Panel to Vote On Proposed 5th Co-Location At BCAM

Students enrolled in four educational programs sharing a single building at 300 Willoughby Ave. may have a lot more company in the school's lunchroom, library and brand-new track and field.

The Panel For Education Policy will vote Thursday on the proposed co-location of Urban Dove Charter School for Sports, Health and Fitness at Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School.

If approved, Urban Dove will be the fifth program, including BCAM, to be located at 300 Willloughby Ave. in a building that was orginally a middle school.

Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Fort Greene, blasted the proposal to add another program to a near-capacity facility that already houses several programs, like Urban Dove, that are geared towards students who have dropped out or have been kicked out of traditional schools.

"Where a child is educated shouldn't be determined by the square footage of a building," James said in a statement.

James, a key backer of BCAM, the building's primary occupant, recently secured $400,000 in city funds to install a new track at the facility.

BCAM, with an enrollment of 430 students during the current school year, had hoped to expand at the location.

The total number of students at the building is currently around 850. With the proposed co-location of Urban Dove, the projected enrollment for 2012-13 at 300 Willoughby Ave. will be 1,031, according to the city Department of Education.

BCAM students recently posted this YouTube video to protest the latest co-location proposal.

James will lead a rally at 4 p.m. Thursday against the move at Prospect Heights Campus, where the PEP meeting will be held.