In a move surprising to no one but saddening to an entire school community rich in history and pride, the Department of Education’s Panel for Educational Policy voted early Tuesday morning to downsize DeWitt Clinton High School and open up two brand new small schools inside the building known as the “Castle on Mosholu Parkway.”
Just before 1 a.m., with a handful of bleary-eyed, die hard teachers and parents from Clinton still in attendance, the panel — which must approve major policy and school decisions and is widely seen as a rubber stamp for the DOE — voted in favor of the Clinton proposal, eight to four, despite widespread opposition from the entire school community, including students, parents, faculty, administrators and local elected officials.
The representatives of four borough presidents, including the Bronx rep, voted against the plan. Those same representatives had proposed a resolution, backed by most in the audience, that would have implemented a moratorium on closures, phase-outs and co-locations until a new mayor is chosen. The resolution was defeated eight to four with one abstention. When Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg tried to explain his opposition to the resolution, the audience drowned him out with chants.
In similarly-sided votes, the panel, which is controlled by the mayor, ultimately approved 22 phase outs, including two Bronx schools, Jonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications and PS 385, the Performance School, as well as several co-locations, including Clinton.
Though Clinton is not being phased, school supporters, including alumni, faculty and administrators, all said they felt this was the beginning of the end for the 115-year-old school. With more than 3,500 students, Clinton is the last standing large comprehensive public high school left in the Bronx. Next fall, the storied school, which boasts a deep roster of famous and accomplished alumni, will have two new building mates that have yet to be fully identified as well as a diminished student body and faculty.
More on this story later today, including photos and video.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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This is absurd DOE only cares about making money. Dumb fags.
This is really irrelevant now were going to get into problems to get in the cafeteria, locker room, library and gym thank you so much for making it harder for us. I mean I get it Clinton is not the brightest school but don’t blame it on us, blame it on the teachers who gave up on the students. Once again thank you for taking out so many programs, now you really messed up Clinton.
Amazing. So they decide to make the school break down instead of allocating more money for better programs? They decide to limit the students getting into the school, well… why wasn’t that idea implemented while the school was functioning well? Everyone knows the school has gone to crap because 40% of the students accepted were Special ed, and they were considered such because they were “Behavior Challenged.” Probably the worst thing someone can be considered, since it gives them an excuse to act unruly. Seriously? Why not have implemented the restriction sooner, and not now when new, bureaucratic charter schools decide that’s the best thing to do. Damn, DOE. You money hungry vultures. Go to hell.