Schools

PS 340 Parents In Uproar Over Mid-Year Transfers

“The education system is going to the dogs,” said Elizabeth Thompson, a representative of the Kingsbridge Heights Neighborhood Improvement Association, at a meeting last week. Thompson, along with a slew of parents from PS 340, lobbied together last Thursday night at the Community Education Council 10 meeting to express their frustrations after being notifying by the school that some 20 students would be transferred midway through the semester to PS 310 due to capping.

Armory Market Plan Boosted by Community Rally Ice Out

Brian Boggan stood nervously in the press box outlined with tape on the side of the St. Nicholas of Tolentine School gym in University Heights. Boggan had come to a rally, organized by the grassroots Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, with an opinion about plans for the long vacant Kingsbridge Armory. As a physical education teacher with a long history of ice skating, Boggan was ready to defend the Kingsbridge National Ice Centers’s bid to fill the empty armory with nine ice rinks.

Northwest Bronx School Progress Reports Released

Below, we have compiled the grades for each of the elementary and middle schools considered part of the Norwood News’ primary coverage area here in the northwest Bronx. Each letter grade is accompanied by its corresponding score, which might give a more accurate picture of a school’s performance. For example, PS/MS 15 dropped just four tenths of point but went from an A in 2010-2011 to a B in 2011-2012. For more detail on each school’s progress report or if your school isn’t on this list, visit schools.nyc.gov, search your school’s name and click on “statistics.”

Bronx Notes: Free College Prep Fairs for Latinos

Latino students and their families are invited to attend the following two free college fairs to collect information about colleges and careers from numerous college representatives who will assist with admissions and financial aid. The New Futuro College Prep Fair will be held at Lehman College’s APEX, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. Attendees can win thousands of dollars in scholarships. For more information and to register, visit www.NewFuturo.com/Events. The Latino College Fair will be held at Fordham University, Rose Hill Camps, 441 E. Fordham Rd., Oct. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. High school seniors will have the opportunity to win a $500 scholarship drawing . For more information or to register, go to www.nycolleges.org., call (518) 436-4781, or contact Susan Nesbitt Perez at susan@cicu.org or Sabra-Joi Dingman at sabra@cicu.org.

Lehman College’s New Children’s Center Coming Along

A new child care center has been spoken about in theory for nearly 19 years at Lehman College in Bedford Park. Well, it’s finally coming to fruition. Lehman is in the process of constructing its new two-story child care center on the northwest area of the Lehman College campus piece by piece, literally — it’s being constructed by cobbling together ready-made modules and is expected to be complete by January 2013.

Bronx Photos: Sliding Into New School Year At PS/MS 20

Students from PS/MS 20 on Webster Avenue in Norwood celebrate the arrival of a completely revamped playground area on Friday, Aug 31, just a week before school started yesterday. Our photographer, Adi Talwar, was there to document the grand opening of the playground, which was dedicated to the school’s longtime and beloved parent coordinator, Haydee Muley Criscenti, who passed away last October.

U-Heights Church Wins Latest Legal Battle With DOE

This time, the Bronx Household of Faith prevailed. In the latest round of a drawn-out legal fight between the University Heights-based church and the city’s Department of Education, a judge ruled that Bronx Household of Faith — and some 60 other churches and religious groups citywide — can continue worshiping inside public school buildings during off hours.