For a second year, families with 7th- and 8th-graders grapple with the logistics of getting to school

Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-HammelStephanie Bergen is faced with a walk of almost two miles along Drumgoole Road to Paulo Intermediate School.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Parents all over Staten Island are asking the same question for the second straight September: How am I going to get my child to school?

Without yellow bus service for seventh- and eighth-graders, parents are plotting lengthy walks on roads without sidewalks, confusing commutes with multiple bus transfers, or shelling out money for private pickup services just to get their children to class.

In Annadale, Michael and Amy Bergen have been agonizing over their 12-year-old daughter Stephanie's commute to Paulo Intermediate School in Huguenot. Walking 1.8 miles, across eight blocks, some of them lacking sidewalks, is the most efficient route.

But the most frustrating thing is that since sixth-graders still get yellow bus service, the bus will continue to stop on her street.

"It's going to literally drive right past our house, virtually empty," Mrs. Bergen said.

Many parents wondered how cutting the bus service for seventh- and eighth-graders could save any money if buses were still collecting sixth-graders. Others had the same thought regarding elementary schools, where fourth- and fifth-graders who live less than a mile away aren't picked up by yellow buses but younger students are.

"Continued eligibility for general education transportation is contingent on grade level and distance from the school," Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said. She didn't address the question of how cutting the service could save money if buses were still picking up younger children.

To make sure her daughter gets safely to class, Mrs. Bergen is going to drop off Stephanie in the morning before work, and pay for a private transportation service to bring her home.

BUS WOES BOROUGHWIDE

Similar stories are playing out boroughwide. When the Advance asked concerned parents to contact a reporter, her inbox filled with 28 e-mails and counting. Many mentioned Aniya Williams, the 13-year-old seventh-grader who was fatally struck by a truck as she ran for the city bus after her last day of class. She was heading to a restaurant with friends.

Regina Cucci said she quit her social work position at an agency working with victims of domestic violence and other crimes, a job she loved, to drive her son to school. "I had to put my own needs, primarily the safety of my son, before my clients," she wrote.

Ms. Cucci's son is going into eighth grade at Paulo, and the family lives in Great Kills. His public transit commute to school includes walking down busy Arthur Kill Road, with no sidewalks, to the Eltingville Transit Center to catch a city bus. The trip takes at least 90 minutes. His mother was concerned he'd worry about getting to class on time and be careless in crossing the street to catch the bus.

"My family is now struggling financially but there is no amount of money worth the safety of my son," she wrote.

In Great Kills, Margaret DeFalco is so disgusted with the situation surrounding her son's commute that she might just keep him home when he starts seventh grade this week.

"I think a lot of parents should look into keeping their kids home on the first day of school and letting [officials] see that this isn't going to happen," she said.

Her son's commute includes a three-quarters-of-a-mile walk that includes crossing busy Richmond Avenue and then a city bus ride. In addition to concerns about sidewalks and winter conditions, the case of murdered Leiby Kletzky -- he got lost in Brooklyn walking home from camp -- weighs on her mind.

"What happens if, God forbid, somebody grabs him like that?" Ms. DeFalco asked.

'NO-WIN SITUATION'

Many parents whose children attend the Michael J. Petrides School in Sunnyside complained about seemingly endless commutes. The school, which serves kindergartners through high schoolers, admits students by a lottery system, so they come from all over the borough.

Dora Genco of Great Kills said her daughter, Danielle, 11, is in the sixth grade now, but next year, will have a commute to Petrides that's about 90 minutes long. She'll either have to take two buses -- along with a hefty walk -- or hike to the train station and then take two buses.

Unless yellow bus service is restored, Ms. Genco said she will send her daughter to Barnes Intermediate School next year.

"My daughter was crying when I told her she possibly had to switch schools," Ms. Genco said.

And Ms. Genco said she would still have trouble getting her daughter to Barnes, which is more than a mile from her home. "It's a no-win situation for her," Ms. Genco lamented.

After a lawsuit aimed at restoring service failed, Island politicians are still fighting to have bus service restored. State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) introduced a bill in Albany that would restore service. It passed in the Senate but is stalled in the Assembly.

"I hate to use hyperbole, but as we recently learned, it's a matter of life and death on Staten Island," Lanza said. "The city has to recognize it."

NOT JUST MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Elementary school parents also report problems getting their children to school.

Stephanie Poggi says she lives about 1.2 miles from PS 42 in Eltingville, but the DOE says it's .9 miles. So they cut her 9-year-old daughter's bus service.

They offered two "safe routes" to school, Mrs. Poggi said: The fourth-grader will either have to walk nearly a mile over a highway on a road with no sidewalks, or walk to the busy Eltingville transit center and take a city bus four stops up Richmond Avenue with a half-fare MetroCard.

"They want them to walk with no crossing guards, nothing," Mrs. Poggi said. "It's a ridiculous thing."

If a route is dangerous, folks can apply for a variance, Ms. Feinberg said. But some parents said they tried that, to no avail.

Celeste Vitale had a similar problem -- her daughter attended PS 55 in Eltingville, but they lived on the other side of Richmond Avenue. Her daughter's bus service was cut, and an application for a hazard variance denied, Ms. Vitale said.

"[They] feel that it is not a hazard for a third-grader to cross Richmond Ave. alone without a crossing guard or sidewalks present where she needs to walk," Ms. Vitale wrote in an e-mail.

  Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons"9/11: Reflections Then and Now" is screened for an appreciative audience at the JCC in Sea View last night. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Considering today's elementary school students hadn't been born on Sept. 11, 2001 -- and even older high school students were just 7 or 8 at the time -- teachers in all grades...

Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons"9/11: Reflections Then and Now" is screened for an appreciative audience at the JCC in Sea View last night.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Considering today's elementary school students hadn't been born on Sept. 11, 2001 -- and even older high school students were just 7 or 8 at the time -- teachers in all grades can struggle with just how to broach a sensitive subject so close to their own hearts and lives with students who didn't live through or don't remember it.

"There's so many adults that haven't moved in time, like the kids have," New Dorp High School Principal Deidre DeAngelis said. "And the impact, especially on Staten Island and the members of the Staten Island community, were so large. It's like yesterday for us. It's not 10 years, its yesterday."

But beginning this year, teachers will have a little more guidance, although it comes at the last minute: The city is rolling out a new curriculum for dealing with the tragic attacks the week before the start of the school year.

COVERS GRADES K THROUGH 12

Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott announced yesterday the release of a new curriculum, developed by the Department of Education and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, that schools can use when discussing Sept. 11 with students from kindergarten to 12th grade.

"The 10th anniversary will be an emotional, difficult time for many New Yorkers, so it's important that our students understand what happened that day," Walcott said in a statement. "With the help of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, we've created a guide to discussing these events with students in a meaningful way that is also academically rigorous."

The curriculum focuses on sacrifices made by first responders on that day, and provides broader context on the event as an attack on freedom that was experienced by all New Yorkers and Americans, according to the DOE. With the start of school less than a week away, teachers are being encouraged to integrate the lessons into their plans for the school year, in social studies, history, English and art classes.

The lesson plans were written with the help of city school teachers, and are divided into four categories: Historical impact; community and conflict; heroes and service, and memory and memorialization. They're also aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and will be aimed at improving writing and critical thinking skills.

"New York City is home to some of the best public schools in the nation and in working with their teachers, we hope these lesson plans will not only teach children about the history of 9/11, but also about the responsibility of being an American and maintaining the very freedoms that terrorists sought to destroy 10 years ago," 9/11 Memorial president Joe Daniels said in a statement.

Walcott sent a letter to all public school principals, superintendents and school support networks yesterday, providing links to resources schools can use when they return from summer break next week. School staff and students, especially those directly affected by the attacks or the rescue and recovery efforts, will also have access to counseling resources.

Even without a formal curriculum, Sept. 11, 2001, has been a classroom topic over the last decade -- though some teachers have sought to avoid it.

At the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, Wendy Aibel-Weiss, director of exhibits and education, has for the last few years helped educators figure out how to teach students about 9/11. Among the most common questions the center gets from teachers is, "How can I possibly explore this topic when I know I'm going to start to cry?" Ms. Aibel-Weiss said.

Others have told her it was the "the worst teaching day of my life" -- one that made them feel helpless to protect terrified students, some of them who were orphaned, terrified -- and a day they never wanted to relive.

But in the lead-up to the 10th anniversary of the attacks, and with the killing of Osama bin Laden, there was renewed interest in how to teach students about Sept. 11, she said. In years past, between 18 and 20 teachers a summer signed up for workshops held by the center. This summer, the number swelled to 150. When students didn't know who bin Laden was, she said, many teachers realized they had been remiss.

"We think it's a major component of New York City history, and it's ridiculous that we have kids coming from all over the country and the world eager to know what's happening here," Ms. Aibel-Weiss said, "but kids who -- it was in their own backyards -- are avoiding the topic."

And while many teachers believe they need to hide their own painful memories of the day from students, Ms. Aibel-Weiss said they've told educators just the opposite.

"We feel the way to get into this difficult material is to begin with a personal story," she said.

In addition to lessons on history, Ms. Aibel-Weiss said Sept. 11 is full of civics lessons, as well.

The topic is a hard one to teach at New Dorp, DeAngelis said, where many alumni were killed and many staff members lost family and friends on Sept. 11.

"We all have our connections to that, and it is difficult for teachers," she said.

But she said the school's history department was "one of the best" -- and they have worked hard to get through the topics with students in the past. Helping teachers bring the topic into the classroom, despite how hard it might be, is in part what the curriculum is designed to do.

"We are committed to building educational programs and providing materials to teach future generations about 9/11 in its depth and complexity," Clifford Chanin, education director for the museum, said in a statement. "No matter how old you are, this is an emotional and difficult subject. These lessons plans are proof that, while the subject may be challenging, it belongs in the classroom."

ALBANY, N.Y. -- In his first back-to-school message New York state Education Commissioner John King urges students, parents and educators to work hard and get smart this school year. He asks students to challenge themselves with reading and writing. The first-year commissioner urges parents to "dive into their students' school experience" by asking what they learned that day and...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- In his first back-to-school message New York state Education Commissioner John King urges students, parents and educators to work hard and get smart this school year.

He asks students to challenge themselves with reading and writing.

The first-year commissioner urges parents to "dive into their students' school experience" by asking what they learned that day and what it means.

King urges educators to constantly ask who is proficient in their school. And how can he or she become more proficient.

He says educators should constantly assess how well they are preparing students for college.

King has provided a video address.

It is at http://engageny.org/resource/back-to-school-message-for-students-and-parents.

Thousands ready to learn, meet teachers and fellow pupils Watch video

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On a rainy, dreary morning, thousands of Staten Island Catholic school students headed back to class today.

And while there were plenty of teary-eyed students, who had to be separated from mom or dad by force to start kindergarten throughout the borough, it was almost all smiles at newly named St. Peter-St. Paul School in New Brighton.

"I really want to go to Kindergarten," Olivia Cunningham, 5, said. "I know that it's going to be like any other class, it's just that you learn a lot more."

St. Peter's Elementary School moved into the former St. Paul's building, merging their names, after St. Peter's Girls High School closed in June.

But there were those sad to see the season change.

Miguel Lopez started first grade today and he shyly nodded that, yes, he was excited, and, yes, he liked science and basketball. The biggest nod, however, came when asked if he was sad summer was over.

Despite the gray weather, students were cheerily greeted by teachers, and principal Margaret Annunziata welcomed students outside the school.

"We're like a big family here," Pre-K teacher Mary Quinn said.

Public school students across the borough, meanwhile, are savoring one last soggy day of summer vacation. They report back to class tomorrow, their return delayed a day due to professional development training as city schools prepare to implement new "Common Core" standards.

Photo contest: Submit your back to school photos

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- About 61,000 public school students will return to class on Staten Island today, but their Catholic school counterparts got a jump-start on the school year, returning to class yesterday. It was rainy and chilly -- summer vacation was definitely done -- but there were still plenty of smiling faces streaming into the newly renamed St....

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- About 61,000 public school students will return to class on Staten Island today, but their Catholic school counterparts got a jump-start on the school year, returning to class yesterday.

It was rainy and chilly -- summer vacation was definitely done -- but there were still plenty of smiling faces streaming into the newly renamed St. Peter-St. Paul School in New Brighton yesterday morning. They were among about 9,000 Island elementary school students heading to Archdiocese of New York classrooms yesterday.

"I really want to go to kindergarten," Olivia Cunningham, 5, said. "I know that it's going to be like any other class, it's just that you learn a lot more."

Yesterday was also the first day of classes -- for the 127th time -- at Staten Island Academy in Dongan Hills, a private K-12 school.

"The families were excited, the kids were excited," said Ruth Teague, director of admissions and financial aid.

Public school students, meanwhile, had the opportunity to savor one last soggy day of summer vacation. The start of the city school year was delayed a day in June, in order to give teachers an extra day of professional development.

The training is designed to help roll out the new "Common Core" standards in city classrooms. The curriculum standards have been adopted by 48 states, including New York.

The new St. Peter-St. Paul School was the former St. Paul's School, which closed in 2006. After St. Peter's Girls High School closed in June, the elementary school, which had been located on Richmond Terrace, moved into the Clinton Avenue building and added St. Paul to its name.

"I love the school. It's a really good school," said Jessica Duff, who was dropping off her daughter, Sumira Lewis, 5. "She comes home learning a lot. It's like a family."

Xavier Lake, 5, of St. George, was excited to start his first day of kindergarten -- he's spent the last few days asking his father, Owen Lake, when school started.

"He was excited," his mother, Orella Lake, said. "Mom was nervous."

But the Lake family already has experience with St. Peter's.

"I went to St. Peter's as a kid, so he's kind of a little legacy," Lake said.

Miguel Lopez was also starting his very first day at the school. He was excited to be in first grade, but nodded a big yes when asked if he was sad to see summer vacation end.

Fourth-grader Tosin Johnson Osinuga said she was excited -- "and a bit nervous" -- to start school. Classmate Nancy Simpkins, 9, agreed.

"I'm scared there's going to be some hard things that I don't know," Nancy said.

But fourth-grader Janyah Mercedes, 9, said it felt "great" to be back at school. "I like that we learn and we do lots of stuff, like doing hard math," she said.

Her brother Richard, 6, was enthusiastic about starting first grade. Their little sister, Jaydah, 4, will start pre-k today.

Despite the gray weather, students were cheerfully greeted by Principal Margaret Annunziata on the sidewalk in front of the school. Teachers flanked the doors, happily guiding children inside.

"We're like a big family here," pre-k teacher Mary Quinn said.

Classes did not begin at all Archdiocesan high schools yesterday -- some are still holding grade orientation this week, instead of full-day classes, and the first day all students must report varies from school to school.

NEW YORK -- Pupils at a brand new school in Lower Manhattan were greeted on their first day back to school today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott -- and Frank Gehry. The famous architect was on hand at the brick Spruce Street School because it occupies the bottom floors of a glass- and titanium-skinned residential tower that...

Advance file photoSchools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is greeting students returning for a new school year today.

The famous architect was on hand at the brick Spruce Street School because it occupies the bottom floors of a glass- and titanium-skinned residential tower that he designed. Gehry, Bloomberg, Walcott and other elected officials greeted arriving parents and children. Walcott also planned to make a stop at Susan E. Wagner High School in Sea View today.

When Rudy Matheson, a first-grader, heard that Gehry was in the building, he said, "I want to see Frank Gehry."

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*CATHOLIC SCHOOLS STARTED YESTERDAY

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The 293 students in pre-K through second grade currently enrolled in the school were among the 1.1 million pupils returning to the city's classrooms today.

"It's an exciting day. My job is to maintain that excitement through the school year," Walcott told reporters. Earlier, he made the rounds of students sitting in school's cafeteria waiting to go to their classrooms.

"My name is Dennis Walcott," he told one group. "You may see me popping around here now and then."

Walcott is beginning his first full year as head of the public school system. He was appointed in April after the brief and rocky tenure of former publishing executive Cathie Black.

Bloomberg and Walcott planned to visit one school in each of the five boroughs on Thursday. Their second scheduled stop was the Bronx Academy of Letters.

Asked about a New York Times poll found that most New Yorkers believe the public school system has stagnated or declined since he took control of it nine years ago, the mayor said, "In the end polls don't really matter."

During first-day stop here, borough pupils get a visit from Doctor 'No'

Education council chief vows to press NYC Department of Education - and future mayoral candidates - on busing issue

Staten Island Advance/Hilton FloresSam Pirozollo, president of CEC 31, vows to make support for restoration of bus service a litmus test for mayoral candidates.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The fight to restore yellow bus service to Staten Island's seventh- and eighth-graders appeared over after a lawsuit failed and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott refused to budge on the matter.

But Community Education Council 31 President Sam Pirozzolo told parents at a council meeting last night that the fight has just begun. He urged them to write legislators, and make it clear to future mayoral candidates they wouldn't find support here without advocating the restoration of busing.

"This needs to be a major campaign issue," he said.

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) laid out her plan for restoring bus service to at least some students with the most hazardous commutes at the meeting. A broader bill awaits action in the state Senate, and would restore bus service to all Staten Islanders -- and some other students in the city, but legislation takes time, she said.

So in the meantime, she's proposed filling up empty spots on buses already picking up students with any child who must cross four or more lanes of traffic to get to school or the nearest MTA bus stop.

"Such variances will improve the safety of children like Vincent Dipalo, a 9-year old fourth-grade student who attends Public School 42R. Vincent's access to the nearest MTA bus stop requires him to navigate an 11-lane intersection at Drumgoole Road West and Arthur Kill Road," she wrote in a letter sent to Walcott last week and signed by a slew of Island lawmakers.

There are about 1,500 students who have to cross such dangerous roads, she said -- and there were likely enough empty seats for them.

While Malliotakis awaits word from Walcott, Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Staten Island) has introduced a bill that would pave the way for her proposal to happen without the city's OK.

"I view the reports of half-filled buses as a waste of resources and this bill will attempt to remedy that," Cusick said in a statement.

Cusick's bill would allow principals to assess how much room they have on their yellow buses, and would require the Department of Education to set up a system for fairly selecting students to fill the spots. He has introduced the bill in the Assembly -- and it will find support with the borough's senators.

"We're supportive of any attempt to restore bus service for these children," Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) said in a statement.

SEEKS FULL RESTORATION

Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island), who introduced a bill that would restore service to all students in the Senate, said he didn't sign Malliotakis' letter because he didn't want to back away from asking for a full restoration of service.

"I've drawn a line in the sand here. I believe that we've got to restore bus service to prior levels, and I don't want to in any way signal that I am retreating from that position," he said.

But he will support Cusick's bill by sponsoring it in the Senate -- "only as a stop-gap measure," he said.

"This bill, this legislation, is not the ultimate goal for either Mike or myself," he said.

Like others, Ms. Malliotakis took issue with Walcott's assertion that state law regarding "like circumstances" meant Staten Island's students are entitled only to what other city students receive.

Staten Island's circumstance aren't like other boroughs', she said -- there is little public transit, schools are far away, and sidewalks are sometimes rare. Besides, Staten Island lacks plenty of things other boroughs have, she said.

"Where are our public hospitals, if that's the case?" she asked.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The September meeting for the city schools Panel on Education Policy will be held on Staten Island tomorrow night -- and parents will have a chance to voice their opinions before the board and Chancellor Dennis Walcott. The panel is an appointed board that governs the Department of Education with the Chancellor, and it meets...

View full sizeStaten Island parents will have a chance to voice their concerns to NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott during a meeting here tomorrow. (Staten Island Advance)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The September meeting for the city schools Panel on Education Policy will be held on Staten Island tomorrow night -- and parents will have a chance to voice their opinions before the board and Chancellor Dennis Walcott.

The panel is an appointed board that governs the Department of Education with the Chancellor, and it meets in a different spot across the city each month. Tomorrow's meeting is slated for the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex at 6 p.m.

Following agenda items -- among them approving contracts and policy changes -- interested parties will have the opportunity to put forward comments and concerns.

Community Education Council 31 President Sam Pirozzolo said several CEC members plan to speak to the board to push for the restoration of yellow school bus service for seventh- and eighth-graders.

Parents who wish to speak at the meeting should arrive by 5:30 p.m. to sign up, Pirozzolo said. They will be given three minutes to speak, he said.

Hammered by parents on 'Prison Petrides' Watch video

Staten Island Advance/Hilton FloresSchools Chancellor Dennis Walcott confronts a hostile crowd at Sunnyside school.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott got an earful -- a loud, angry earful -- from parents furious over plans to house suspended students at the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex, as well as the continued denial of some yellow-bus service, at tonight's meeting of the Panel on Educational Policy.

"Welcome to Prison Petrides, Cell Block A," parent Stephen Wysokowski greeted Walcott and the panel.

 An issue that wasn't even on the agenda, the proposal for an Alternate Learning Center at Petrides for middle school students serving lengthy superintendent's suspensions, dominated the meeting -- which, in a twist of fate, had been scheduled weeks ago for the Sunnyside school in question.

About 200 parents and residents turned out at the meeting, and 50 signed up to address the chancellor and the panel. They shouted over Walcott repeatedly, as the chancellor continually asked them to let him speak or respond to their questions.

Parents bemoaned the decision as a "done deal." But Walcott closed the meeting by saying the center wouldn't open this month, and he promised to meet with the school's PTA next week.

"I'll be doing some more due diligence and we'll decide from there," he told the Advance.

PARENTS OUTRAGED

Wysokowski told Walcott he knew what kind of kids would be coming to the center at Petrides -- he said his son was seriously injured by one of them, a 14-year-old student at the extant Alternate Learning Center at Mount Lorretto. Young Wysokowski, then 16, was attacked on a city bus. He needed emergency surgery for a broken nose and lost had his cell phone to his assailant. The father hoisted high a picture of his injured son.

"This middle schooler had two prior arrests," he said. "And this is the type of criminal you will let occupy our school complex, with our children?"

He noted that due to denial of bus service, his younger son, 12, must take three city buses and walk half a mile through construction sites to get to Petrides. The suspension center will only compound his anxiety about school, his father said.

But Walcott said the students who would serve out their suspensions on the Petrides campus -- in a building that houses no other classrooms -- aren't criminals.

"They're students who have been suspended. They're not criminals," he said. "To criminalize our students who are not criminals, I think, is wrong."

While levels 4 and 5 of the disciplinary code do include some crimes -- gun possession, for example -- Walcott said that kind of offense would yield a yearlong suspension. The Petrides complex won't serve students with suspensions that long, he said. Officials would not, however, specify the longest suspension time to be served. The shortest would be a week.

LITTLE NOTICE

Middle school students currently serve their superintendent's suspensions at Mount Lorretto, but high schoolers have to travel off the Island to do so. When elected officials asked Walcott's office for a local spot for the high school students, they asked to expand at Mount Lorretto but were turned down by the landlord, Walcott said. So they worked up a plan to move the middle schoolers to Petrides, and put high school students at Mount Lorretto.

Parents -- and elected officials -- said they heard of the plan only this week. Many said they learned of it through a story in yesterday's Advance. Walcott apologized for that.

"The bottom line is, we've made a decision, we did not do the process properly and I apologize publicly for that," he said.

The mood at the meeting was tense from the start, with folks holding signs decrying the plan, and angrily shouting at Walcott when he tried to explain the city's rationale.

"These children are in need of quality educational services," Walcott told the crowd.

That triggered a tremendous outpouring of shouts from the crowd. Later, parents yelled out "Next!" as the panel tried to make their way through unrelated business. When it was time for public comment, there was plenty to go around.

PLENTY TO SAY

Parent John Vitucci said he works as a lawyer in Criminal Court, and recently took his 5-year-old daughter there. He explained to her that the criminals there had done "bad things."

"How do I explain to my daughter that the people who committed those same acts, the robberies, the assaults, the guns, the rapes, are now at school with her?" he asked. "She's 5 years old."

Another parent, Elizabeth Ehresman of Westerleigh, who is also a public middle school teacher, said when a problem student is suspended for a month, teachers breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm telling you, you do not want these children in this school," she said.

Several brought up concerns for the suspended students, too. Education officials have said they will eat lunch at their desks, will be escorted to the bathroom by security guards, and there's no provision yet for their mandated physical education.

Community Education Council Sam Pirozzolo said even inmates at the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility get to go to lunch and the bathroom. He called for a more comprehensive, permanent place to educate middle school students who are failing at their own schools.

"You are treating our children not as well as we treat the inmates in our prisons," he said.

Lori Fiorito, co-president of the PTA, agreed.

"It's unfair to these children, too," she said. "Yes, they are our children of Staten Island. They do not belong here."

She said the result of placing the students at the school could be a small child getting hurt. "We will not stand for that," she said.

Others in the crowd recalled incidents where teachers placed in "Rubber Rooms" at Petrides caused problems with parents and students, sometimes resulting in violence. They wondered if the school had enough security guards -- and if they were trained well enough -- to deal with the suspended students.

Joann Nellis said her son at Petrides, an eighth-grader, was the one child whom she never feared for at school.

"And you're bringing this here?" she asked.

PLENTY OF COMPLAINTS

Nearby residents, meanwhile, also came out against the proposal. Tom Foley said his mother, Bridget, was mugged by a summer school student attending class at Petrides.

"She's a senior citizen and a grandmother, and she has to be afraid out in her front yard, watering her plants?" he asked.

Before the meeting, Charles Stoffers, president of the Todt Hill Civic Association, said he, too, opposes the plan. He lives within sight of the school.

"We're not talking about a kid who sassed a teacher, played hooky, or was suspended by the principal for disruptive behavior," he said.

Other parents -- and students -- blasted the panel for what they characterized as inattentive behavior, like checking cell phones.

"I find it very disrespectful that the parents are here and you're completely ignoring them," Robert LaRosa, 17, a senior at the school, said to one panel member.

"Can you continue to speak?" the panel member interrupted, to plenty of booing from the crowd.

Speakers also took issue with the department's assertion that since the center was not being located inside a school -- but the administrative Building A instead -- the process doesn't legally require a public hearing.

"I could spit on Building A from where I stand," John Lastella said. "You're telling me we're not co-located?"

Walcott rocked by hostile reception Watch video

Staten Island Advance/Hilton FloresFurious parents assailed Dennis Walcott at Petrides meeting.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Just as quickly as the plan emerged, it has been scrapped.

Following Wednesday night's raucous meeting with hundreds of Staten Island parents, city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said he will not move to put an Alternate Learning Center on the campus of the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex.

At the same time, he pronounced himself "upset and offended" by the comments and behavior of some parents.

"I understand that parents have concerns and I value their feedback, but the vitriol and hostility toward our students was not acceptable, and for a variety of reasons I no longer feel comfortable moving forward with placing the ALC on the Petrides campus," Walcott said in a statement.

DAY-AFTER DECISION

The decision came on the day after a Panel for Educational Policy meeting -- scheduled weeks ago -- at the Sunnyside school. The proposal to put middle school students on superintendent's suspension in an administrative building at Petrides wasn't on the agenda but it dominated the meeting.

Dozens of parents chastised Walcott over the plan during the general comment portion of the meeting, and plenty didn't wait their turn. The proceedings were rife with people in the crowd shouting at Walcott and the panel whenever they tried to speak, and booing when the chancellor said he's responsible for educating all children, even those who are suspended.

The center would have been for students who had committed level 4 or 5 violations of the Department of Education disciplinary code, but Walcott said Wednesday that the most serious offenders, with year-long suspensions, wouldn't be sent to Petrides.

The proposal to put the center there came after elected officials and others complained there was no ALC for suspended high school students on the Island. The city proposed moving middle schoolers, who currently have a center at Mount Loretto, to Petrides, and putting high school students at Mount Loretto.

Now, the Department of Education will look elsewhere.

"I've asked my team to look for other locations on Staten Island, which we originally did in response to concerns about Staten Island students having to travel to other boroughs," Walcott said. "But at the end of the day, everyone has to remember that these are Staten Island students, and while they may have disciplinary issues that need to be addressed, these are still our students and we have to work to make sure all of our students succeed." 

PTA PLEASED

For Petrides PTA co-president Lori Fiorito, the decision was welcome news.

"We're thrilled," she said. "We're so thrilled."

Walcott made an unannounced visit to Petrides yesterday, and then personally called her in the afternoon, Ms. Fiorito said.

"I did apologize for the crowd. The crowd was so rowdy," Ms. Fiorito said. "And he said, 'I respect you for apologizing but it goes with the job.'"

She attributed Walcott's change of heart to a mix of concern about the vitriol and concern about the site itself.

"When he came back today, I think he saw in the light of day, for himself, where the building was actually situated," she said.

She wanted him to see where the suspended children would be -- close to young students in what could be a dangerous situation, but also forced to watch others play outside and enjoy themselves while they were kept locked away.

"I believe everyone should get an education, and that's what I stressed last night," she said. "But not here, because it's not a good fit."

OFFICE-HOLDERS REACT

Borough President James Molinaro said he had been in contact with Walcott throughout the last two days.

"It's in the best interest of everyone that it's gone," Molinaro said. "That's not saying that these children that are being sent out to Brooklyn and Manhattan, that they shouldn't have a better opportunity, to stay on Staten Island."

He said there was a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation among parents, and emphasized that the children at question are not criminals. Molinaro commended Walcott for trying to reach out to the students, and give them more structure by setting up a center on Staten Island that they might be more willing to attend.

"I have to commend the chancellor for realizing that these children are part of our society, and part of our borough," he said.

Molinaro said he has seen this kind of reaction before -- whenever he tries to site a community group residence.

"Every group said, 'Oh, we're not opposed to them, but not here,'" he said. "But if not here, where?"

City Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid Island/Brooklyn) said he wasn't surprised that people reacted poorly to Walcott -- although he said there was no excuse for some of the behavior.

"I think that when you present this plan in the manner that they did. not giving the elected officials a lot of notice, you can expect to have parents acting that way, for some parents to say some hurtful things," he said.

FINDING A NEW SITE

Oddo said the ALC at Mount Loretto has been very successful, and he's happy that program will not be tinkered with. He said Walcott's decision manages to leave that program alone, avoids creating a negative dynamic at Petrides and accomplishes one other goal.

"It does restore some of Staten Island's faith in the Department of Education," he said. "And I think that was sorely needed after the school bus issue."

The next step, he said, is for all of the borough's elected officials to get together with Walcott and figure out the proper place for the ALC. Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) agreed. He said just the "minority" of parents behaved badly at the meeting.

"That should not totally blind him to the reality that this was a bad fit for all involved," he said.

Councilwoman Debi Rose, (D-North Shore) said that when the discussion for the new location commences, it needs to be an open one.

"I was upset that there had not been any due process where parents and elected officials were given time to discuss and provide feedback about that proposal," she said. "DOE is always quick to shove whatever they want, or they think is good for us, down our throats. But when we want something, they are often noncompliant."

Say it is unsafe for young students to cross busy intersections STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - To prevent more child deaths on Staten Island, elected officials are fighting for some level of restoration of the yellow bus service for seventh and eighth graders and students who must traverse six-lane roadways to catch a city bus to school.

Assemblywoman Nichole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) speaks at a press conference on the busy corner of Drumgoole Road West and Arthur Kill Road. From left are Vincent Dipalo, 9; Assemblyman Michael Cusick; Assemblywoman Malliotakis; Congressman Michael Grimm; Director of Education for the Borough President Diane Marciuliano, and Community Education Council President Sam Pirozzolo. (Staten Island Advance/Michael Sedon)

Intermediate schools tabbed as the new frontier; 50 sites to open

Advance file photoSchools Chancellor Dennis Walcott wants middle school students to improve results

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While other city students have made progress, middle schoolers have struggled -- and yesterday, Chancellor Dennis Walcott unveiled a plan to help them catch up and excel that includes the opening of 50 new schools citywide.

In his first policy speech, delivered at New York University, Walcott touted the city's success in increasing the high school graduation rate -- but said the process must start earlier.

"The time has come to take what we have learned and apply it to an area of our system that needs more attention," he said. "Time and time again, in conversations with parents and educators all across the city, one thing constantly comes up: Our middle schools."

While students in grades three to five have made steady progress on state math and English tests each year since 2006, seventh- and eighth-graders have regressed in English.

'MOVE THE MIDDLE'
Walcott's plan "to move the middle," as he called it, focuses on creating schools, recruiting talented leaders, turning around or closing poor-performing schools and funneling resources and attention to schools that have shown progress but need help.

"Today, I am committing to opening at least 50 new middle schools across the city in the next two years," Walcott said. That number, said the chancellor, would include charter middle schools, which he said have "substantially outperformed traditional middle schools citywide."

UFT TAKES ISSUE
UFT President Michael Mulgrew took issue with the inclusion of new charter schools in Walcott's plan.

"Even charter proponents now admit that charters don't have the same level of needy students," he said in a statement. "Where are these tough-to-educate kids going to go if the local middle school is replaced by a charter that finds a way to keep them out?"

Crucial to middle schools' success, Walcott said, are strong principals, assistant principals and teachers -- who often avoid middle schools.

To help, Walcott said he will work with the Leadership Academy and other city partners to attract administrators to middle schools. To attract teachers, he will devote a class of the New York Teaching Fellows Program to middle schools.

At Bernstein Intermediate School in Huguenot, Principal Dr. Nora DeRosa Karby said she adores adolescents -- but not every educator does. A desire to work with pre-teens is something she looks for when she hires teachers.

She asks prospective teachers to describe the adolescent child. If the answer focuses on rolling eyes and clicking teeth, "then maybe you're not the right teacher," Dr. Karby said.

Dr. Karby highlighted some of the same points Walcott emphasized -- a strong focus on literacy, strong standards and discipline, encouraging leadership training for her teachers, and engaging families -- as some of the reasons for her school's success. But she said it's also important not to get too caught up in the numbers or letters on standardized tests and school report cards. The focus, she said, should be on the children's educational growth.

For schools that have shown promise "but are not quite getting it right," Walcott said he would offer them new resources.

To tackle poorly performing schools, Walcott turned to the city's model of phasing out large struggling high schools and opening smaller ones in their place. He said it's time to apply the same standards to middle schools.

"If a school is failing its students, we will take action and phase it out," he said.

The city will also make use of "an aggressive federal model" called "Turnaround," Walcott said. In that model, the students stay at the school but ineffective staff are replaced by teams of teachers that work together, with up to $30 million in federal funds.

Walcott said he plans to apply for the federal money for five schools next year and another five the year after that. To be eligible, a middle school would have to be on the state's list of persistently low-performing schools. No Island schools are on the most recent list, from 2010.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- Students who want to investigate their public high school and middle school options will have several opportunities over the next few weeks. The first will be the Citywide High School Fair, held by the Department of Education at Brooklyn Technical High School on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. On offer will...

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- Students who want to investigate their public high school and middle school options will have several opportunities over the next few weeks.

The first will be the Citywide High School Fair, held by the Department of Education at Brooklyn Technical High School on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On offer will be information about schools across the city -- including prestigious specialized high schools like LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts, and Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan.

The fair will also include two workshops on the high school admissions process, and two workshops on how to apply to the city's nine specialized high schools -- including Staten Island Technical High School.

For information on schools closer to home, there will be a borough-specific fair for Staten Island at New Dorp High School on Oct. 22-23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. That fair will focus only on Staten Island schools.

Students who want to take the Specialized High School Admissions Test should see their guidance counselors before Oct. 12 to register. Students who want to audition for LaGuardia should see their guidance counselors before Oct. 28 to obtain an audition ticket.

High school applications will be available in mid-October, and are due back to guidance counselors no later than Dec. 2.

The Department of Education will offer further workshops across the city about the high school admissions process, and the schedule will be available online.

For soon-to-be middle school students, a Staten Island Middle School Fair will be held Thursday, Oct. 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at New Dorp High School.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- The chairman of the state Senate's Higher Education Committee is planning a hearing on the SAT cheating scandal. Sen. Kenneth LaValle says he will hold a hearing on Oct. 25 at Farmingdale State College. A list of those testifying has yet to be finalized. LaValle's announcement follows the September arrest of seven current or former students...

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- The chairman of the state Senate's Higher Education Committee is planning a hearing on the SAT cheating scandal.

Sen. Kenneth LaValle says he will hold a hearing on Oct. 25 at Farmingdale State College. A list of those testifying has yet to be finalized.

LaValle's announcement follows the September arrest of seven current or former students at Great Neck North High School.

Six are accused of paying an older student up to $2,500 to take the SAT exams for them.

All have pleaded not guilty.

The older student attends Emory University in Atlanta. He previously attended the University of Michigan.

LaValle and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice have expressed concerns about test security procedures.

Rice says her investigation is expanding and more arrests are possible.

RANDOLPH, N.J. -- Officials at a community college in northern New Jersey are not saying whether they disciplined an adjunct professor who asked a stuttering student not to speak. But officials at the County College of Morris acknowledge Elizabeth Snyder acted improperly and they expressed disappointment with an email the history professor sent to 16-year-old Philip Garber Jr. The email...

RANDOLPH, N.J. -- Officials at a community college in northern New Jersey are not saying whether they disciplined an adjunct professor who asked a stuttering student not to speak.

But officials at the County College of Morris acknowledge Elizabeth Snyder acted improperly and they expressed disappointment with an email the history professor sent to 16-year-old Philip Garber Jr.

The email urged Garber to save his questions for after class "so we do not infringe on other students' time."

Administrator Bette Simmons says Snyder should have advised classmates to be patient with Garber.

Garber has transferred to another section of the same class and says he's happy with how the matter was resolved.

The teacher's actions were first reported by the New York Times. Messages left for Snyder on Wednesday morning were not returned.

ALBANY, N.Y -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo has replaced the widely respected chairman of the State University of New York Board of trustees with former Democratic Comptroller H. Carl McCall, a fellow Democrat steeped in Albany politics. Cuomo says McCall's knowledge of government finances and getting bills passed is a perfect match for the job. The 76-year-old McCall says he'll lead...

Associated PressFormer state comptroller and candidate for governor, H. Carl McCall

Cuomo says McCall's knowledge of government finances and getting bills passed is a perfect match for the job.

The 76-year-old McCall says he'll lead SUNY in a "shared vision" with Cuomo to bolster academic standards and help spur economic growth and jobs around the campuses.

Former Chairman Carl Hayden is an Elmira attorney. Hayden was the state public schools chancellor and head of the Board of Regents for seven years and presided over an era of raising standards and greater accountability at schools.

Hayden was appointed chairman of the SUNY board in 2007 by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

Port Richmond is the only borough school to receive a 'C'

Irving SilversteinPort Richmond High School was graded a "C" by the Department of Education.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While the six of the borough's 11 public high schools earned "A" grades on their progress reports this year, three schools saw their grade drop, with Port Richmond High School earning the borough's only C.

 

The reports were released this morning by Department of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott.

Port Richmond fell from a B in the 2009-2010 school year to a C in 2010-2011.

The school earned a C in each category of the report: student progress, which measures the progress students make toward graduation by earning credits and passing Regents exams; student performance, which measures how many students graduated within 4 or 6 years, and the type of diploma they earned; and student environment, which includes attendance and a survey of the school's academic expectations, safety, communication and engagement.

Beginning in January, students in public intermediate and high schools will be required to take sex education courses

Staten Island Advance photoAssemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis is opposed to the city Department of Education's sexual education program, set to start in January.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island assemblywoman is joining a call on the city to offer parents an alternative to sex education, set to start in January.

Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn), along with Rep. Bob Turner and state Sen. Marty Golden said parents should be given a choice of which kind of sex ed to receive. The lawmakers are partnering with the NYC Parents' Choice Coalition on the issue.

"Legislatures across the nation spend millions upon millions of dollars to combat sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, highlighting the importance of sexual education," Ms. Malliotakis said. "However, this particular curriculum being forced on children by the New York City Department of Education contains material that is both explicit and graphic. We are calling on the city to offer an alternative program, which is more focused on abstinence, while teaching the potential dangers and consequences of engaging in sexual activity. Parents should have a choice as to what level, and in which time frame, their children learn about sex."

Students in public intermediate and high schools will be required to take sex education courses after New Year. Lessons will range from the risks of unprotected sex, teen pregnancy. avoiding abusive relationships and the proper way to use a condom.

According to NYC Parents' Choice Coalition, which has obtained a copy of the curriculum, the program directs students to a website that discusses topics such as bestiality, pornography and mutual masturbation.

"The DOE should have a very simple and straight forward sex education curriculum that teaches children about their bodies and the changes they go through," said Sam Pirozzolo, president of Community Education Council 31, in a news release."They should be taught about sex and pregnancy and how not to become pregnant. Any other conversation about sex, straight sex, gay sex, sexual positions, multiple partners, and so on, goes far beyond what any child or person needs to know to keep themselves safe."

Parents will only be able to opt out of classes that focus on condoms and other birth control methods.

"It is unacceptable that parents will only have an "opt out" option in regards to birth control methods," said Michael Reilly, also of the Community Education Council, according to the release. "The parents should have more options concerning sex education and their children. The lack of transparency with this program has only inflamed tensions between parents and the DOE."

Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimoPort Richmond High School Principal Timothy Gannon is chagrined by slip to "C" grade. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The results are in, and grades for the borough's high schools mostly held steady, with six As, three Bs and a C. But two schools saw their scores drop on this year's city progress reports, and none improved....

Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimoPort Richmond High School Principal Timothy Gannon is chagrined by slip to "C" grade.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The results are in, and grades for the borough's high schools mostly held steady, with six As, three Bs and a C. But two schools saw their scores drop on this year's city progress reports, and none improved.

The C was posted by Port Richmond High School, which was down from a B the year before.

"It's disheartening, because I know how hard people are working here, and I take it personally," said Principal Timothy Gannon. "I know I have to do a better job."

The progress reports grade schools in three main areas: Student progress, student performance and school environment. To make progress, students need to earn at least 10 credits a year and pass certain Regents exams. The performance grade is based on how many students graduate in four or six years, and what kinds of diplomas they earn. School environment includes attendance and other factors.

Of the 10 borough high schools that were graded, eight earned the same grade in 2010-11 as they did in 2009-10. The Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical High School saw its grade slip from an A to a B.

Among those earning an A was Concord High School, which is graded by slightly different criteria as a transfer school. Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning Center, which opened in 2008, did not receive a grade because it has yet to graduate a class.

At Port Richmond, Gannon said students whose scores ranked in the lowest third citywide did not improve as much as the school had hoped.

"We took some hits with our most at-risk students. We didn't do a good job last year with our lowest third," he said. "Part of that was, as we reorganized into smaller learning communities, we weren't able to focus on them as we have in the past."

The small learning communities were launched last year. It may take a few years to see the academic benefit of the change, he said. "But I'm not a patient guy, and I expected to see more gains," Gannon said.

Gannon said the school has taken steps he think will help for this school year -- including hiring a new English as a Second Language coordinator, who will also teach, and naming an assistant principal for special education. And while Port Richmond earned a C for progress, based on course credits and Regents scores, the school's passing rates for the math and English Regents were over 90 percent when weighted in comparison to the schools in its peer group.

At Susan Wagner High School, the grade was an A for the second consecutive year.

"It's all a reflection of the students and staff, everybody just working really hard," Principal Gary Giordano said. "Doing the best they can in the classrooms, building effective instruction on behalf of the teachers. And we have a great student body. The kids are really terrific."

Giordano said the difference between earning an A and a B can be both small and confusing -- three years ago, Wagner earned a B, but their number grade that year was higher than the prior year's A.

The city measured the percentage of students hitting benchmarks that show they are ready for college, like scoring highly on AP or International Baccalaureate exams, earning a C or better in a college credit course, or scoring above a 65 on select Regents exams.

The city is also measuring the college-readiness index of a school -- the percentage of students whose Regents, SAT or class scores would allow them to pass out of remedial course work at a City University of New York College -- and the college enrollment rate -- the percentage of students who actually enrolled in a two- or four-year degree program after graduation.

Though it won't count until next year, schools are already thinking about the college-readiness data. Gannon said Port Richmond has a partnership with Wagner College designed to show high schoolers that college is within reach. He said the school is also going to work to collect better data about how many students go on to college.

"Some of the numbers we thought would be different," he said.

Giordano said comparing a school's grade to its past grades can be hard when criteria change frequently.

"And of course, the college-readiness piece will change next year," he said.