Erasmus Hall High School Alumni Association

Hi Phyllis,

Nice speaking to you yesterday. I am in the process of following up with the appropriate people to ensure that the necessary changes are made to the web-site and high school directory to include Erasmus in the school names.

The principals are aware of the need to use Erasmus whenever the school name is used moving forward.

And, as promised, here are the names and contact information for the principals so that you can let them know directly about the great resources available to them through the alumni association:

Leonard Kassan, High School for Service and Learning at Erasmus, lkassan@schools.nyc.gov, 718-773-2648
Marie Prendergast, HS for Youth and Community Development at Erasmus, mprende@schools.nyc.gov, 718-940-8153
Henrietta Coursey, Science Technology and Research at Erasmus, hcourse@schools.nyc.gov, 718-282-8079 x16260

Again, it was good speaking with you. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

All my best,

Bob

There is actually a "No Tresspassing Notice" at the school entrances that state that any student may be punished if they are not in their specific school area.
Erasmus Hall High School as we knew it no longer exists. The reality that exists, at was once our school, today is FIVE separate and distinct schools, each with its own principal, and administrators supposedly under the banner, "Erasmus Campus". The schools are Business & Technology, Humanities and the Arts, Science and Math, STAR School and Youth and Community Development.
It should be noted that at no area in the hallways and the section of the school that encompasses the "Star School" is there any indication that one is at an Erasmus Hall Campus school. Each classroom has signage with a logo identifying it as a "Star School for College" classroom.
Erasmus is in the process of being decimated. In September of this year, two more schools are to be added and unbelievably they want to demolish the Culinary Laboratory and Restaurant that recently cost $5,000,000 to build.
Try to understand from a variety of viewpoints just what the city and this course of action is having upon the school. Financially, picture what the cost is to operate 5 or 7 schools with separate administrations. With each Principal alone earning $110,000.00 that is spending $550,000.00 just on the principals, not even counting Assistant Principals, Guidance counselors, secretaries, etc. A horrible redundancy and waste that is costing the students a decent education. The schools are now hard pressed to field athletic teams as each school student body is getting smaller and smaller in addition to the fact that the schools do not cooperate with each other. Each principal has their own agenda and in some cases they have no interest in Erasmus at all. The extra-curricular activities and clubs that we enjoyed are no longer. The school spirit that we embraced and still remember is no more.
We need the help of the PTA, the Alumni and concerned citizens to voice their opposition to what is happening. It is a shame that the education of our youth for the future, are pawns of the politicians of today.

Please read the CRISIS MAIL BAG letters for a clearer understanding of what is happening and ACT.

To the Alumni Board of Erasmus Hall High School :

As promised, here are my thoughts and observations regarding the "break-up" of EHHS.

At the last Board meeting I was asked to jot down my observations of the PTA meeting held January 21, 2004 which I had observed and to note my thoughts about the New Visions (small school concept) as it might apply to Erasmus Hall.

I'll start by noting that there is a clear consensus of the Alumni that whatever the final make-up of EHHS, the Alumni association will continue to support the School(s) and the students much as we are currently doing. However, it should also be noted that there was a strong consensus that the multiple small-school model, as it applies to EHHS, is the wrong approach.

The following are my observations and suggestions regarding the dictated changes:

* I could find no scientifically valid evidence that the concept of the small school model has been validated, in the proposed format. What little data I could find was of poor scientific quality due to the lack of paired study and control groups. Therefore, any conclusions based on such studies are invalid.
* There is a "top-heavy" weighting of expenses. Each "school" will have its own Principal and administration. It seems to me that the huge amount of money could be more well-spent on direct student costs. (there are now 4 schools and by fall it is expected to have 6 schools)
* The logistics of multiple schools occupying essentially the same building are unnecessarily complicated.
* The "Law of Unintended Consequences." When there are separate "schools" there is always a bit of a rivalry. This may manifest itself in a positive way or may be quite negative. A concrete example is the request for funds from the Alumni for Year Book funding. Since each school was producing its own book, the costs were prohibitive for the tiny number of graduates of each school (and this was for 3, not 5, schools). Anyone who has been involved with book production could have foreseen this problem. What other expenses will be duplicated (actually multiplied by 5 or 6)?
* "Esprit de corps": The feeling that you belong to an institution which has a proud tradition has eroded and will further erode with more of a "break-up."
* The entire program should have been presented as an experiment, which requires "informed consent." This is being done as a fait accompli and, in my opinion, this is unfair.
* The selection process for the various schools seems to ignore the needs of the neighborhood students.
* One of the few cohesive forces remaining at EHHS has been the sports teams. There is no doubt about their value. Currently, the teams can draw on the separate schools to create an "Erasmus" team. How will the presence of an increased number of schools affect the ability to run a team? Conflicting scheduling may negatively impact practice and game scheduling.
* One seems to have forgotten that when the total enrollment of a unified Erasmus was between 5 and 6 THOUSAND, it had more Westinghouse scholarship winners than any other school in the country. Therefore, size alone is clearly not a factor.
* Since the small school concept is experimental, why not use Erasmus as a counter "experiment" in the following manner: Unify the school under one strong and strongly supported principal and have separate divisions using the same names as are currently proposed. In essence, this is similar to the situation when us "old-timers" went to EHHS. There were functionally three divisions; academic (regents), commercial and general diploma students. Where practical and appropriate, the classes were mixed (gym, music etc.).

Respectfully,

Ed Golembe, MD

The author is a member of the EHHS class of 1963 and is a member-at-large of the Alumni Association Board

Please contact the mayor, chancellor, legislative and community leaders to help us restore the Academy and Erasmus to its former glory. See below for contact addresses.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC) 212-788-9600
FAX (212) 788-2460
E-MAIL:
http://nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

Chancellor Joel Klein
52 Chambers Street, Room #320, B4
New York City, NY 10007
PHONE: (212) 374-0200
E-MAIL: JKlein@nycboe.net

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
Executive Division
209 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
E-MATL: marty@brooklynbp.org