Bed-Stuy's PS 262 Could Get Rid Of Its Middle School

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Bed-Stuy's Public School 262 El Hajj Malik El Shabazz School could get rid of its 6th through 8th grades as soon as this upcoming fall, according to a proposal from the NYC Department of Education. The DOE proposal says that P.S. 262's enrollment for the middle school grades has declined 16 percent over the past four years. Around 41 percent of the fifth graders at the school over the past four years chose to go somewhere else for middle school, the report found.

P.S. 262, at 500 Macon St. between Malcolm X Blvd. and Stuyvesant Avenue, is serving 1,098 students this school year, less than half of its legal capacity, 2,650, according to community's education council district rules.

The Community Education Council 16 (CEC16) members have worked with the DOE on the plan, DNAInfo reported. The CEC16 president, NeQuan McLean, issued a statement supporting it.

"We believe that students, they have been successful, but will be more successful in a larger school and have a different opportunity to see more teachers," he said. "Our district is shrinking, and we have to find a way to make things better."

If the plan goes through, the sixth through eighth graders will go to another district school, and teachers will be able to apply to other district schools, the DOE said.

The proposal is set to be voted on by the DOE's Panel for Educational Policy on March 22 at 6 p.m. at the High School for Fashion Industries at 225 W. 24th St. There is a public hearing on the proposal before that on March 9 at 6 p.m. in the same location.

Request for comment from CEC16 wasn't immediately returned.

This is a developing story, refresh the page for updates.

Lead photo via NYC Dept. of Education