Education Panel Signs off on De Blasio's First School Closures
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The city’s decision was met with opposition from activists who fought school closures under the Bloomberg administration and who have supported the de Blasio administration’s education initiatives. They asked why schools aren’t being given the full three years to improve through the Renewal program.
“There has [been] no clarity around what sparks the closure of a Renewal school,” Natasha Capers, a coordinator with the Coalition for Educational Justice, said in a statement. “The culture of fear that dominated struggling schools during the previous administration does not nourish the difficult process of school improvement.”
The panel also approved two consolidations, Peace and Diversity Academy into The Metropolitan High School in the Bronx’s District 12, and Young Scholars’ Academy for Discovery and Exploration into Brighter Choice Community School in District 16.
The city has also closed one low-performing charter school, and announced plans this year to close three more.
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