PS 24 principal promises a seat for every child

By Kate McNeil

Despite threats of overcrowding, PS 24 Principal Philip Scharper assured local parents that all kindergarten students in the Riverdale school's zone will have a seat next year.

"It's a fluid situation," he said. "We will do our best to accommodate all students."

At the moment, Mr. Scharper said, the school is "struggling" with the increase in applications. He also added that the school does not know what it will take to house the overflow of children - extra teachers, a new classroom - but promised seats for all children in the school's zone.

PS 24's zone stretches from Riverdale Avenue west to the Hudson River and from Spuyten Duyvil north to West 246th Street and includes some areas near Manhattan College.

Both PS 24 and the Robert J. Christen School, PS 81, are capped at 125 kindergarten seats - five classes of 25 students each. But both are also facing overcrowding issues next fall. PS 24's classes were filled as of April 22 and PS 81 expects to start a waiting list before the end of the school year.

Alarmed by his district's overcrowding issues, City Councilman Oliver Koppell recently met with the city Department of Education's Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm to discuss ways to alleviate the problem.

One of the solutions Mr. Koppell is pursuing is the use of the Whitehall annex on Independence Avenue. The annex has been used to accommodate PS 24's overflow but now houses the Bronx Early College Academy, a grade six-through-12 school that offers college credit from Lehman College.

"While I am pleased that so many parents want to send their children to PS 24, it is important that the school and the Department of Education take action against overcrowding, which is the result of increased registration due to new building in the neighborhood," Mr. Koppell said in a release.