Due to what the Department of Education refers to as a lack of improvement, Grover Cleveland High School in Glendale is slated for possible closure, sparking outrage among community members, staff and students.
According to the Education Department (DOE), graduation rates at Grover Cleveland were at or below 55 percent for the last five years. In addition, the school is named one of the “Persistently Lowest Achieving” schools in the state.
But students and teachers attended a recent Community Board 5 meeting to speak out on the closure, saying their school has a legacy of academic achievement and giving back to its community.
Student Association President Geline Canayon said at the meeting that Grover Cleveland recently beat specialized high schools in a citywide science fair.
“We hope to continue this legacy, but in order to do that we need the support of the community to keep our school open,” she said.
Teacher, dean and coach Michael Irizarry said his students do graffiti removal in the area, volunteer in senior centers, donate to food banks, and work with students from local elementary schools.
“Kids giving back to kids is very important,” he said. “That’s what we do at Grover Cleveland, and I want to continue doing it.”
Lydia Martinez, a Grover Cleveland teacher and Board 5 member, said Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott visited the school in October and was “very impressed with what he saw.”
She said Walcott assured staff members that he was visiting on a positive note, and would not close the school. However, in January, they were told that 50 percent of the staff, including the principal, could be cut.
“The DOE has turned Grover Cleveland into another roller coaster ride,” Martinez said.
She added that the struggle to keep the school open gets in the way of its progress.
“The professional adults that have anything to do with the decision-making of these schools should be ashamed of themselves when they see students fighting to keep their schools open,” she said. “Students should be concentrating on their school grades and their future, not on attending meetings and rallies to keep their schools open.”
According to DOE, possible plans for Grover Cleveland include staff replacement and leadership change. However, bringing in mentor teachers with higher salaries and introducing new education programs are also options.
The school could be phased out by not accepting new students, helping current students graduate and bringing in a new district or charter school to the building.
The DOE has no specific plans for the school at this time.
The community is hosting a human chain-link march around the high school on February 16. It will begin at 7 a.m. outside the school.

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Few would argue that when Estelle Cooper, the longtime administrator for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, resigned in early January, the park lost a true champion of cause and attention.
The park had long been ignored since the 1964 World’s Fair until the early 1990s. But when Cooper was appointed assistant parks commissioner and administrator of the park in 1994 by the Giuliani administration, she saw her role as an advocate for programs and funding for the 1,200 acre public space.
According to a source, Cooper also relinquished her role in Unisphere, Inc., a nonprofit fundraising group for Flushing Meadows Park.
Cooper, 81, is reportedly leaving the post to start a political consulting firm.
A longtime Republican in a county dominated by Democrats, she ran against Emanuel Gold for State Senate in 1978, and again against Claire Shulman for borough president in 1986. She lost both campaigns.
Her Republican connections run deep. Phil Ragusa, the head of the Queens County Republican Party, was retained as the accountant for Unisphere, Inc.
Cooper’s new consulting firm will be known as Cooper and Company, and will be helmed by Cooper’s grandson, Michael Balsamo.
Balsamo was also executive director of Community Day Camp, a company owned by Cooper’s daughter, Ilene Balsamo, which secured a deal with the Parks Department to operate out of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Despite charging fees of between $900 to $2,675 for two- to eight-week sessions, the camp only paid the Parks Department $1 a day per camper to use park space and facilities, a deal that came under fire.
However, according to sources, other camps using the park were charged the same $1 per camper fee.
Community Day Camp was then accused of failing to pay counselors and contractors in a scandal that became public when former employees complained to a local television station.
Balsamo’s familial connection to Cooper and the subsequent scandal is believed to be at least partly behind Cooper’s resignation, sources say.
However, the Parks Department said the resignation was part of Cooper’s desire to start hew new consulting firm.
“Estelle has announced that she will begin a new career as a partner in a political communications firm,” said a department spokesperson in a statement. “We all wish Estelle the best as she embarks on her new endeavors.”
In its statement, the Parks Department noted the many improvement to the park under Cooper’s leadership.
“The park has seen many transformations,” read the statement. “A set of synthetic soccer fields were constructed and Parks built the new Flushing Meadows Aquatic Center and the new Al Oerter Recreation Center. The United States Tennis Association expanded and Citi Field was built as the new home for the New York Mets.”