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November 6, 2014

To whom it may concern:

We write on behalf of the PTA of PS 8 to highlight the overcrowding problem that currently exists

at PS 8 and that promises to worsen quickly given already approved residential housing under

construction in our school zone. We respectfully request that the Department of Education

address the need for additional elementary school seats in the PS 8 school zone.

Last year, our lower school was at 142% of capacity, according to the Blue Books target formula

(which, based on research on appropriate class size, strives for no more than 20 students in

kindergarten through third grade classrooms, and no more than 28 students in higher grade

classrooms). Our school building, designed to house 4 classes on a grade, now routinely supports

5-6 classes per grade in our lower grades, with 28+ kids in several of these classrooms. PS 8 should

have additional classrooms for weekly classes like drama and dance, but we have had to give these

up to make room for additional grade-level classes. This year, we lost two pre-K classesin spite

of the mayor's push to add 25,000 new pre-K seats citywideto make room for an increasing

number of students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Here is a snapshot of our schools 2014-15 population:

Grade Approximate Number of StudentsKindergarten 140

1st 135

2nd 143

3rd 100

4th 106

5th 79

The larger lower grade size does not simply reflect attrition in our upper grades. Rather, the trend

toward larger lower grades reflects a combination of our schools growing popularity and

increasing residential development in our zone.

The situation is almost certain to worsen with each year. If recent numbers stay the same, each ofthe next 3 years will bring in 6 new kindergarten classes, while only 3-4 fifth grade classes leave.

This is unsustainable. In truth, though, we are likely to experience additional growth. Recent

reports indicate that between 550 and 670 moreresidential units are already planned and

approved for DUMBO alonein the next two years. At least one of those new developmentsthe

Dock Street development, with 290 residential unitsis slated to open in December 2014.

Further compounding our problem, significant additional residential housing is currently being

considered for the PS 8 zone as part of projects planned for several large buildings in our

neighborhood. At this point, none of these projects plan for the additional school capacity needs

of the residential housing they propose.

The 37 Hicks Street building lacks the capacity to serve our rapidly growing neighborhood

population. We ask that you begin a public process to address our overcrowding in the short,

medium and long terms. We seek to ensure that our lower school is not further overcrowded in

the 2015-16 school year, and that plans are developed to address the longer term elementary

school needs of the increasing number of families that will be moving into our school zone.

Sincerely,

Kim Glickman and Ansley Samson

Co-Presidents, PTA of PS 8

mailto:president@ps8brooklyn.org