Dive Brief:

• The New York City Department of Education has backed away from a plan to merge two Harlem elementary schools after facing criticism that it was moving forward too quickly without full parent engagement.
• The New York Times reports the department announced in October it wanted to merge the STEM Institute of Manhattan with Public School 76 and redraw the boundaries for the STEM Institute, but it is withdrawing the proposal before a vote by the all-volunteer Community Education Council — members of which have accused the department of ignoring the concerns of black and Latino parents.
• While the Harlem schools have faced declining enrollment — more than one-third of black students in that area of New York City attend charter schools — Community Education Council members were wary of the plan without a more comprehensive strategy to reverse the enrollment trend in the wider neighborhood.

Dive Insight:

The New York City Department of Education is pursuing a variety of boundary changes to rebalance schools throughout the city. One controversial plan to which it has remained committed would impact families in a piece of Harlem and on the Upper West Side, rebalancing schools with disparate enrollment and creating three, more integrated schools. This proposal has been discussed with families for more than a year, and while there are critics, it has support among many parents.

Neighborhood schools tend to engender fierce loyalty among long-time residents, making any changes to enrollment boundaries and composition a difficult pill to swallow. Demographics change, however, and once-full buildings can become wasted with low enrollment. The nation has also seen a trend toward resegregation that cities like New York are attempting to combat more aggressively.