Parents Voice Distrust Of Arab School Promises

Parents of children who attend two Boerum Hill schools, which the city has proposed share space with a new Arabic culture public school, told officials last night that they don't trust the Department of Education to keep its promises to improve the school building to accommodate the extra students.

The city already abandoned initial plans to put the Khalil Gibran International Academy, named for a Lebanese philosopher, at P.S. 282, a Park Slope elementary school, after parents there protested that their building is already overcrowded.

Officials heard similar complaints from parents at the new location in Boerum Hill, where the Brooklyn High School of the Arts and a middle school, the Math and Science Exploratory School, share a campus.

The head of the education department's new schools office, Garth Harries, promised that the Arabic school would be moved out after two years, that the entire campus would receive added security, and that "the highest levels" at City Hall would make sure the promised building construction is completed.

If parents had philosophical misgivings about the new school's Arab-culture curriculum, few criticized it publicly for its core mission at last night's emergency meeting.

A few did oppose it on philosophical grounds.

The Arabic school's principal, Debbie Almontaser, rose to assure the crowd that her public school would teach Arabic as well as prepare students for college by teaching math, reading, science, and art.

The mayor's top education aide, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, said he found it "unfortunate that this school is being singled out," noting that there are dozens of other specialized language schools in the city.