By Kevin Korber of Village Confidential
Despite words of protest from students and parents, the Department of Education has voted to phase out the Legacy School for Integrated Studies on 14th Street, according to a DNAInfo report. The decision came after a 9-4 vote from a panel that included Schools Chancellor Denis Walcott.
Legacy had been in the DOE’s crosshairs for some time after receiving a “C” grade on its 2009-2010 DOE progress report and an “F” for the 2010-2011 school. Teachers had told the website InsideSchools.org that many of the students of the Greenwich Village high school were reading below their age level.
The decision to close the Greenwich Village high school comes after a concerted effort from students to save it. That effort drew attention citywide when Legacy students marched to Union Square and held a demonstration in support of saving the school on February 1st.
The closing is part of a program undertaken by the DOE to close underperforming schools as according to the new accountability ratings instituted by the DOE under Mayor Bloomberg. The program has encountered resistance citywide from parents who feel that little is being done to help these schools to improve.
