The Department of Education has found a temporary site for the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a public school devoted to the study of Arabic language and culture that is scheduled to open in September.
The school will be put in a building at 345 Dean Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, that currently houses the Brooklyn High School of the Arts and the Math and Science Exploratory School, a middle school.
Last Friday, the department canceled plans to place Khalil Gibran in the same building as Public School 282, an elementary school in Park Slope. The department had faced opposition from the parents at P.S. 282, who objected to sharing the space. And some conservative columnists had condemned the school, saying it could promote radical Islam.
Khalil Gibran will open to up to 60 sixth graders, said Melody Meyer, a spokeswoman for the department. It will take up three classrooms in the building and share common spaces like the cafeteria. After two years, it will move to a more permanent site.
“We are confident that the three schools can share space effectively,” Ms. Meyer said in a statement. “We met with the principals and parent leadership at both schools yesterday and will continue to work with both school communities to plan the best use of the space in the building to ensure the success of all three schools.”
Robert W. Finley III, the principal of the Brooklyn High School of the Arts, said he was prepared to accept Khalil Gibran on a temporary basis. “I would be less than honorable if I were to object to this,” he said. “The Department of Education is the landlord. We know there is a shortage of classroom space in New York City and there is an increase in the number of new schools in September.”
The principal at the Math and Science Exploratory School did not return calls seeking comment.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, declared support for the Khalil Gibran school in a statement yesterday. “As long as there is adequate space in the building, this is an idea that should be welcomed,” she said.
