For the first time, a Staten Island school is on the chopping block, as the Department of Education plans to phase for P.S. 14 in Stapleton due to its low test scores and poor performance. Borough reporter Amanda Farinacci filed this first report in the NY1 series "Closing Arguments" on the DOE's proposals to close 25 schools.

P.S. 14 in Stapleton, Staten Island is in the bottom 4 percent of elementary schools citywide and that is why the Department of Education says it is on the list of schools it wants to close.

Tranesha McCall, one of several hundred parents at P.S. 14 who turned out last month for a hearing held in the school's auditorium, said the department is making the wrong decision.

"It seems like the decision has already been made that they're going to close the school and we're left in the dark. And we come, we protest, but it doesn't seem like anything's going to be any different," said McCall.

Under the city's plan, which the Panel for Educational Policy will vote on this Thursday, P.S. 14 would be phased out over the next three years, while phasing in P.S. 78 a new school at the same location, with a new faculty and administration.

P.S. 14 teachers said the plan is confusing and that introducing students, many who come from tough backgrounds and difficult childhoods, to new instructors is a recipe for disaster.

"Our kids don't deal well with change, and so they're not going to react well with new personnel," said teacher Howard Goldstein.

DOE officials say closing the school will give the kindergarten through fifth grade students a better opportunity to succeed. Last year, just 23 percent performed on grade level in English, and only 31 percent did so in math.

Unlike other boroughs, Staten Island has been spared any school closings until now. Borough President James Molinaro, who has taken heat from parents and teachers at the school because of his refusal to visit despite repeated requests, said the DOE is right to shut P.S. 14.

"It has to be what is in the best interest of the children, not what's in the best interest of the teachers," said Molinaro.

Anticipating that the school will be closed, Sam Pirrozolo, the president of the Community Education Council, has already started making plans to form an oversight committee to help parents and teachers transition through the change.

"I have spoken to the department of education and they are willing to participate with this group so we can start to bring information to these parents so they'll know what's going on," said Pirrozolo.