NYC schools marked for closure, including one where teen murdered
NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - More than a dozen struggling New York City schools will be closed, including one where a student was fatally stabbed in September. Many of the schools were part of a renewal program to help underperforming schools improve, which, apparently, is not working out.
in September, Matthew McCree, 15, was stabbed to death by a classmate inside the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation in the Bronx. That school is among the schools Chancellor Carmen Farina wants to close.
McCree's mother, with her lawyer by her side, said the schools chancellor failed to protect her son and should've had metal detectors in the school. She is also suspicious about the proposed closing.
Farina said she cannot comment on McCree's case because the investigation is ongoing. He said the school is closing because it is continuing to struggle and few students want to attend the school.
She has also proposed closing nine renewal schools, a category of failing schools created by Mayor de Blasio that have received increased funding and resources from the city in the hopes of succeeding. Five others would be merged. Farina said that 21 renewal schools have improved while 46 more will receive funding for one more year.
Professor David Bloomfield of the CUNY Graduate Center said the renewal school program has not met its goals. He said the mayor didn't get the results that he promised.
Four other city schools are also on the closure list. They are not renewal schools.
If these proposed school closings take effect, it will happen in June.