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In 1974, educators in East Harlem asked some of the district’s best teachers to create small, alternative public schools, carving space as needed within existing buildings… Says Deborah Meier, founder and former principal of East Harlem’s Central Park East Schools: “I had never heard of anybody offering to do that in the public system. And it was the beginning of a very bold and exciting experiment. Within ten years, East Harlem went from having twenty schools to having fifty-two schools in the same buildings.” “Each school had its own focus and style,” notes (Seymour) Fliegel (East Harlem school administrator). “So you had the open ed, progressive schools. We had some highly traditional schools… We had three math and science schools. We had a maritime school, we had a sports school, we had a writing school, two performing-arts schools. Keep in mind, though, the goals were always the same: raising academic achievement. The themes were different ways to motivate the youngsters to get there.”
By 1982, educators in East Harlem required that all junior high students choose a school, whether alternative or regular; no schools would be assigned. Any school that was failing would be shut down and reorganized, much like a failing business…
By 1987, East Harlem was outperforming half of the city’s school districts. Many attributed the turnaround to the smaller, more personalized schools. Most agreed that choice had also played a critical role.
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