By Gus Saltonstall
Upper West Sider Naveed Hasan is in the middle of his fourth term as a member of New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy, otherwise known as PEP, whose members include former teachers, school advocates, parents, and education specialists. Throughout his tenure, Hasan has been elected by other Manhattan volunteer school leaders as the borough’s representative on the panel.
PEP is a 24-member body that oversees different aspects of the New York City Public School system; it considers and votes on issues designed to give all students equal access to school resources and opportunities.
One of the panel’s responsibilities includes casting final votes on proposals related to whether public schools will be moved, merged, or closed. This includes schools on the Upper West Side.
On April 29, PEP members will vote on the fate of a trio of Upper West Side schools, which West Side Rag has reported on extensively. If approved, all of the proposed changes would take place this upcoming fall.
The proposals are:
- Relocating the Center School from its current building at 100 West 84th Street to the Riverside School for Makers and Artists building at 300 West 61st Street.
- Closing the middle school at the Riverside School for Makers and Artists at 300 West 61st Street.
- Closing the middle school at P.S. 333 Manhattan School for Children at 154 West 93rd Street.
Hasan, speaking exclusively to the Rag, said that he does not think “the process has played itself out appropriately in terms of scheduling” when it comes to voting on the three Upper West Side schools. He said he was speaking both as a member of the panel, and for the parents and students who are a part of the communities at those schools.
“I don’t think this has been an appropriate amount of time to make this decision,” Hasan added about the upcoming vote at the end of April related to the three Upper West Side schools. “I don’t think I can support any of these proposals for 2026.”
Hasan also articulated an assortment of critiques related to his working relationship with the Department of Education.
Here is our interview with Hasan, which has been lightly edited for clarity.
WSR: How do members of the PEP stay up to date with the school situations they have to vote on?
Hasan: The formal process is incredibly abbreviated and does not really allow for the thoughtful consideration that the PEP wants to take, especially those members who are actually looking to engage, opposed to following directions. We want to try to get involved much earlier in the process. Right now, there’s something called Chancellors Regulation A-190, and that only mandates that there be a formal notification for the September start of school, 180 days in advance. In my opinion, that’s totally inappropriate, as that means it’s happening after the admissions cycle has taken place.
For this set of Upper West Side proposals, PEP members found out about the official notification to the [three] schools in January, which is after middle school admissions have closed [December 12, 2025]. That is a sticking point for me on how this is not an appropriate timeline for any of these proposals, including for the three schools on the Upper West Side.
In this case, we start with interrogating the DOE on various things related to what these proposals are, on what it means for the individual schools, what it would mean for the spaces that are available, and we still have huge logistical questions when it comes to these Upper West Side schools. I’ve been to all of the buildings. I’ve visited all of the schools. But in the formal process, there’s only a legally-mandated-by-state-law public hearing roughly 10 days before the vote, and then we get a summary of what was said, and we’re asked to vote based on that. The legally mandated things are very sparse and very late. And finding out and getting started on this in January, in my view, was also too late.
[West Side Rag asked the city’s Department of Education (DOE) for comment about the Upper West Side school proposals slated for a vote on April 29 and about Hasan’s criticism of the timing of information released to PEP. Here is part of DOE’s response:
“PEP members have continued to receive access to data, information, and community engagement opportunities, with individual requests addressed in a timely manner commensurate with their scope. In this case, uplifting of the proposals began in December 2025, well before their public posting. Panel members were then invited to visit the affected schools, attend community meetings and meet directly with Chancellor Samuels to discuss the proposals in depth, all ahead of proposals being formally posted.”
The statement continued, “We all care deeply about our students and communities, and we are continually committed towards these closely collaborative partnerships that advance co-governance, academically rigorous programming, and truly integrated schools for all of our students.”]
WSR: Has the PEP been hearing from community members of the Center School, Riverside School for Makers and Artists, and Manhattan School for Children?
Hasan: I’ve gotten around 1,000 emails from members of those District 3 schools.
WSR: Is that common?
Hasan: In the cases where I would say we haven’t had appropriate notification and engagement, I would say yes. But, it’s not universal. We saw at the last PEP meeting last week, the Brooklyn proposals came to us, and the communities they affect asked for us to pass them. They said they were happy with how the process played out. They had been speaking about these changes for years, and that’s what it takes to have buy-in from the people who are going to be impacted by a proposal vs. what we see repeatedly in Manhattan, especially in District 2 and 3, where things are dropped on a school community only a few months in advance of a final decision being made on something that will happen next school year. It’s not conducive to having constituents buy in. This is something that takes a minimum of 12 months to get done correctly.
WSR: And in those emails from Upper West Side District 3 community members, is it consistent in their opposition to the proposed changes?
Hasan: For District 3, yes. For all of these possible District 3 changes, for all four of the schools, including the one that is not on the table for this year, that community is well aware that the Community Action School is still on the chopping block for next year. They are demanding [to know] what it will take to save them as a school that provides very valuable services for the vulnerable students in our community. It’s not clear they have an answer to that. They can be told in six months or nine months that they will be closed for 2027. That’s not something I would like to see.
[At the beginning of March, DOE announced it would halt a proposal to phase out the Community Action Middle School also at 154 West 93rd Street beginning in the fall of 2026. The agency did not state, though, whether it would return to the proposal in following years.]
Hasan: For all of these District 3 proposals still on the table for this upcoming fall, we have a real concern around any schools remaining on the Upper West Side that serve vulnerable Black and Brown students. These affected schools have services they’ve been providing for decades to these communities, it is their staff and school leadership that has made it a priority for many years to provide these services. To hold against them low enrollment, or moderate test scores, is not the whole equation. These schools are providing something that is necessary and we need to help support and expand them, opposed to just saying, “You’re at the bottom of our enrollment numbers, this doesn’t make financial sense for us, we’ve got to close you.”
WSR: Do you resonate with the messaging from Upper West Side parents that not enough time had been allowed for these decisions?
Hasan: If I were one of the impacted parents by one of these Upper West Side proposals, I would have the same negative feelings that are being expressed to all of the PEP members and elected officials. In that case, and having received so many of these emails from community members of these schools, it clearly wasn’t enough time.
You need to give communities – parents who have the ability to choose where they send their kids to school –the confidence that they will have a full admissions cycle, before they are forced to think about what happens with their kids. In this case, they don’t. I don’t think this has been an appropriate amount of time to make this decision.
[DOE told West Side Rag when asked for comment: “New York City Public Schools has a responsibility to thoughtfully plan for the long-term strength and sustainability of our schools to ensure students have access to robust academic programs. As such, our teams work towards thoughtfully designed, community-driven approaches focused on addressing the pressing topics impacting our school communities. The working group for this proposal brought together principals, educators, families, district and school leaders, elected officials, and community representatives.”]
WSR: And as a member of the PEP, do you feel like you’ve been given enough time to confidently make these decisions?
Hasan: If we had spent two or three months in the fall doing this vote prep work, that might have been fine. That would have aligned with the amount of time needed to ask about data, and also the desires and needs of parents. But those two things are not aligned right now. It’s not that I need more than a year to think about this and come to my decision, but I don’t think the process has played itself out appropriately in terms of scheduling. My advocacy right now is to do any changes for the following fall, we have review and vote on them the prior fall. We should have been presented with this Upper West Side school issue in September and voted before November, making a decision one way or the other, so we would have the same two or three months to go over it, but also been in alignment with the applicants to these schools. That gives the families the chance to transfer at the correct season.
WSR: And how has it been, getting the necessary information about these Upper West Side schools from the Department of Education?
Hasan: That’s one of the things I have an ongoing complaint about in how the process plays out under Mayoral Control. There is a very tight control of what is ever shared with anyone when the city doesn’t have to legally do it. I still haven’t gotten some of the data requests in this case, or even those from years ago, about the impacts of votes that we had made. This is an ongoing problem that I and other PEP members have with the Department of Education.
It seems to be the way they operate under Mayoral Control. They don’t want to share information unless they are forced to. We have been told on repeated occasions when reviewing contracts or school data, to file a Freedom of Information Act request, which to me is completely insane as a sitting board member. We should be able to formally request things and get them in a very timely fashion, before we vote on things. [Freedom of Information] requests are multi-year processes to get data. That leaves both me and other people involved with the process with a lack of trust.
[A spokesperson from the Department of Education said that there was “just one” outstanding request from a member of the PEP related to the Upper West Side school proposals, and it was submitted on March 27 and involved around 300 pages of documents.]
WSR: Can I ask how you’re planning to vote April 29 on these three Upper West Side school proposals?
Hasan: Yes. I am looking forward to this final, legally mandated engagement to happen on the topic before that. But, given that I expect to hear exactly what I’ve read from the families of these Upper West Side schools and in the individual meetings we’ve had with the schools, I don’t think I can support any of these proposals for 2026.
I would like to see a reconsideration under the new, interim acting District 3 superintendent on what it means to both support the schools that need support and to find different changes we can make to solve the problems that are fiscal and impacting City Hall in a budgetary fashion. Our students are not just numbers. That would then give us time for the process.
If we just thought about this for another six months, to bring these District 3 proposals or some iteration of them back in the upcoming fall, we would be in a much better place, where the community won’t just up and leave public schools because of the way they were treated.
Read More:
- City Halts Plan to Close Upper West Side Middle School: ‘Our Focus Must be on Healing’
- Racist Remarks Shock Participants at UWS Schools Meeting: ‘We Take These Matters Very Seriously’
- UWS Middle School Fights Against its Possible Elimination: ‘We Are Not Just Going to Roll Over’
- UWS Middle School Meets With DOE Reps to Discuss Possible Move: ‘We Want to be Heard’
- An UWS Middle School is Pushing Back Against Possible Relocation: ‘This School is Our Home
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NYCDOE will not be making changes.
Thank you for posting this interview. Mr. Hasan comes across as an informed and dedicated community member and he clearly states that the process for these school moves has been rushed.
Everyone involved – parents, the DOE, educators – should want the same thing: a school system where students thrive, and where parents trust the administrators are acting transparently and with the interests of families taken to heart.
Hopefully other PEP members, the DOE and city council members can advocate for these moves to be delayed.
I have a lot of respect for how Naveed Hassan has spoken up for families and questioned the DOE’s process. He always comes across as thoughtful, deliberate, measured, and principled. I agree with everything you wrote. The way the DOE approaches these decisions matters, and parents should be able to expect a fairer, more transparent, and less rushed process that fosters rather than undermines trust and stability. That would be to everyone’s benefit.
’d like to understand what waiting another year actually accomplishes. That’s another year of children attending a school with abysmal state test results, operating at only 30–40% capacity because families are choosing to avoid it.
What better alternatives does Center School realistically have? Space on the Upper West Side is extremely limited. The only viable opportunities come from repurposing underutilized and underperforming schools.
Delaying action only leads to overcrowded classrooms for students at the current location. At some point, Center School needs to acknowledge the constraints and work within the reality of limited space.
Waiting another year would allow for the Center School to find a space that works with their unique (and very successful) curriculum. Center School is open to moving, just not to a space that is directly in opposition to the core curriculum. They have proposed other locations, but the DOE is not receptive. Meanwhile, parents and students who made their enrollment decisions based on Center School’s current location will not have an opportunity to enroll elsewhere.
If the DOE isn’t receptive to your proposed alternative locations, then there’s nothing left to negotiate. At that point, delaying just means another full year of overcrowded classrooms at your current site.
Center School already starts at an unusual entry point, 5th grade. Families who don’t want the new location have a very straightforward option: remain at their current elementary school and apply to middle school the following year, just like the overwhelming majority of students.
If a realistic, viable location existed, it would have surfaced by now. It’s been months since the announcement. At some point, continued delay stops being about “finding solutions” and starts actively harming the students who are already dealing with overcrowded conditions.
Current Center School 5th graders were deprived of the information prior to the admissions cycle — deliberately so by the DOE if you believe that they were planning this for a long time despite telling parents in the fall that there were no plans to move the school. New options do arise in a new school year, and more time would allow Center to explore options outside the district or to find out why certain possibilities have suddenly and inexplicably been removed from discussion.
More importantly: the DOE’s flawed and hurried process with multiple schools in this process (not just Center) breeds instability and distrust, which drives more people – and money – out of the system, causing worse outcomes across the board. There is ZERO explanation for why the DOE waited until March to publish these proposals, or why a move can’t wait until the 2027-2028 school year — though it does start to make sense when you connect the dots with what they want to cover up at PS 191 to avoid hold Kamar Samuels accountable for his failures as D3 superintendent before being named Chancellor.
Here’s what a delay gives:
* Time to advocate for more transportation options for students
* Time to arrange for auditorium space that actually is appropriate for Center’s theater-based curriculum.
* An opportunity for families to apply to middle schools that actually exist and are located where the DOE says they are going to be.
* A chance for hundreds of public school families to stop being frustrated and upset by a botched process.
Mr Hasan notes that the community engagement for the changes proposed for District 3 fall far short for what was done in other districts. Why not actually do this the right way?
This exactly!!
more transportation options? ps9 should continue to be overcrowded because middle school kids cannot use public transportation? ps9 should continue to be overcrowded because the auditorium at 191 does not have wings and CS does not want to use lincoln center as an additional resource? why does no wings in an auditorium space ruin an entire curriculum? please help us understand…
Use Lincoln Center as a theater resource?? LOL. The DOE has no actual plan to make that possible, no contract, no budget it for it, nothing. And it would take a full class period’s worth of time for students to get there any back, so would reduce total instructional time below what is required. It’s a ridiculous statement.
People, including myself, have explained the reason a real auditorium and stage is important to the curriculum. You don’t understand because you don’t want to. Center has said they are open to moving to many other locations, including locations in East Harlem or elsewhere in D4 or the city. D3 doesn’t want to lose the school because it has high scores and parent ratings. But they have no interest in understanding why the school gets those scores and parent ratings. What I’m learning from all the comments is that people – including the DOE – just don’t think it matters for there to be different schools with different approaches to learning that work for different kids.
I have mixed feelings about this:
1. I appreciate Mr. Hasan’s thoughtful approach to this – we need more people like him in these roles.
2. It is ridiculous to be making decisions now for this fall. It is way too late. Decisions should be made so that people can make informed decisions. That is not the case. Let’s work hard now to make decisions for 2027-2028 – I think the current system is manageable in the interim.
3. He mentions “vulnerable black and brown students.” I am not clear what race has to do with any of this. No one is forced into a school based on race.
4. The amount of whining I have heard both on WSR and in real life from Center School parents is ridiculous. I agree that this should be delayed a year so they can plan. Efforts should be made to help them with the theater program, but it is not the be all and end all of UWS education. It is a nice to have, not a need to have. Many Center parents have taken a nasty, adversarial tone towards other UWS parents. Not cool.
I think what’s overlooked in your final point is that the theater-based curriculum really is integral to Center School’s entire pedagogical model. While I agree that for many schools a theater is a nice to have, it actually is necessary for Center School’s unique academic program. So when you or others say it’s a “nice to have,” what is really being said is that having different types of schools that teach in different ways – and giving parents a choice of what they think will work best for their child – is a nice to have, not a need to have.
Parents who have seen their children blossom beyond their hopes specifically because of Center’s theater-based, 5-8 mixed grade model feel strongly about maintaining it as an option for others. You may think having a choice of school types in a public school system is itself a “nice to have” and that parents who want something different can seek it in a private school — that’s a defensible position, though I’d strongly disagree with it, especially if the city hopes to step the enrollment decline. But DOE’s proposal to relocate Center to a facility that doesn’t have an auditorium is in essence relocating the “brand” and performance scores associated with the current Center School without the full academic program that generates those results.
*Many middle school students already commute by public bus and subway – why should Center School be any different?
*An auditorium is a luxury, not a necessity – especially for a school starting at age 10. Addressing overcrowded classrooms should come first.
*Center School is unusual in that it begins in 5th grade. If the new location doesn’t work for some families, those students can remain at their current elementary schools and apply to middle school the following year, just like the vast majority of students citywide.
*The reality is that space on the Upper West Side is extremely limited. There is no perfect option, because if there was one, it would have already been presented. Waiting another year won’t magically create one. Delaying only prolongs overcrowding for the students and keeping students at failing schools.
Center School starts in fifth grade. This means that 10 year olds (and 9 year olds because of the DOE’s inane birthday policy) will be commuting to a school that is quite inaccessible from public transit- a solid fifteen minute walk from the closest subway through a very different neighborhood than the closest location. This makes it quite different from other middle schools. Locating it in the edge of the district when it looks like the entire island of Manhattan is coming close to being redistricted in the next few years also means it could no longer be an option for UWS and Harlem families.
PS 9 students have outstanding test scores and there’s a wait list to get in. In what possible world is massive harm coming to PS 9 by allowing an appropriate amount of time to let a process play out for Center, 333, and the Riverside school? The DOE has been incredibly unfair and shady to those families by launching this process after middle school admissions have closed.
Here’s a thought: if parents of 9 or 10 year-olds don’t like the location, they can stay at their elementary school and apply to a middle school in the traditional year. For 6th – 8th graders, public transportation is standard – kids all over the city manage it every day. Why should Center School be any different?
This argument feels tone-deaf. Meanwhile, students at P.S. 191 and in the surrounding neighborhood – who’ve long been underserved – might actually welcome the opportunity to apply and attend a stronger program. Unless, of course, that’s exactly what some Center School parents are trying to avoid
“Somewhere on the UWS” – This doesn’t make any sense. Center School is a lottery with DIA priority (and priority for families above 96th, for whom this move certainly would add a burden). It will continue to be a lottery. Students from OS 191 and elsewhere could have applied before and will still be able to apply — the the program they’d be applying to will be a weaker one than the current Center School program. There is absolutely nothing about moving the school that changes the opportunity of any student to apply and attend. If your point is that it will be closer to them, well then that undermines your point about middle schoolers traveling.
Meanwhile you ignore that there are current 5th graders at center whose parents chose it for good reasons, and now have no choice if the move rviscerates those reasons or proves otherwise unworkable for them (eg for kids who are already traveling 30 mins to get to & from Center, adding another 20-30 is significant). Why not propose moves like this BEFORE middle school admissions so families aren’t denied a choice. It’s just odd to be so vociferously opposed to that.
“…already traveling 30 mins to get to & from Center, adding another 20-30 is significant). Why not propose moves like this BEFORE middle school admissions so families aren’t denied a choice.”
I’m confused with this comment. How does delaying the move a year from now solve this problem? They are still going to have a longer commute the following the year. Same problem, just pushed back a year, but now you are making the kids at PS 9 stay in overcrowded classrooms for another year. Center School is moving, whether it’s now or next year. Not everybody is going to be happy. I have no vested interest in either school but I find the agrument against the move quite far fetched.
– Insufficient auditorium for 9 – 13 years old? A luxury for middle school; it doesn’t take precedence over relieving overcrowded classrooms (this isn’t LaGuardia or even a high school). Incidentally, I’ve known quite a few Center School parents over the years and I can tell you that not one of them cited the theatre program there as even a consideration in selecting the school. I’m sure it’s important to some but the overall significance is being vastly overstated.
– Not enough outdoor space? Yet it was fine for the middle school that was previously there.
– Longer commute? Many middle schoolers take long commutes on subways and buses daily, without parents complaining. It’s not unusual.
– Center School students will now have to take public transportation? Yes, just like other NYC middle school students. It’s why the city gives out free student OMNY cards starting in middle school.
To me, it just seems like a very small middle school with a highly vocal parent body that is vehemently and loudly opposed to this move is prioritizing its own convenience over hundreds of young PS 9 kids currently sitting in overcrowded classrooms.
The comment about proposing moves BEFORE applications refers to the article’s points about DOE’s flawed process and timeline. The proposals are also late under Chancellors Regulations, and should be stopped for that alone as a matter of good governance. Would you support DOE giving 5th graders at MSC, Center and 191 first choice of 6th grade seats before finalizing middle school placements next week, since they weren’t informed in time, or DOE has no responsibility to these students at all?
I won’t repeat explanations about theater and outdoor space, since you’re unwilling to understand that different curricula have different requirements. You can argue that DOE offering different pedagogical models is a “nice to have” — but you can’t move a program into a space that doesn’t fit it and expect to deliver the same results. This also applies to MSC and its uniquely inclusive programming for students with disabilities, which DOE’s proposal will dismantle (just another “nice to have”).
When DOE is struggling to retain middle school families, denigrating and eliminating components that drive the success of certain schools, and acting like all schools should be the same, is an asinine strategy that will further weaken the public system overall, but does appear to be where we’re heading city-wide.
Let’s take your assumption to another level – If PS 191 4th graders apply to the newly relocated Center School will we then be talking about an under enrolled 191 elementary school?
What also feels tone deaf — the PS 9 families on here demonizing the Center School parents and completely ignoring the 191 families.
What!! PS 9 families have been taking bullying from CS for months now. Where are the 191 families?? Just one parent and then CS “speaks” for them.
this!!
In 2016, PS9 and The Center School worked together to procure funding from local politicians to renovate the auditorium at PS9. And now Center will be forced to a building that does not have an auditorium. Cool, cool, cool.
Every school in a 7 block radius of 84th St. does not comply to the class size law. (Which btw will likely be put to a halt for NYC in the coming weeks.) None of their doors have been knocked on and somehow The Anderson School is protected.
These proposed changes to 4 UWS middle schools will vastly delete specific needs for students in district 3. For example, Manhattan School for Children has students who require an elevator and iep specific care. There are only two middle school buildings in the district that have elevators.
IS191 was given million in Title 1 funds and it was neither used to nurture, support and cultivate their programming and nowhere to be found.
By moving Center School to 191, they will compromise every aspect of it’s curriculum. No outdoor space, no auditorium. (Btw almost every doe building on the UWS has one!), less square footage (ps191, the doe is promising more of your classrooms, are you aware of this?)
There is a currently a vague proposal with no actual plans. It has been a rushed process to make changes under a size mandate guise. If UWS parents want to shake their heads at affected families, who care for the future of middle schools on the UWS, so be it. Maybe private school is an option for them— it’s becoming quite a competition to get in— Middle School needs to be prioritized.
Good grief; this needs some perspective. The Center School has about 250 students. Most NYC middle schools have 600–700 students, and many have 1,000+. So why is a school of 250 students asking for what amounts to special treatment?
Holding up a plan that would free space in an overcrowded elementary school because the auditorium isn’t ideal feels completely out of proportion. We’re talking about students ages 10–13, not a performing arts conservatory. or even a high school.
There are also many strong middle school options in District 3. Families are not without choices. What’s most surprising is that even some Center families – privately -are uncomfortable with the tone of this push. The level of privilege and entitlement coming through in some of these comments is hard to ignore.
At some point, this stops being about “wanting more time” and starts looking like a refusal to accept reality.
It could be any of our schools. And it will be all of our children. With the amount of seats being lost, there will be many less options, Especially for our students with iep and black and brown families. This has nothing to do with perspective. Please watch video of PEP meetings during public comment. There are so many schools and students that need attention in New York City. The DOE is watching us all fight for scraps. They see students as dollar signs.
Please explain the black and brown families part of this? How does race play into this at all? There are plenty of racial issues in this city and country. This is not one. By turning non-issues into issues, it is the boy who cried wolf – you make people take less seriously the legitimate issues.
Race plays into it for two main reasons. First, the DOE is the one that has put race in issue by saying these plans are part of its mandate to better integrate D3 — but then proposing a plan that does nothing to address integration, only benefits PS9, and discards as unimportant the students at PS 191 without any plan for their success. Second, because the class size mandate was explicitly intended to help vulnerable student communities first (black and brown students, economically disadvantaged, English language learners), not used to further benefit the top performing schools at their expense. If the DOe is so concerned about adhering to laws, they should prioritize fixing their violations at PS 191
This makes little sense. Moving a strong school like Center School into an underserved area could actually encourage students from 191 and the surrounding community to apply, especially if the new location opens up seats as some families opt out of applying due to the commute. Isn’t that exactly the kind of integration the DOE is trying to achieve? Providing access to a better-performing school for economically disadvantaged students, rather than leaving them in a failing one? Based on your stated concerns, shouldn’t you be advocating for this move instead of opposing it? Otherwise, it raises the question of whether this argument is truly about helping and lifting economically disadvantaged and vulnerable students up or simply about preserving your own interests.
WESS is located literally across the street from PS 191. If the DOE were truly interested in integration, they could create more priority at WESS for local students, or give specific priority to PS 191, while still working to improve the PS 191 middle school by providing the services and resources they need and are legally entitled to. OR, if they remain determined to close the PS 191 middle school, they could at minimum prioritize placing transferring current students into WESS for the coming school year rather than scattering those students everywhere as though they are expendable. OR they could at least (even more of a bare minimum) guarantee the current 191 5th graders — who were cut out of the admissions cycle — entry to WESS for 6th grade. They’re not doing any of that. Hmmmm… sure seems curious. Makes one wonder….
Huh? Students from those schools can already apply no matter where Center is located. You think opening up seats by making it too burdensome for the students who already commute from underserved areas in northern Manhattan in order to fill those seats with students from 191 will somehow do anything for integration? Come on. That’s not a serious argument. And watch 2 things closely: One, if having it on site does increase the # of 191 elementary students who apply and attend, the DOE will next point to under-enrollment in PS 191 5th grade as a reason to close that elementary school too. Second, when Center’s performance takes a hit because the facility cannot support its proven academic model, the DOE and public will blame the demographics / students and never take accountability for the damage the move did to the curriculum.
I don’t have any interests to preserve here. My kids aren’t directly affected by any of it. I just care about public education and NYC, and how the DOE is acting in D3 and elsewhere should anger anyone who cares about the system overall.
In 2016, PS9 and The Center School worked together to procure funding from local politicians to renovate the auditorium at PS9. And now Center will be forced to a building that does not have an auditorium. Cool, cool, cool.
Every school in a 7 block radius of 84th St. does not comply to the class size law. (Which btw will likely be put to a halt for NYC in the coming weeks.) None of their doors have been knocked on and somehow The Anderson School is protected.
These proposed changes to 4 UWS middle schools will vastly delete specific needs for students in district 3. For example, Manhattan School for Children has students who require an elevator and iep specific care. There are only two middle school buildings in the district that have elevators.
IS191 was given millions in Title 1 funds and it was neither used to nurture, support and cultivate their programming and also— never even communicated to anyone that the money existed!
By moving Center School to 191, they will compromise every aspect of its curriculum. No outdoor space, no auditorium. (Btw almost every doe building on the UWS has one!), less square footage (ps191, the doe is promising more of your classrooms, are you aware of this?)
There is a currently a vague proposal with no actual plans. It has been a rushed process to make changes under a size mandate guise. If UWS parents want to shake their heads at affected families, who care for the future of middle schools on the UWS, so be it. Maybe private school is an option for them— it’s becoming quite a competition to get in— Middle School needs to be prioritized.
On April 15th, thousands of UWS students will be thrown into impossible waitlists bc the schools they ranked will no longer be an option. This is many times more detrimental than our community members lifting each other’s voices, standing together and calling BS!!
I’ve said it elsewhere in comments here, but I just can’t help but think this stinks of corruption somewhere. I don’t know where, but the spider senses light up here. The DOE doesn’t EVER move this fast on things unless someone’s pockets are being lined, or to cover something up. The ‘deadline’ is completely inconsequential to that conclusion, as those are often just ignored too. Just smells like there’s really more too this under the surface.
That said though, it’s pretty clear that Center School does not want the space at Riverside and that it’s antithetical to their core model. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t work for them, it seems like a nice space honestly. New building, nice facility. It’s surprising that no other school has jumped at it? It IS in a very unfortunate location though – is this just an instance of poor planning on the DOEs part, sticking a school in some random place it shouldn’t be, then being surprised when no one wants it? Are they trying to wedge a higher performing school in there in hopes it won’t lose everyone and will somehow stay high performing, that way they can make it look like a better decision or something? I’m pretty sure all this will accomplish is killing off a high performing school.
Right on with your first paragraph. Nothing about it smells right and the DOE’s desperation about the timing is straight up weird. None of the explanations make sense except if it’s corruption or a coverup or both. Lots of questions about why schools with personal and political connections to the chancellor and mayor are untouched and favored, while other schools are being steamrolled. DOE is also offering select parents plum spots for their kids at desirable other schools to try to splinter off opposition, but no actual plan for all the other kids. The whole thing reeks of favoritism and bad intent and it is a bad sign for the already-struggling school system overall.
WSR is just making people mad with their lack of knowledge about the situation. Why not go right to the horses mouth and get the real facts? Why not ask Center School why their community did not know about this but the PS 9 community did? Maybe their people kept it hidden for a reason? Maybe they thought enrollment would decline? Stop using these tactics to get people to hide behind a screen and go at one another without even knowing any facts.
Hasan has even said he’s just against Samuels. No matter what is going to BE BEST FOR KIDS.
“Smart Mom” I remember you saying in a different comment section that people needed to get their facts straight and that PS9 expanding enrollment was untrue and had nothing to do with this. Center families are portrayed as “nasty” for calling out PS9 about this, and people said the Center families were spreading misinformation. Lo and behold, the DOE publishes its actual proposal and right there in black and white talks about — you guessed it – expanding PS9 enrollment. Sounds like you are the one who needs to work on getting facts straight, and the DOE needs to work on sharing information clearly, transparently and equally, not selectively to their favored few.
Also: this entire comment thread so far seems to be taken over by PS9-ers who can only make the conversation about them and Center. There are two other schools at issue here too, where the DOE has no concrete plans for what will happen to those kids, and the way you all are just ignoring that speaks volumes
Learn to listen. They are not expanding. That was for families who move in zone from grades 1-5.
PS9 is not expanding enrollment. Please get YOUR facts straight. The amount of hate from CS parents on PS9 is so nasty. Everyone wants what is best for their kids but think before you speak…
Actually, the facts say different…….
According to the NYS Department of Education there were 465 students enrolled in ’22-’23 and there were 511 in ’24-’25.
Also, it looks like PS 9 has been taking a number of out of zone students each of the past few years.
Ps9 wants to hit the NY state mandate like every other public school. These kids deserve what every other kid in elementary school deserves. Prioritizing elementary school kids education in every district is necessary. Elementary schools and middle schools do not equate.
The state mandate is specifically intended to help underserved populations first, ahead of schools already doing well. So why is the DOE prioritizing PS9 elementary students at the expense of PS 191 elementary students??
On top of losing space, closing PS191’s middle school and plunking Center School there instead reduces other resources for the PS 191 elementary kids, or would be if the DOE were actually providing the legally required resources / which they’re not!! Even if we accept your premise that elementary is the priority, middle schoolers be damned, where is your advocacy for those elementary school kids’ education?
ps9 and 191 are completely separate issues. ps191 is being truncated because they are under-enrolled AND under-performing. this has NOTHING to do with ps9 and their overcrowding issue.
Very misleading. They are not completely separate, because although the DOE is manufacturing a falsely constrained set of options, their position is that PS 9 cannot get the space they want unless Center is relocated to PS 191. And that in turn cannot happen unless PS 191 middle schoolers are cleared out of there.
To protest that these are “completely separate issues” is to reveal your own character while also insulting the intelligence of everyone you’re talking to.
What would be really great is if the DOE stopped with all of the piecemeal school moves, truncations and closures. Rather than doing something this year, something next year and something the year after, they should look at the district as a whole and make a comprehensive plan. Until they do that, we will continue to have families fighting families.
And what about PS191 and their middle school. When 191 moved into their new building almost 10 years ago the DOE made a number of promises to make the school a success. Here we are talking about closing the middle school and moving another school into the building. Doesn’t seem like the recipe for success to me.
100% this. And it’s even worse than what you said. The DOE didn’t give 191 what they’re legally supposed to. Now they’re going to evict those middle schoolers and scatter them to schools around the city – to hide their underperformance rather than help them.
Just one example: when there are a certain number of non-English speakers in a school, DOE has to provide bilingual support. They haven’t. Instead of fixing that and properly supporting those students, they’re just going to disperse them so they’re no longer legally obligated to. Those kids will continue to be failed, just legally instead of illegally, and the DOE does not even pretend to care (evidenced by zero plan at all). I really can’t understand why commenters here are not universally outraged by how the DOE is proceeding. They keep making it about Center and PS9 when it’s so much bigger and systemic
It’s frustrating that comments on these stories keep becoming about PS 9 and Center. What the DOE is doing to MSC and PS 191 shows how poorly conceived these proposals are, and how expendable the DOE thinks students are.
The issue here, and what Naveed and the article are highlighting, is the DOE operating in a piecemeal fashion, on an improper and hurried timeline, without any real plan for the impacted students. Citywide, the DOE is doubling down on “strategies” and approaches that destroy trust and stability in the system. That will further decimate enrollment, and the effects of that declining enrollment and resulting loss of funds will be exacerbated by the DOE sending more and more funds to private school in the form of tuition reimbursement because they don’t conduct any systemwide impact or cost assessment along with these proposals. That is bad for everyone regardless what you think about each individual move. If you didn’t listen to the City Council Committee on Education Hearings, you should!! Hold our DOE officials to a higher standard. It shouldn’t be controversial to expect them to have a coherent district-wide plan that they communicate to stakeholders and can answer questions about in an intelligent way. I don’t see why anyone would be arguing against that. And yet, here we are.
It’s odd to me that the WSR has twice not posted my reply, which quotes directly from the DOE’s own proposal, but allows Smart Mom and Uws parent to repeat their false assertions. Maybe third try is a charm? Here goes:
Those saying PS 9 is not planning to expand enrollment are peddling in falsehoods and fomenting hate against Center School families, not the other way around. Stating facts is not nastiness or bullying.
From the DOE’s proposal, in the DOE’s words, stating the DOE’s plans: “This proposal will also allow P.S. 9, a high-demand, high-performing elementary school, to increase access by growing enrollment in M009.”
Readers, always check facts for yourself. Then draw your own conclusions about the people who smear others merely for accurately stating facts that some would prefer to keep hidden.
The commenters saying this doesn’t pass the sniff test should keep asking questions! It smells like corruption or a cover up because that’s how it feels when partial information is shared, things are done behind closed doors, and the explanations given are obviously pretext. Here are a few tidbits to help connect dots:
* When Kamar Samuels was D3 superintendent, he oversaw the intentional abandonment of PS 191. He ignored parents at 191 about the issues at their school. Title 1 funds were improperly handled. Bilingual support were not provided. Against the law. On his watch.
* He plans to close PS 191 elementary too, but is proceeding piecemeal because the incremental steps are easier to pass. At a late meeting before being appointed Chancellor, he ACCIDENTALLY showed a slide that referenced closing PS 191 elementary or merging it into Center as a K-8. “That slide wasn’t supposed to be shown.” Oops.
* Despite the administration’s overall plan to gut G&Ts, Kamar Samuels – also a D3 elementary school parent at “unnamed school” – plans to propose expanding the G&T program at PS 165. Oh, 165? A building that Center School has said would fit their curriculum better than 191, and which does have space for them under current utilization, but has been deemed no longer available without any explanation for why? Oh, yes, that 165. Curious.
Imagine if G&T expansion at 165 were being proposed and discussed right now — at the same time as the Center School relocation proposal, and in the context of ending other G&Ts, and in the context of failing to provide adequate resources to PS 191 elementary and middle. It would be DOA for the DOE. But, hurry up with pushing PS 191 out and moving Center School in, and all of a sudden the field has been cleared for a different conversation about 165. Interesting.
Also interesting: how will WESS meet the class size mandate? Anderson? Why does Kamar Samuels want to steamroll through with the closure of PS 191 middle and the relocation of Center before those other schools are discussed? Really, just so many questions to ponder.