Parents and staff at I.S. 204 are protesting plans to house a new high school on one floor of their building. The Academy for Careers in Television & Film (aka ACTvF) is scheduled to open in September and plans to train students for behind -the -scenes TV and film careers. The New York Production Alliance is a partner and there are promises students will spend lots of time at nearby Silvercup Studios and have opportunities for internships all over the city. Silvercup and school staff will be hosting an open house for prospective students on Thursday.
IS 204’s complaints are similar to those of other existing schools who’ve had to make room for new programs in their building: They’re worried about housing 18-year olds and 10-year olds in the same building and they don’t want to give up classroom space. Enrollment at IS 204, on 28th street and 36th Avenue, has been declining, possibly because the school is listed as “in need of improvement” by the City.
ACTvF is part of the NYC Department of Education’s plan to open a bunch of new “Career and Technical Education “High Schools. Although the DOE stresses that CTE high schools are geared towards kids who probably won’t go on to college, ACTvF’s website promises that students will “acquire the prerequisite skills and knowledge to successfully transition into competitive four-year colleges” New schools in the City, particularly those trendy new small schools, tend to revise their mission plans and programs a lot in their first few years.
There’s no word yet on whether the school will give preference to students from the neighborhood—most of the local highs schools do not. There’s also no information on where the school’s permanent location will be, although the Silvercup West project seems like a logical spot, if it ever gets built.
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