Highbridge has been without a middle school for 40 years. Thanks to local residents and community activists, that will change in three years, when a new school opens at 1065 University Ave. near 165th Street.
Currently, local children have to take two to three buses every morning to get to their middle schools outside the neighborhood, said Chauncy Young, an organizer with the Highbridge Community Life Center, a local non-profit. The new school, which is included in the Department of Education’s 2010-2014 Capital Plan and is set to cost $54 million, will allow the students to go to school closer to home.
“I don’t feel comfortable not having a middle school near me,” said Jose Fuentes, a PS 11 third grader who lives in Highbridge. When his mom told him about the new school, he was happy. “Hopefully I will attend that school when I graduate,” he said.
But not everyone is as happy as Jose.
Critics said the 389-seat school is too small to accommodate all the children of middle school age in the community. United Parents of Highbridge, a coalition of parent groups, wanted a school that would accommodate 1,200 students.
“I am very concerned about the school plan,” said Highbridge resident Teresa Marrero, whose two children attend PS 11, a local elementary school. The family lives across the street from the new middle school, but their location doesn’t necessarily guarantee her children a spot. “I am worried if my two children will be qualified for the school or not. If not, they will have to travel all the way to the East Bronx to attend middle school.”
“It’s scary to travel on two to three buses to go to school alone,” said Jocelyn, Marrero’s third-grade daughter.