Some public schools in Brooklyn’s wealthiest neighborhoods have everything they need — up-to-date technology, modern infrastructure, extra help for students struggling academically, and thriving parent associations.
But many are struggling. The borough has a stark wealth gap, and while all schools are funded by the Department of Education, those with higher populations of students who live in poverty often need more resources, even if they’re eligible for federal funds through Title I.
This fall, Council Member Lincoln Restler launched a new initiative to support those schools: “School Equity in District 33: Investing in Our Future.”
The council member has allocated nearly $4 million for capital upgrades and programs at five of his district’s “high priority” schools from Greenpoint to Bed-Stuy, each with between 77% and 89% of students living in poverty: John Ericsson Middle School 126, P.S. 380 John Wayne Elementary, P.S. 307 Daniel Hale Williams, P.S. 157 The Benjamin Franklin Health & Science Academy, and P.S. 54 The Detective Rafael Ramos School.
Why schools?
Before redistricting, Restler’s district included several public housing developments, including Marcy Houses in Williamsburg and Farragut Houses in Vinegar Hill, and he and his team had built strong relationships with tenants there. Now, those developments have been drawn into other districts.
But many of the students living in them attend school in Restler’s District 33, and he said he still has a responsibility to advocate for those schools, students, and families.
“We zoomed in on our schools, where there are extreme disparities from neighborhood to neighborhood,” he said. “We have public schools in our district that have PTAs that raise hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and we have schools where the overwhelming majority of students are living in poverty.”
Inspired by the city’s Community Schools, Restler’s team worked with local education leaders and families to figure out how to invest the money. They came up with four areas of focus: “educational excellence,” facilities improvements, support for families, and parent engagement. Even City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams chipped in for a $225,000 individualized tutoring program at each school.
J.H.S. 126 in Greenpoint, a Community School, has seen significant improvements in the past few years, said Principal Tim Goettelman. The school has a thriving robotics program, a hydroponics lab, and a strong community both inside and outside the building.
“People talk about the full child and educating the whole child, but we look at it as a whole-family approach,” he said. “Recognizing that the student is a member of a family, a member of a community, and making sure we are supporting not just that individual but strengthening everyone that supports that individual.”
Since it’s a Community School, the building is open early in the morning and late in the evening for students who need to stay longer. There’s a dentist and an eye doctor onsite, and a social worker assigned to the school building.
But the school still has some challenges. The student population is low, at 160. This fall, enrollment increased from the year before for the first time in eight years, Goettelman said, but they’re still looking to grow by at least 100 more students in the next few years.
Of particular concern is the school building, Goettelman said, which is “beautiful,” but old. When Restler’s office introduced the School Equity program, investing in upgrades was the first thing that came to mind.
“You could never pay for an upgrade of an auditorium, or air conditioning in the cafeteria … those big things that the building needs, you could never pay for with the budget we are allocated each year,” he said.
The funding J.H.S. 126 will receive this year will also give the robotics program a boost. The tech is quickly aging out of relevance, Goettelman said, and can now be replaced with new robots and drones.
As for parents, Goettelman anticipates being able to host bigger and better workshops and gatherings to get parents involved at the school.
“One of the variables that I’ve seen that makes the biggest difference in a school’s success is how active a parent community is in the school,” Restler said. “We’re really hopeful that it will lead to greater attendance rates and better educational outcomes.”
Cynthia McKnight, president of Community Education Council 13, said public education had been her “way out of poverty.” She grew up in public housing, and her mother, working at the post office, was often too busy to help out with school events.
Annual funding from the city usually covers the basics, McKnight said — keeping the school open and teachers paid. Beyond that, there’s not much extra. When migrant students enrolled at schools in CEC 13, it was up to teachers and parent associations to provide extra supplies.
Some schools in the district — like P.S. 11, a Title 1 school in Dumbo — have robust parent associations who can throw events that raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, she said. Others, like P.S. 307, just don’t have those resources.
She pointed to the Dumbo Drop – an annual fundraiser created to benefit P.S. 11 that splits its proceeds with P.S. 307.
“P.S. 307 was having the same [financial] issues, however, 307 at the time didn’t have the capacity of the parents,” McKnight said. “However, we still shared the proceeds evenly, because it’s not their fault, at the time, that they didn’t have the parent support.”
She added that parents living in public housing are sometimes disengaged from school, largely because of a larger lack of city investment.
“Dealing with public housing is a lot,” McKnight said. “They’re dealing with so much, and they see all the wealth around them, and even all the opportunities for jobs, and then because of the poor education, can’t even take advantage of it.”
Shoring up parent associations with more money could change that, engaging parents and boosting schools, she said. Already, though the money is still being distributed, there’s a difference.
“There’s this energy. [Parents] feel like, wow, people really care,” McKnight said. “There’s that excitement, like someone is investing in us, someone is following up. We got resources. Things could really change.”
McKnight said she hopes the initiative can serve as a “model” for other elected officials to follow to support schools and districts.
Throughout the process, Restler’s office will track enrollment, student attendance, educational outcomes, and parent engagement at each of the five schools. If the project is successful in making a “marked and measurable” difference, he hopes it can be replicated in other schools and districts.
That might look different in different neighborhoods, he said, depending on the resources available.
“But there are resources here, there are people in our district, there are businesses, there are nonprofit organizations that care deeply,” he said. “If we can direct them instructively to help lift up these schools, they will. I am going to use the limited platform I have to try to mobilize support for these high-need and deserving schools.”
