for these cars. I know, because I have analyzed the bill and the financials behind it. It will cost $4,000,000 the first year to put 23 cars on the road to substitute for 23 horses. The overall cost will be close to $12,000,000. Politicians, who may not realize the funding does not exist, have said that they will leave it up to the tourists to decide which they like better—the cars or a carriage ride. This is not what anyone who supports getting the horses off the street wants. How much longer are politicians going to look the other way and try to shift responsibility for doing the right thing? Are they waiting for a human death to occur as it has in other parts of the country?

Besides, a ban of this business should not be dependent on the success of an untried business.
Continued support for this Emperor’s New Clothes bill is hurting the legislation that actually would make a difference: New York State Senate Bill S667 and Assembly Bill A997, sponsored by Sen. Tony Avella and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, respectively.

These bills are are not glamorous and not surrounded by celebrities but nevertheless have a better chance of passing and becoming law if legislators have the courage to support them.
It is time! Horses do not belong on congested city streets. There have been too many accidents to mention here, and many continue to go unreported.

Please get involved and visit us at www.banhdc.org.
—  Elizabeth Forel, Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

CORRECTION: In last week’s cover story about the Westside Rifle & Pistol Range, the weapon cocked by Howard Kwok’s rifle class was a rifle not a shotgun, as stated.

FAMILY JEWELS TAKEN
A West 83rd Street woman returned to her apartment on Tuesday, Jan. 15, to find her jewelry rifled through and her most valuable items stolen. The thief only took diamonds, gold and some heirloom pieces, leaving all her costume jewelry behind, she reported. Her son slept through the whole incident. They live in a doorman building, and the robbery victim said she has always considered it so safe that she had neglected to lock her door. Not anymore. Later, some neighbors told her that they had seen a suspicious man walking in the halls, and that he had rung some doorbells, only to say he had the wrong apartment when someone answered. They reported the man to the doorman. All in all, the woman says she lost about $4,000 worth of jewelry.

CREDIT CARD CROOK ARRESTED
Last Saturday, officers observed a 31-year-old man purchasing home goods at a furniture store using forged credit cards. Upon being confronted, the perp resisted arrest and tried to throw away the evidence in an attempt to feign innocence. He was arrested nonetheless and charged with grand larceny. His victims live outside New York City, and have been informed of the credit card thefts.

OVER 20 GRAND STOLEN FROM BANK ACCOUNT
An 83-year-old man reported over $22,000 stolen from his bank account recently. The man was in his apartment at West 64th Street when he received a call from his bank citing the suspicious activity. The perpetrator used fake checks, and the victim’s money has not been recovered. The withdrawal could have occurred anytime between Dec. 1 and Jan. 2. No arrests have been made yet.

TAKING THE IVORIES
A Yamaha piano was stolen out of a 28-year-old musician’s apartment on Riverside Drive. The victim traveled to Korea on Jan. 5 and returned on Jan. 10 to find his piano missing. The perpetrator, when found, will be charged with grand larceny.

GUARD ATTACKED AT BRANDEIS
On a recent Wednesday morning, a 19-year-old man attempted to walk through the metal detectors at Brandeis School on West 84th Street. When the security officer told him to wait, the defendant became loud and threatening. The perp then attempted to walk through again, and struck the security officer, a 37-year-old male, in the chest and face. The man was arrested for attempted assault, and his victim was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures.

The small, selective school will eventually serve 432 students when all high school grades are added during the 2013-14 school year. McCourt was best known as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of  Angela’s Ashes, but he also taught for 29 years, mostly at Stuyvesant High School.

As Brandeis is phased out and replaced with smaller schools, the McCourt School will be the selective neighborhood high school that many residents have been clamoring for. Three other schools have already opened on the Brandeis campus this fall: Global Learning Collaborative, focusing on international and multicultural learning; the Urban

Elected officials and community leaders at the official announcement of Frank McCourt High School, on Oct. 6. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Assembly School for Green Careers, which prepares students for the workforce and college; and Innovation Diploma Plus, a transfer school for students who have struggled elsewhere.

The McCourt School will open with a freshman class of 108 and add a grade each year. According to the department, there will be no geographic preference for District 3 students. But advocates hope that its size, focus and curriculum will make it an attractive option for neighborhood students, among others.

Marc Landis is a local Democratic district leader who has been part of the effort to create the school. He described walking past the Brandeis campus with his young daughter and watching her grow excited by the idea of a neighborhood school with a focus on writing.

“It definitely doesn’t have to, and shouldn’t be limited to the Upper West Side,” he said. “But isn’t it every parent’s dream to be able to send their kid to great school a few blocks away?”

When the department announced in February that Brandeis would be phased out, residents and elected officials, led by Council Member Gale Brewer, formed an ad hoc committee supporting the creation of the McCourt School. Members included noted education writer Clara Hemphill and West Side parent Tom Allon, president and CEO of the company that publishes West Side Spirit and a former colleague of McCourt’s at Stuyvesant High School.

“The most exciting part of it is was a group of West Side- and Harlem-based parents who came together. It’s a real ground-up school,” Brewer said. “I don’t think this has happened in a long time.”

A Facebook “cause” website supporting the high school attracted nearly 600 members and kept the public abreast of it’s progress.

“The process was highly collaborative and drew on the insight and effort of local parents, elected officials and more,” said Micah Lasher, director for public affairs at the department. “We think the product is going to be outstanding.”

At a public meeting in June, some expressed concern that the school’s “selective” nature would lead to de facto segregation. But supporters noted that diversity would be a cornerstone of the admissions policy. Hemphill, who has visited hundreds of schools while writing her series of popular books, says she hopes the school will be able to serve a neglected population.

“There aren’t a lot of attractive options for kids who aren’t going to go to Stuyvesant but don’t need remediation either, and I hope this can help with that,” she said.

Admission criteria and curriculum specifics will likely be defined once a principal is selected. But the school’s educational theme, according to Lasher, has already been determined: communication and civic engagement. It’s fitting tribute to McCourt, who was an active participant in conversations about education.

“It’s so sad that he died, but I’m glad that he knew we were planning the school in his name,” Brewer said. “I think he was one of the best teachers ever, and I hope the school will live up to his standards.”

One proposal in particular dominated the June 11 meeting: the Frank McCourt School for Journalism, Writing & Literature. (See editorial)

Named after the West Side Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angela’s Ashes and former Stuyvesant High School teacher, the school would focus on creative and expository writing. That would include Spanish classes for English language learners, keeping with Brandeis’ legacy as a bilingual school.

Council Member Gale Brewer started an ad hoc committee for the new school when the city announced the phasing out of Brandeis High School, due in part to low graduation rates. West Side parent Tom Allon, president and CEO of the company that publishes West Side Spirit, is a member of the committee.

Borough President Scott Stringer and Council Member Gale Brewer are both pushing for a diverse, selective high school emphasizing writing and literature at Brandeis.

More than two-dozen community leaders and residents, the majority coming from the Upper West Side portion of the school district, which extends into Harlem, debated the proposal. Most backed the idea, including Brewer, Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, State Sen. Tom Duane and East Harlem Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito.

“It’s time to establish a quality high school,” said Marc Landis, a local Democratic district leader. “It is the right step for the Upper West Side and beyond.”

Stringer, who testified at the meeting, praised the level of parental involvement in developing the new school.

“This high school could be a model,” he said. “These parents give us a chance to see if we can do this right.”

The school is being touted as another selective high school, but one that would go to great lengths to ensure the kind of diversity that is engendered in the neighboring school district. The committee that proposed this new school says it is working with middle schools and elected leaders throughout Harlem, East Harlem and the Upper West Side to make sure that they meet the needs of all communities and attract students interested in writing from diverse backgrounds. The proposed school would require writing samples to show a student’s interest in the written word.

The three schools being phased in to the Brandeis campus, which holds 2,200 students, will enroll more than 1,000 students in 2009. The new high school being proposed would also be modeled as a small themed high school, which generally admit 432 students at full capacity. In 2010, there would be a 9th grade class of approximately 108 students entering, and then each subsequent year a new class would be added.

Aside from concern that the school would be named after a living person, which is against city regulations, a few speakers at the meeting expressed fear that a selective school would lead to a body of predominantly white students, a concern that has been raised in elementary gifted programs in District 3.

photos by andrew schwartz

Jane Hirschmann, an Upper West Sider whose children attended public schools, said that the city’s high schools are open to students from the five boroughs and that there are selective schools in the area for students.

“There are so many segregated schools in the system and it’s time to end that practice,” said Hirschmann, a member of Time Out From Testing.

State Sen. Bill Perkins, whose district contains nearly a third of Brandeis’ student population, suggested that the proposal is being “bum rushed.”

“This is not inclusive. It seems to be a step you have to go through for approval, under the assumption you’re really reaching out to get input,” Perkins said in a separate interview. “But you’re not. You’re making the step, but you’re not reaching out.”

He added that few West Harlem parents and educators were aware of the meeting, which his representative, Cordell Cleare, attended on his behalf.

Melody Meyer, a spokesperson for the department, said notice for meetings like this are usually sent out to community organizations, elected officials, school networks, parent leaders, community education councils and superintendents. In this case, the June 11 meeting was first announced in mid-May, Meyer said.

Perkins said he is organizing groups in the neighborhood to make sure West Harlemites are included in the planning of a new Brandeis school.

Elinor Tatum, publisher of The Amsterdam News, the city’s oldest and largest African-American newspaper, also submitted a letter in support of the school.

“A diverse, writing-focused high school that serves Harlem, the Upper West Side and the rest of the city will be a great addition to high school choices in New York,” Tatum wrote.

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who noted the many famous authors who have called the West Side home, said she supports the idea of a high school emphasizing writing but stressed the need for diversity.

“Diversity would be a fundamental quality that would distinguish this new school’s admissions policy through a preference for District 3 students,” Rosenthal said in a statement read at the meeting.

Brewer stressed that she will consult with middle schools and community groups in the northern part of the school district to ensure that all eligible students can apply. To create a “seamless” campus with four schools, Brewer proposed sharing proms, sports teams and Advanced Placement classes among the schools.

“When Brandeis was phasing out, I thought this was an opportunity for a diverse West Side high school,” Brewer said. “If we can pull this off, it’ll be very exciting to set the bar high for other campuses to do the same.”