M.J. GonzalezRoss Global Academy Charter School on 11th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A.

In 2009, teachers at the Ross Global Academy Charter School hung a blue banner across the main entrance that read, “We must become the change we want to see.” These days, the words on the banner are regarded by the school’s staff, parents, and students as more than an aspirational motto. In December, the Department of Education announced that the five-year-old school on East 11th Street near First Avenue will close at the end of the academic year. But some of the people involved with the school said that they are determined to convince the department to keep the school open.

They may have serious hurdles to overcome. When the academy was founded in 2006, it was given a five-year charter outlining academic, organizational and financial goals. Each year, the Department of Education performs a citywide evaluation to ensure that such goals are being met. This past year, the Ross Global Academy was ranked as the lowest performing charter school in the city.

Richard Burke, the executive director of a specialized enrichment and tutoring program at the school, said that the faculty is exploring every option they can think of to keep the school functioning.

“We’re doing everything possible to keep the school open,” he said. “Everything from a city to state level and a legal angle.”

While there are many at the school who share Mr. Burke’s goal, some of them said that they can’t help feeling worried about the future.

“We are dismayed,” said Stephanie Wilson, a member of the school’s Parent Teacher Association and Board of Trustees. “We’ve gone through the shock, and are now really sad and anxious.”

One of the things that Mrs. Wilson is most worried about, she said, is the possibility that the school’s successes will be overlooked. She said that the academy has had a positive effect on her two children.

Her 15-year-old son, Demetrius, graduated from R.G.A. in 2009 after completing eighth-grade, and was accepted into Brooklyn Technological High School, a highly competitive and academically rigorous specialized science high school in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

And Mrs. Wilson’s younger son, Elijah, 7, began at R.G.A. two years ago as a kindergartener. Read more…

Andre Tartar A group of eighth grade students at Tompkins Square Middle School, one of two schools in the East Village to receive “A” grades on a recent evaluation of city schools. Students attributed the school’s success to strong bonds with the faculty. “We are like a family,” said one eighth grader.

The halls of Tompkins Square Middle School fill with children headed to their next classes. The silver-haired dean of community affairs, Devan Aptekar, warns a visitor to get ready for some noise. But it never really comes. Instead of hollering and ricocheting off the walls, students chat with each other using their inside voices. A few even wave hello to Mr. Aptekar as they pass. Nearby, a math teacher jokes with a student and asks him to answer a question before he can enter the class: “What is negative fourteen squared?” Clearly, something is going right here.

In the wake of the recent progress reports on which East Village schools performed poorly, The Local decided to ask the two schools awarded “A” grades, Tompkins Square Middle School and East Side Community School, about the ingredients of their success.
Read more…

Timothy J. Stenovec The East Village Community School and the Children’s Workshop School share a building on East 12th Street and both earned a C grade for academic performance.

Report cards are out for public schools in neighborhoods across the city and the East Village is getting the kind of grades that would cause just about any parent concern.

Of the 15 neighborhood elementary and middle schools graded as part of the city’s annual progress report, which was released on Sept. 30, only four were awarded A’s or B’s. Ten schools received C’s, and one earned a D. The scores dropped significantly compared to last year, when every East Village K-8 school earned at least an A or a B.

Failing grades for schools come with repercussions. Schools that receive low grades can face closure, and the principals of low performing schools can be fired.

Parents dropping their children off at the East Village Community School and the Children’s Workshop School recently were surprised to learn about that their schools were not making the grade.
 Both schools, which share a building on East 12th Street, got C’s this year, although the East Village Community School got D’s in “student progress” and “student performance,” two of the sub-categories that contribute to the overall grade.
Read more…

Meredith Hoffman Jon Taylor, director of the World Class Learning Academy, said the school has postponed its opening to next fall to finish renovations to its home in the old La Salle Academy building on Second Street.

World Class Learning Academy, a private primary school, will hold its first open houses this Saturday and Sunday to recruit students for next fall.

Located in the La Salle Academy’s old Second Street building between First and Second Avenues, the new school pushed back its initial 2010 start date to September 2011 to finish renovating and to enroll more children.

“There’s a certain transparency about for-profit schools and parents are aware of that,” said Jon Taylor, the school’s director. “It’s about reinvestment and getting value for your money.”

He admitted this year is a “loss-making” year, but the school’s investor Sovereign Capital trusts its success based on the track record of other schools in the World Class Learning Group. The schools focus on global education, and holistic and personalized learning.
Read more…

A CD called “Songs from the East Village” might make you think old school punk or hipster rock. But for a group of children from the East Village Community School, the CD means music from Puerto Rico, Iraq, Tibet, Ireland and other countries.

“These are songs the children’s grandparents or parents grew up singing,” said Susan McKeown, a Grammy-award-winning Irish singer who produced the album, which was released Monday with a party at the Tenement Museum. “The music is a part of their culture.”
Read more…

Pete Hamill.

We hope that you will join us Sept. 23 for a night in which we at The Local, as the new blog on the block, celebrate the rich history of the East Village with a reception and lecture by NYU Journalism’s own Pete Hamill.

Mr. Hamill, a resident of East Ninth Street and Second Avenue back in the day, will discuss ways that storytellers – from student journalists to community contributors to professionals – can bring tales from the neighborhood’s hidden past into the present.

The celebration begins at 6 p.m. at 20 Cooper Square, 7th Floor with music, food and libations to follow. Please come.

Looking for child-friendly options as summer turns to fall in the East Village?

Community contributor Rachel Goldman surveys some of our neighborhood’s playgrounds.

Is our playground map complete? What is your favorite neighborhood playground, and why?