STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Schools Chancellor Joel Klein joined local politicians and education leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday in Mariners Harbor for what will be Staten Island's first public school to encompass pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
Set to welcome 822 students in September 2009, the state-of-the-art facility represents the Department of Education's first such foray onto the Island in its effort to build more joint elementary/middle and middle/high schools throughout the city.
That effort has thus far created 18 K-to-eight schools and expanded 42 traditional elementary schools up through eighth grade since 2002, according to the Department of Education.
"I think this is an encouraging model," Klein said of the combined school structure.
He said the model resulted in fewer transitions for students and parents, opportunities for older kids to tutor or mentor younger kids, and continuity between students and their teachers.
The Island's only K-through-12 public school, Petrides, achieved a 95 percent graduation rate in 2006 -- putting it in the top 10 among schools citywide.
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