Only a month at her new job and city Schools Chancellor Cathie Black is on the brink of making a mistake of historic proportions. On Jan. 20, Black sent Deputy Chancellor John White to a meeting at Jamaica High to explain the city Department of Education’s plan to close the school that has been an institution in Queens for nearly 120 years.
White got an earful from parents, students and teachers opposed to this plan. When he arrived, he encountered demonstrators who carried signs and chanted, “Save Jamaica High School!” Inside, speaker after speaker made it clear that the people of southeast Queens think the city’s plan is asinine.
We are disappointed Black did not show up for this meeting. Clearly, she does not understand how important Jamaica HS is to Queens and the battle she will face if the board continues with its plan to phase out the school. Instead, she sent her deputy, who earlier this year distributed a five-page fact sheet about the phase-out.
In case White did not get the message that night or did not communicate it clearly to his boss, we will try our best to summarize it for Black: Nobody cares about your fact sheet and the people who will be affected by this decision do not want Jamaica High to close.
The fact is that in recent years Jamaica HS has made improvements despite the neglect from the DOE. One teacher pointed out that Jamaica HS saw its funding, resources and other means of academic support cut during the last year while three other schools that share space in Jamaica High’s building were provided with new computers and books. Despite the lack of resources, the graduation rate at Jamaica HS went from 35 percent in 2005 to an estimated 56 percent last year.
Jamaica High has problems, many of which are the result of the city’s neglect. Closing Jamaica HS and other troubled schools and reopening them with fancy new names is not a solution. No matter what the city Panel for Education Policy votes this week, this fight is not over. The students, teachers, parents and elected officials representing Queens will not sit quietly by while Jamaica High is dismantled.
