District 16: School System Falters in Bedford-Stuyvesant
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
For decades, School District 16 in Brooklyn has been bogged down with administrative issues and low performing schools. After weeks of investigating, NY1 has found that even with mayoral control of the school system, many of the same old problems still plague the Bedford-Stuyvesant school district. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following exclusive report.At 8:15 in the morning on August 19, 2002 -- his very first day as New York City Schools Chancellor -- Joel Klein went to Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to meet with the superintendent of one of the city's most troubled school districts -- District 16.
"I think this district represents the rich diversity of New York which I've talked about and will be a big part of the building blocks we are going to use," Klein said.
The rest of Klein's first day included a visit to a District 16 school and a meeting with parents.
"I want to hear what the parents have to say, they're the ones who have all the experience, and that's why I'm here," Klein said.
But seven-and-a-half years later, there are still major problems in District 16, and for months, parents have had no official voice.
Tucked in the middle of Brooklyn, School District 16 has struggled for decades with low test scores and high dropout rates. It's the city's smallest district and has some of the lowest performing schools.
All of the city's 32 school districts have community education councils. They're supposed to have 12 members -- 11 parents and a student -- and they're supposed to decide issues like which schools are zoned for which neighborhoods. They're also supposed to give the Department of Education advice on decisions affecting their district. But District 16's council has only two members, four less than the bare minimum required to even conduct business.
"It means we face challenges," the schools chancellor said. "There are some districts in the city that are very high poverty and that are hard to get people, many of whom work two or three jobs, to serve."
District 16's council is the only one in the city that doesn't have enough members to function.
"This community here is so rich in heritage and culture. When you go back three decades, our parents advocated for us, hard. And three decades later, even two decades later, it has declined," said District 16 council member Nicole Alford.
The problems in District 16 may run deeper than low education council participation based on poverty or disinterest. In fact, some say potential candidates are actively being discouraged from joining the council.