BOERUM HILL – The Department of Education (DOE) announced yesterday that that it has found a temporary home for a much-discussed Arabic-themed upper school slated to open in September. It will share the space with two schools already at that location.
DOE spokesperson Melody Meyers issued a statement saying: “We are pleased to have found a suitable temporary site for two years for the Khalil Gibran International Academy in K655, located at 345 Dean St. in Brooklyn, which currently houses Brooklyn High School of the Arts, a high school, and the Math and Science Exploratory School, a middle school.”
As reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the DOE originally planned to site the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) at a Park Slope elementary school, P.S. 282. The move faced vociferous objections from parents who objected to overcrowding and mixing their young children with older students. After reconsidering the space needs of P.S. 282, the DOE changed course.
Parents at P.S. 282 said their objection to the Khalil Gibran school had nothing to do with anti-Arabic sentiment. Xiomara Fraser, PTA co-president at P.S. 282, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle last Friday, “We want them to open where ever they have to open. But 282 is not the right place. We wish them all the best – if we could help them we would.”
Once Home to Sarah J. Hale
The refurbished building on Dean Street near Third Avenue in Boerum Hill once housed the Sarah J. Hale High School. It has been described as “labyrinthine.”
Both programs presently occupying the building are highly regarded in Brooklyn. The Math and Science Exploratory School is one of the most sought-after middle schools in District 15, while the Brooklyn High School of the Arts attracts talented students from all over the borough.
In Monday’s statement, Meyers said KGIA would begin with a 6th grade of up to 60 students in September. The school will use three rooms — two for instruction and one for offices — and will share common spaces, such as the cafeteria, with the other two schools.
“We are confident that the three schools can share space effectively and that Brooklyn High School for the Arts and the Math and Science Exploratory School will be able to maintain their current programs during the two years that KGIA is housed in the building. 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,” she said.
The Math and Science Exploratory School is likely to outgrow the arrangement in the two-year time frame. The increasingly popular middle school admitted six incoming 6th grade classes in 2006-07, two more than it had in 2005.
The shared space between the two existing schools is said to be a bit awkward. According to insideschools.org, the third floor houses not only the middle school, but also the building’s cafeteria and science labs. Because the middle school uses the labs frequently, Brooklyn High School of the Arts makes do with traveling science labs.
One Math and Science parent expressed dissatisfaction with the news. “Two middle schools, one high school – it’s not a duplex movie theater,” she said.
A Better Arrangement
Whatever the inconveniences, the arrangement is not likely to raise the ire of the present parents as much as the previously proposed move to P.S. 282, since all of the children involved are older and mixing of age groups is not a concern.
“I think it’s a perfect place,” said John Abi-Habib, head of the space committee for KGIA. Abi-Habib praised the culture of the two existing schools and envisioned a sharing of the arts and sciences between the three schools. “I am delighted and happy,” he commented.
He also said that both of the existing schools were satisfied with the arrangement. “The three principals met and hit it off. They’re all happy.”
