The Quality of Review at PS 154

We're having a big day this week at PS 154. Company is coming, the quality review type of company. Like your rarely seen great-aunt coming over to visit, everyone at PS 154 will be on our best behavior this coming Tuesday and Wednesday and impress District 7 Superintendent Yolanda Torres and her QR minions as they poke, prod, probe, and have us turn our heads and cough as they determine not only whether or not we are proficient enough, but also if we stay open as a school.

We here at SBSB applaud that 154 is subject to a QR and wish to extend an invitation to the reviewers to be sure and speak to a wide array of teachers. Hear many opinions, and listen to many viewpoints. We are sure a reviewer will benefit greatly from such a meeting.

I still think the school is going to be shut down even if we are labeled proficient.I think the powers that be not only wish to excoriate most of the staff there, but The Crack Team has a sneaky suspicion that since Bronx Success is no longer co-located in PS 30 just a few blocks away, that Eva is looking for a new home to co-locate in and PS 154 would be perfect for her.

Why? One is the Robin Hood Foundation funded library that we have. Secondly, enrollment has been plummeting for several years and with about half a dozen empty or extremely under utilized classrooms, all one needs to do is some simple math.

But there is something more sinister happening. The neighborhood, the little section of Mott Haven from 138th St south to Bruckner Blvd and from about the 3rd Ave Bridge east to Willis Ave is becoming gentrified.

Very foretelling is the new apartment building that has been constructed on Bruckner Blvd right next to the Willis Ave Bridge. This is a 350 unit building with a gym, swimming pool, concierge, and many more amenities. More so, to live in the new apartments, one must qualify for residence with a minimum salary, as well as a maximum salary depending on the unit and the family size. 

But where does this leave the families and children who live in the Mitchel Houses and who make up just about 95% of the students at 154? Someone will lose out and it just might be the parents, the families, the children who live in Mitchell.

Apparently, no one cares about those who have invested years into PS 154. We have parents who attended 154, and grandparents who attended 154. But it does not matter to those in power.

The children, the families, and the community of PS 154 are just dupes to those at City Hall and Tweed. What they're selling is some sham miracle elixir being sold to them from a trunk of a car.