School Report: From Good Works to Bad Behavior

The world of New York education made news lately--good, bad, cultural and ugly. It does seem sometimes that the latest energy adrift in the zeitgeist gets played out in school yards across the town, and today is no exception:

The Good: Brooklyn Principal to be honored for dedication to Haitian relief

When 70 survivors of the earthquake-ravaged Haiti enrolled at Crowne Heights Public School in Brooklyn, Principal Berthe Faustin was more than ready.

As the anniversary of the disaster approaches, the Port-Au-Prince native is being honored for her work with the survivors that struggled to adapt to post-quake life.

The students, traumatized by the disaster, would often burst into tears and remained withdrawn from the school.

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In order to help the students cope, Faustin and the school organized art therapy classes and set up specialized counseling sessions for the survivors and their families.

The Bad: Closings of two NYC schools sets communities on edge

The announcement that two of the city's schools are close to meeting their end have sparked outcry from their communities.

The Academy of Scholarship and Entrepreneurship The Academy of Scholarship and Entrepreneurship, a middle school in Bronxwood, will be terminated after years of poor performance. Sixth-graders will no longer be accepted after this year and the Department of Education has no plans to replace the middle school seats either.

Members of the community worry that the number of middle school seats in District 11 are diminishing, though the DOE insists that there are enough seats in the district.

The DOE will hold two meetings with the community to discuss the issue, the first of which will take place next Thursday.

Meanwhile, Peninsula Preparatory Charter School in Rockaway, Queens will close after being award a grade of C by the DOE.

The decision to close the school, which was in the middle of the pack of charter schools in terms of performance, is highly unusual. Until now, the city's rate of closing charter schools has been about four percent since the charters were granted by the state in 1999. That number is lower than the national average ­- 15 percent since 1992.

The recommendation signals Chancellor Dennis Walcott's decision to hold charter schools to a higher standard than other public schools.

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