Brooklyn's District 13 Get $200K To Improve Diversity, Mayor Says

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — District 13 will get $200,000 from the city to find new ways to improve diversity in their Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn schools, the Mayor's office announced Monday.

The school district is one of five throughout the city that will get part of a $2 million grant meant to help school leaders get started on an integration plan, similar to proposals created through the grant program last year in Manhattan Districts 1 and 3 and Brooklyn's District 15.

Schools can use the money to bring in community planning firms, create working groups, host community meetings and start developing their final proposal, officials said.

“This grant will allow school districts to work with their community and the DOE in developing broader diversity and integration plans," Local Councilman Stephen Levin said about the funding. "I look forward to supporting our schools, students, and PTA members in achieving community-driven solutions ."

The new funding was part of a larger announcement from Mayor Bill de Blasio and School Chancellor Richard Carranza, who said that they would adopt 62 recommendations from the city's School Diversity Advisory Group. The group had suggested 67 steps to better integrate New York City public schools, which are among the most segregated in the nation.

The recommendations include adding diversity metrics to its School Quality Report and requiring schools to monitor student discipline practices to address disparities.

The five districts getting the diversity grant — including District 16 in Bed-Stuy, District 9 in the Bronx, District 28 in Queens and Staten Island's District 31 — were chosen from a group of 17 that applied to the Department of Education for the money.

The department said that it plans to announce another five district that will get the grant later this year.

"There's no one who knows better how to diversify our school system than our students, parents and teachers," de Blasio said. "Accepting the School Diversity Advisory Group's recommendations and awarding diversity grants to five new school districts are crucial steps forward toward ensuring that every student, no matter their zip code, has access to a school where they can thrive."

The announcement comes days after hundreds of students rallied on the steps of City Hall to demand de Blasio accept and act on the School Diversity Advisory Group's recommendations and Brownsville student Tiffani Torres, 16, quizzed the mayor on the Brian Lehrer show about why "he's kind of just disappeared."

"How much longer will it take before you make the choice to end the segregationist enrollment policies in our high schools?" Torres asked.

"I really think you're not hearing what we're saying to you, so I'll repeat it," replied de Blasio. "You're going to see all the products of this in the end. And I'm very comfortable it's going to lead to a lot of change."