83% of those who responded to our Snap Poll tonight said Mayor Bloomberg's strategy for failing schools is unsuccessful. 80% of our callers seemed to agree. Clearly, members of the Panel for Educational Policy don't watch our show...

The Panel for Educational Policy is voting tonight on plans for schools to share space inside buildings in the coming school year. This latest round of co-locations is part of the Department of Education's plan to close failing schools and open smaller ones in the same building with new staff.

There are now more than 700 schools sharing space at a total of 380 campuses in New York City. Supporters of co-locations say smaller class sizes are helping students learn. Opponents say replacing teachers does little to improve student performance, and sharing space creates hostile environments. What do you say?

Would you vote to merge several schools in the same building? From your experience, are co-locations improving the learning environment? Is this vision the best way to get students to improve performance in the classroom?

Send your thoughts using the link above.

Co-locations where a charter school is placed in a building with one or more regular public schools has been a big problem, in part because the charters do not follow same rules as DOE schools, nor are they accountable to the city or impacted equally by budget cuts. In uptown Manhattan, conflicts about the Success charter chain have been particularly divisive. Word that Success is being placed in your building spells doom for equity, cooperation, and flexible space; it also causes loss of art & music rooms, labs and libraries. Talk to families at PS123, PS149, PS241...you will hear the same stories of loss as a result of these co-locations. A great deal of the blame falls on the DOE, with its deaf ear and opaque calculations of space and usage (its deeply flawed 'Blue Book'); DOE seems to have an agenda of late when it comes to squeezing Success schools into already-crowded buildings in neighborhoods that strongly oppose them coming in. Not once has the tremendous opposition from parents, community boards and elected officials stopped the Panel for Educational Policy from rubber-stamping Success in. Blame for flawed co-locations must also be placed on the organizations that authorize the schools' charters. SUNY, for example (which authorized the Success charters), does not even consider the viability of the proposed locations; they approve charters and then leave location selection to the DOE, taking for granted that the DOE will somehow find space for the schools they authorize. That process needs to change.

Anni
Manhattan

I am so so sooooooooooooo sick of this game they play!~! I work at Gateway HS (which, incidentally ... is closing!) in Stevenson Campus. They intend to house a new school here to total 9 schools come September. Really~???

Hemorrhage=Bandaid as a resolution.

Perhaps the bigwigs need to take a pay cut and give back to education to in fact, support personnel who work their asses off with students all day! What do they know about education? Remember Cathy Black; perfect example...loser!

I don't care how you slice it, even though a new school is coming in to our campus, they, too, will be set up for failure.

I am done with these idiots shoving tons of people together trying to make more with less. They aren't supplying us with the proper resources to address most of the concerns. Another thing: why don't they fix failing students before they get to high school, so we won't be expected to "create miracles." They set US up for failure AND the students we provide a service to AND to the parents!

Ms. J
Gateway HS -- Bronx
(soon to be a/ka/ another failing school gone bye bye!)

Having multiple schools share a building has little value. Class sizes are not smaller, replacing teachers does not increase learning.One benefit is that teachers and students get to know each other better in a smaller school setting.

James
Middle Village
Educator- 22 years

I think that closing existing schools is a travesty. Experienced teachers are being forced to retire after many years of teaching in one location.The path is now being laid to privatization of public schools and who knows where this will lead.

Rosalie from Canarsie

Hi John,

Please tell me when it will finally sink in that whatever this mayor does is always the wrong decision. I don't believe in sharing the facilities and it has become trial and error. Yet they go on to other projects again and again and the outcome is still the same. But they still pat themselves on the back as though everything they get in involved in is a complete success instead the outcome is always a failure.

AND YET ANOTHER PANEL = WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE COME FROM = ALSO NO MATTER WHAT THE SUBJECT IS THEIR DECISION IS ALWAYS IN FAVOR OF THIS MAYOR = TO ME THEY ARE GOING MORE THAN A LITTLE OVER THE EDGE AND THEY ARE PUSHING THEIR LUCK WITH US. WE ARE STAGNANT AND CAN'T GET BEYOND THIS RUT THAT WE ARE IN. IT'S BECOMING MORE THAN FRUSTRATING FOR ALL OF US. VERBALLY THIS MAYOR HAS OFFERED CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANYONE VOTING IN HIS FAVOR IN ALBANY AND PLUS WE HAVE THIS CUOMO DOING HIS THING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. THIS IS MORE THAN DISRESPECTING US. WE KNOW WE ARE POOR. SO PLEASE DON'T KEEP THROWING IT IN OUR FACE.

Thank you John,
maxxiee
mp

John,

Government cannot solve problems with education. They are the cause of problems. Here’s the detailed plan for improving education in New York.

Shut down the Department of Education.
Shut down the Panel for Education Policy.
Get rid of the unions.
Privatize all schools.
Give parents a choice.

Go with this winning formula and children will be educated far better.

Joe
Port Richmond

The President of the United States is pushing for privatization of our public schools and these are segregated institutions with no "checks and balances or "accountability." In environments like this, corruption runs rampant and human flaws permeate. Teachers that work in these charter schools are exploited with inhumane working conditions-long hours, sometimes 6 day work weeks and no unions so you can be fired at any moment. Teachers that work in public schools are being railroaded by principals, especially principals that graduated out of the training institute initiated by Bloomberg. Principals in public schools are railroading teachers by either charging them which results in a monetary fine or terminating them "by any means necessary" Teachers are being pushed into working at charter schools. The corruption in public schools is out of control, and charter schools breed segregation and inequalities. Mayors that are in charge of school systems are simply facilitating the plan of the President of the United States which is to allow corporations to benefit from the educational budget.

Yvonne from Brooklyn

When Mayor Big Bucks is enriching all his close friends ie out of state consultants paying out millions in salaries! Remember Cathy Black? Now Moskowitz and her charter schools opening up around the city. People lets start a recall of this heartless billionaire mayor!

Brenda
Far Rockaway

Hello John,

NYC - Board of Education proposed co-location for (2) separate schools occupying the same building - is "a bad idea." John, I thought this issue was addressed IN THE EARLY 1950s - what have we learned from the landmark case - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) the decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." John, co-location would mean one of the schools in the same building will (and have received) better facilities and resources (renovated classrooms with Smartboard technology, updated textbooks, renovated bathrooms, etc.. ) and the former "old" public school will not receive the upgrades, thereby, "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." remember history or REPEAT IT!!!!!!

Yvette

Not only are school colocations an ignorant solution to the problems the mayor is to lazy to solve, but it is also an illogical and irresponsible move and this is coming from a current NYC high school student whose school is on the verge of having this happen to his school.

David

HOW IS BLOOMBERG ABLE TO CLOSE ALL THESE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHICH BELONG TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS CITY AND THEN REOPEN THEM SO HIS FRIENDS CAN MAKE MONEY OF US THE TAXSPAYERS.

PEDRO
BRONX

Hello John.

As a teacher for six years I am losing faith in the process -- specifically because of Bloomberg but also because of a false reform movement that constantly manipulates information to achieve its goals.

Let's be honest, all of the screaming in the world would not change the PEP's vote. It's obviously a rubber stamp, just another pseudo reform from a false reform movement looking to scapegoat teachers and schools and set up students for failure. It doesn't take a genius to figure out co-location is a terrible idea and I pray my school is never subjected to that.

Sal
Bay Ridge

I'm a student and I'm going to represent my school on this list, Flushing High School. I know this doesnt work because I've seen it failing in action. They're TRYING to say they are helping us, but its not helping anyone, just hurting. Instead of co-location, just fund the large schools and help them preform better.

Davon

Bloomberg wanted to be the known as the education mayor. What a joke. During his tenure he has destroyed the NYC school system. His objective has always been to downsize the public schools by purposely letting them fail so that the privatization would be justified. New Yorkers fell for this and now are voluntarily supporting Charter schools to the mayors delight. Because of the privatization of the school system, Bloomberg has set himself and his cronies up to reap the benefits for years to come.

Vern

it sounds like most of the issues have to do w/ children w/ disabilities

Jingle

As a teacher in a shared building I've witnessed many situations of tension between the students; typically complaints are about unequal resources between the schools. the cafeteria, auditorium and gym are shared and it is a constant battle to keep kids from another school entering at undesignated times. the schools have different rules/ culture and the often clash.

Alicia

So typical of the nasty, corrupt Bloomberg administration and his lapdog, Woolcott - segregate children in the same building. Will the public school kids have to drink at different water fountains, use separate entrances, bathrooms, etc.? Welcome to the World of Bloomberg & Woolcott - oh, and get at the back of the bus - you know who you are.

Frances
East Village

I think that our mayor's plan to close "failing" schools is terrible! How can this help students??

Judy

Co-locations do not help schools keep class sizes low; in fact the opposite occurs. Each additional school located in a building eats up classroom space with administrative offices and cluster and specialty spaces. In a system as chronically overcrowded as NYC’s, it is a significant contributor to the trend of rising class sizes and often the loss of art, music rooms, libraries, and science labs, restricted access to gyms, lunch as early as 10:30 AM, and special needs kids getting services in hallways and in closets.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters