DOE to present final plan to rezone P.S. 8 and P.S. 307

Existing Middle School to Move Into Dock Street Development

November 20, 2015 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Along with rezoning P.S. 8 and P.S. 307 in Brooklyn Heights, the city’s Department of Education plans to relocate Satellite West Middle School, currently located at P.S. 307, to the second floor of the new Dock Street building. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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The city’s Department of Education (DOE) will present its final plan for the rezoning of Brooklyn Heights’ P.S. 8 and Vinegar Hill’s P.S. 307 to the District 13 Community Education Council (CEC) on Monday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m. at the Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, 283 Adams St.

The P.S. 8 Parent-Teacher Association has supported the rezoning, calling it the only plan on the table to address P.S. 8’s overcrowding in time for the 2016-17 school year.

In a release, the P.S. 8 Community Affairs Committee said, “If the CEC does not approve a rezoning plan to take effect for the 2016-17 school year, our community would need to be prepared for a very large wait list for our 2016-17 kindergarten class.”

P.S. 8 is currently operating at 140 percent capacity. As new development in Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn comes online, the school will only become more overcrowded, elected officials say.

As part of the rezoning, DOE is also looking to relocate Satellite West Middle School, currently located at P.S. 307, to the second floor of the new Dock Street building (19 Dock St., aka 60 Water St.). The space was originally slated to house a new middle school.

Satellite West, currently undersubscribed, serves 86 students this year. The city says that the new building will offer amenities not currently available to students at Satellite West, including a new science lab and music suite. DOE plans to “shift” the academic offerings at Satellite West in order to attract more students.

By the 2018-19 school year, Satellite West is expected to serve from 285 to 315 students.

The city also want to put a new pre-K on the first floor at Dock Street, which would serve 72 children. The preschoolers won’t mix with the middle-schoolers, DOE says.

After Monday’s presentation, the CEC will have 45 days to vote on the plan. Interested persons will be given the opportunity to testify at the meeting, or submit written comments through the CEC’s website comment form.