The CEC and D3 Presidents' Council have been working on a resolution to ask that Beacon consider reverting back to a D3 priority school. I am PA Co-Pres. of MS 54 and my parents are very upset about the number of our eighth graders who did not get a spot at Beacon. My principal and the director of Delta, which is one of our programs, urged parents to write to our elected officials, etc. and so Gale Brewer and the District Office have been inundated with letters from us.
The point is that if the situation is not resolved, Beacon will still be a citywide program come this fall. We were told that the decision rests with the principal of Beacon, who changed the status of the school from that of an Ed. Opt. D3 priority school to a screened citywide program several years ago. Not only has this resulted in fewer D3 kids getting accepted but it has also affected the racial diversity of the school.
I personally would like to see the principal revert the status of Beacon back to a Ed. Opt. D3 priority school. D3 priority is key but I think we also have to fight for the Ed. Opt. as well given many of our MS 54 students from CORE also have not gone to Beacon in recent years because it now screens its kids so it has become more selective and thus exclusive.
If we can get a meeting with the principal of Beacon to explain our rationale, she may be more receptive to change. As it stands now, she is saying that she will "accommodate" D3 kids next year (but not make it a citywide program). I not sure what that means.
Provided by Bijou Miller, Co-Chair D3 President's Council
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