Formal Institutions in Sunset Park

Research: Linda Huang and Patrick Brazil

==P.S. 310 – The International Academy for Science and Technology==

I interviewed Principal Yuqing Hong on May 3rd, 2011.  All the following information comes directly from her.

P.S. 310 was opened in the Fall of 2010, along with three other new elementary schools in Brooklyn’s school District 20. These new school openings are part of the plan to alleviate overcrowding in District 20’s schools.

The school’s mission statement is as follows: “International Academy for Science and Technology is committed to create a community of life-long learners equipped with 21st century knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the future global workforce. Working collaboratively with families, institutions and community organizations, our professional and highly motivated staffs are committed to further the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of children at all levels.”

There are currently 130 students enrolled at P.S. 310, in three grades: Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade. Each year the school will open another grade level until they have opened 5th grade classes.

The student body is:

• 70% Asian
• 26% Hispanic
• 2% Black
• 2% Other
• 65%  English language learners
• 70% new immigrants

Many of the students live in the Chinatown area, and the school is particularly dedicated to

providing bilingual services. There are 20 members on the staff (10 or whom are teachers). A majority of the staff members are bilingual in Chinese and English, although only two permanent staff members are bilingual in Spanish and English. All documents distributed by the school also have versions with Chinese translations.

Principal Hong noted that many of the Chinese students are Fujianese. Fujianese immigrants usually have their children in America, but send them back to China to be taken care of by grandparents or other relatives until the children are old enough to attend school, when they are brought back to America. Many of the students enrolled at P.S. 310 have only recently returned to the United States, and have yet to build a relationship to either the country or their long-unseen parents. This also results in parents who are not properly equipped to deal with their children’s problems, causing strain for the school’s staff.

The school has made sure to equip each classroom with at least one staff member who speaks Chinese. P.S. 310 also offers monthly workshops for parents for literacy development and giving parents advice for helping their children develop math and science skills as well as literacy in their native languages. All students are taught Chinese, a decision made partially because of the needs of the community and partially due to China rising as a powerful country in the modern world.

The school differs from regular elementary schools – while each teacher is primarily assigned to a single class, they also get the chance to teach their subject of specialization to different classes. In the afternoon there are 4 different “clubs”, where each class will get a rotation of different teachers to teach them about different subjects. This means that staff members, including Ms. Hong, are familiar with all the students in the school.

P. S. 310 is currently the only elementary school in district 20 that offers bilingual services in both Chinese and Spanish. There is one other school in district 20 that has a Chinese bilingual program, although around 60% of the student body in district 20 is Asian.

The 2010-2011 school year is P.S. 310’s first year, and in the Fall of 2012 they will be moving into their own school building. The school is currently housed inside P.S. 971, another elementary school that just opened last Fall.

Insideschools.org Review
DOE Website

The above image is from UNHP. ((University Neighborhood Housing Program. http://www.unhp.org/crg/indy-maps_schools_bk.html))

School district 20 of Brooklyn encompasses Bay Ridge, Borough Park, Dyker Heights and the southern section of Sunset Park. According to Insideschools, the Brooklyn’s Chinatown is located within the district, and the district contains a large population of immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and the former USSR. ((Insideschools.org. http://insideschools.org/?d=20))

==The Brooklyn Public Library==

The Brooklyn Public Library is a separate system from the New York Public Library, containing “58 branches located within a half-mile of every Brooklyn resident”. ((Brooklyn Public Library, “BPL History.”http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/history.jsp)) Each neighborhood in Brooklyn has at least one library branch serving it.

The Central Branch of the BPL contains the Multilingual Center, which provides foreign-language media as well as language services for new immigrants. ((Brooklyn Public Library, “Multilingual Center.” http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/central/divisions/multilingual.jsp))

The Sunset Park Library is located on 4th Avenue at 51st Street, on the west side of Sunset Park, which is predominantly Hispanic. The library offers multilingual services in Spanish and Chinese.

This branch of the Brooklyn Public library contains a large amount of books, films, and magazines in Spanish and Chinese in addition to their English language selection. The volume of Spanish media is somewhat higher, possibly due to the large population of Hispanic residents in west Sunset Park.

Current Chinese and Spanish news publications are available in the front of the library for free.

Sunset Park Branch home
Photos of the Sunset Park branch from someone else’s project

==Lutheran Medical Center==

The Lutheran Medical Center is located on 2nd Avenue in Sunset Park.

Mission Statement: Motivated to serve by its own history within the biblical tradition of faith and teaching, and organized as a not-forprofit organization according to the uniquely American heritage of democratic voluntary association, Lutheran HealthCare’s purpose is to serve as the corporate vehicle for its trustees, medical and dental staff, nurses, employees, volunteers and others, to care for the needs of our neighbors.((Lutheran Healthcare mission statement. http://www.lutheranmedicalcenter.com/AboutUs/MissionStatement/))

From Lutheran Healthcare’s annual report((Lutheran Healthcare annual report for 2010. http://www.lutheranmedicalcenter.com/Data/Documents/Lutheran_HealthCare_2011Report.pdf)):

Patients served	136883
Medicaid patients treated	61725
Charity care patients served	32251
Emergency room visits	64115
Trauma care cases	1416
OB services (births)	4168

The Lutheran Medical Center is very dedicated to providing culturally sensitive services. This pamphlet lists some of the special services provided for Chinese patients and their families, such as:

• Chinese-speaking bilingual and bicultural staff
• Chinese-speaking patient relations representative
• A special unit for Chinese patients decorated with Chinese art
• Chinese meals prepared by a Chinese chef

Lutheran Healthcare has a branch in Chinatown called the Brooklyn Chinese Family Health Care center, located on 7th Avenue. The site features ten exam rooms, a dental area, medical offices, and has the capacity to treat up to 100 patients a day. This new building was actually opened in early 2011, replacing the old building that housed the Brooklyn Chinese Family Health Center, opened in 2004. ((Lutheran Healthcare news and events. http://www.lutheranmedicalcenter.com/News/PressReleases/Detail/?id=167))

They speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and Toisanese in addition to English at this branch of the Lutheran Medical Center.

Links:
Lutheran Medical Center home

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==Brooklyn Chinese-American Association==

 

The Brooklyn Chinese-American Association is a social service agency founded in 1987. It provides services to the Asian-American community throughout the borough of Brooklyn. Its headquarters are located on 8th Avenue, but the association has branches throughout the borough of Brooklyn.

Mission Statement: “The Brooklyn Chinese-American Association aims at addressing the needs and concerns of the Asian-American community, the government and various private and service organizations in order to promote a congenial relationship among them. its overall goal is to make the neighborhood a better and more prosperous place for New Yorkers of any descent to reside in, and in turn, contribute to the betterment of our Borough and City as well.”((The Brooklyn Chinese-American Association. http://www.bca.net/eng/home.html))

The president of the BCA, Paul Mak, has done a number of interviews for Brooklyn Independent Television:

Neighborhood Beat: Chinese-American association segment:

http://blip.tv/file/1914714/

Councilman Vincent Gentile talks to Paul Mak:

http://blip.tv/file/1692920

According to Paul Mak, the BCA serves over 2500 people on a daily basis. The BCA has grown to such an extent that around 10% of its constituents are now non-Asian.

The BCA has 18 different branches. This includes 4 senior centers in various neighborhoods: Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, 6th Avenue, and Avenue U.
BCA English homepage
Brooklyn Independent Television