September 4, 2007 -- Under heightened security, the city-sponsored Arabic school in Brooklyn will open today with nearly full enrollment, according to the Department of Education.
Despite the summer-long controversy over the school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy attracted 57 students for its first sixth-grade class with just three empty seats still available.
“I’m so pleased by the fact that almost 60 students have signed up to go there. There’s a rich and diverse mix of kids,” said Schools Chancellor Joel Klein during a press briefing in Brooklyn yesterday.
Extra cops from the local precinct will stand guard over the school on its first day, the DOE said.
“Any school that we open [on the] first day, there’s usually added security, but fundamentally, the school will open like any other school,” Klein said.
Meanwhile the Stop the Madrassa Coalition, which has led the battle against the school and hurled accusations tying it to Islamic terrorism in the past, will call on Mayor Bloomberg to close the academy today during a rally at City Hall.
Some parents, however, ignored the controversy.
“It is an Arabic school and I want my child to learn Arabic. It is for all Arabs, not just Muslims,” said Amin Alsaidi, a Yemeni immigrant who is sending his 11-year-old son, Ryed, to the school.
