Students, parents, school officials, and alumni following the future of co-locating a D75 school into the DeWitt Clinton Campus (DWCC) will have to wait until May 29 to find out the final outcome.  The vote is now scheduled to take place at the William H. Taft Educational Campus at 240 E. 172nd St.

After a joint hearing of the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) and the Community Education Council (CEC) held April 2 at DWCC, the city Department of Education (DOE) determined that more time is needed to fully review some of the concerns of families and students. If passed, a D75 school will join the existing DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx Collaborative High School, World View High School, and PS X168.

In an email response to the Norwood News, DOE spokesman Doug Cohen said, “Community empowerment is central to this process, and we’re taking more time to discuss this proposal with students and families in order to address their concerns and ensure we’re meeting the needs of our students.”

Tensions have been growing between a vocal group of students at Clinton (supported by their parents and teachers) and advocates for D75 students, which is charged with teaching students with special needs including autism, intellectual, or multiple disabilities.

At the April 2 meeting, Kettler Louissaint, D75 superintendent, urged the Clinton academic community to keep an open mind about his students having a space within the campus.

“When you let District 75 come into your community … you will not want us to leave.  You’re going to fall in love with our students,” Louissaint said.

The DOE has identified the Clinton campus as being underutilized and thus appropriate for incorporating yet another school within its walls. According to the DOE, DWCC currently has 670 seats not in use.

Amy Tsai is a parent advocate for the Citywide Council for District 75 (CCD75).  She’s also the parent of a D75 student in District 10.  “There’s been a back and forth between the parents of children with disabilities and school administrators.  I see a lot of misunderstanding and confusion,” said Tsai.

The school has made a comeback in recent years (state education officials have improved the school’s ranking to a “low-performing school” from one in danger of permanently closing), but the uncertainty of how a new D75 school on its campus will impact that progress has upset some of the students, parents, and Clinton personnel who have worked to raise scores, combat absenteeism, and increase graduation rates.

The additional time for the vote is welcomed by Tsai who has heard much of the confusion expressed by fellow parents.  “I’ve heard what some parents are saying and think they should learn more about D75 students.  If they look at schools like Truman and Lehman [high schools], they’ll see that it can succeed,” Tsai said.