When Two Schools Become One

The nation’s largest school system is shrinking, and one way city officials are tackling the drop: ramping up school mergers. 

New York City schools enrolled 793,000 K-12 students this school year, down about 15% from the 2019-20 school year, according to Education Department data. The number of students who have left the system during this time is bigger than Philadelphia’s entire public school population. That has left the city’s school system with an increasing number of small schools that may be unable to provide their students with a full array of courses and resources. 

Solving the enrollment puzzle is top of mind for New York City officials, especially as the city confronts its own budget problems. But merging schools is not always easy. 

P.S. Weekly producers Rayleen Laloi, a junior at The Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts, also known as BILA, and Ermione Aleah Raymond, a senior at the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, both experienced school mergers firsthand. They explore what happens to students when two schools become one. 

Rayleen talks with Osei Alfred, who attended the School for Human Rights before it became part of BILA last year. The merger changed Osei’s high school experience, for better and worse. He shares insights for schools who might be facing the same situation. 

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