Background: Commencing in the 2010-2011 school year, 03M452 (hereinafter referred to as “P.S. 452”), was a newly created school established to serve grades Kindergarten through Five (5). P.S. 452 opened in school building M044, located at 100 West 77th Street, Manhattan, in Community School District 3 (“District 3”), with the anticipation of enrolling approximately 60-75 Kindergarten students for the 2010-2011 academic school year. There is a planned addition of one grade, containing up to three (3) classes per grade, each year. At scale, P.S. 452 will serve approximately 400-450 students in 2015-2016. The opening of P.S. 452 addressed the growth in demand for zoned elementary school capacity on the Upper West Side in the southern section of District 3. The proposal to create P.S. 452 was formed in collaboration with members of the community, the District 3 Community Education Council (“CEC”), and the Department of Education (“DOE”). The creation addressed the need for an additional zoned elementary school in District 3, particularly in the P.S. 87 and P.S. 199 catchment areas. At the time of P.S. 452’s inception, P.S. 87 had 111 zoned Kindergarten applicants on their waitlist and P.S. 199 had 47 zoned Kindergarten applicants on their waitlist, totaling 158 zoned children on waitlists for their neighborhood zoned school. To support the creation of P.S. 452 and continue its purpose “to address the growth in demand for zoned elementary school capacity” and “create the need for an additional zoned elementary school in District 3”, a separate independent zone must be created for this school. Last year, when writing in supporting of P.S. 452’s creation, the President of the CEC sent a letter stating the council “unequivocally supports the establishment of P.S. 452 with 3 classes within the 044 building starting in September 2010.” The DOE stated that they would “propose rezoning to create a zone for P.S. 452 for the 2011-2012 school year”. The CEC already held a public hearing and heard from the community about this and voted in favor of this school and the creating of a zone for this year. We are asking now for the continued support of the establishment of P.S. 452 with the creation of a separate independent zone. It is imperative that this support continues by giving P.S. 452 its own zone; any other choice would simply be setting up the school to fail. If P.S. 452 is made a choice school it would not directly address the issues of zoned demand in the crowded P.S. 87 and P.S. 199 areas. If P.S. 452 is included in a “super-zone”, P.S. 452 would likely be considered for all intents purposes “that overflow school” and a second choice school. It would not promote independence, security, and a sense of community and self; which are simple and pure things we preach as parents and educators to our children. By redrawing the zone lines to create a separate zone for P.S. 452, families no longer become “winners” and “losers” arbitrarily if they are not placed in their choice zoned school and instead receive a spot at P.S. 452. There should be no reference to “losers”; creating a zone for P.S. 452 stops this labeling of families. P.S. 452 deserves the best that the community can offer. It deserves a home. We cannot emphasize enough how vitally important it is to our families, our administrators, and our community (inside and outside of P.S. 452) to create an independent separate zone for P.S. 452. This will enable positive growth within our school; it allows for the building of school community and commitment; it will diminish the agonizing months of uncertainty for incoming parents; it will establish a sense of self and community; and it will foster a secure and happy educational environment for our children. Petition I, the undersigned, believe: • That the DOE and CEC must continue supporting P.S. 452 with the creation of a separate independent zone. P.S. 452 and its families are entitled to stability, consistency and consideration in planning. • Incoming children and families are entitled to the same certainty and level of detail that all elementary students in District 3 have by identifying a separate and independent zone for P.S. 452. • A specific zone for P.S. 452 should be approved before the Kindergarten enrollment process, and even earlier than that, if possible, so that incoming families can embrace their future at P.S. 452. • Putting the lives of P.S. 452 children and potential families in wait-and-see mode for months and possibly a year is not acceptable. • Those families who might be zoned for P.S. 452 need sufficient detail about the school and its future. THEREFORE: • We oppose the current enrollment status of P.S. 452 as an overflow school, un-zoned within the P.S. 87 and/or P.S. 199 zone lines. • We oppose being a choice school for the zone or included in a “super-zone”. • We urge the creation of an independent and individual zone for P.S. 452 as a priority of the DOE and CEC, prior to Kindergarten pre-registration and effective beginning with the 2011-2012 school year. • P.S. 452 students and their siblings must be considered “in zone” and “in zoned siblings” with first priority in admissions regardless of where the zone lines are created, according to the Chancellor’s Regulations. • Families are entitled to know where their children will be going to school for Kindergarten prior to registration.