SCHOOLS Chancellor Joel I. Klein and I recently announced the creation of a new school building in Washington Heights for Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Math. The $41 million project will be completed for the opening of school in September 2008.

We also announced the relocation of the Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership into a new building at 501 West 152nd Street, and the creation of a prekindergarten annex for P.S. 173.

This administration made a commitment to improve school conditions in this community, and we are making good on that promise. The projects are part of our $13.1 billion capital plan — the largest and most ambitious capital plan in history for New York City schools. 

Together, the new facilities for Luperon High School, Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership, and P.S. 173 will provide the students of Washington Heights with some of the most modern and engaging educational spaces in the city.

New school building for Gregorio Luperon High School

The new Gregorio Luperon High School will be located at 165th Street and Amsterdam Avenue where the former 33rd Precinct headquarters stood in Washington Heights, and where the Department of Education currently has offices for its Region 10 Special Education Services staff.

These offices will be razed for the construction of the new school. The new school building will include air-conditioning and state-of-the-art facilities, including a library, gym, auditorium, science labs, music and art room, kitchen/cafeteria, and wireless internet access. 

The Gregorio Luperon High School was founded in 1992 as a transitional setting for newly arrived Spanish-speaking students, and became a diploma-granting four-year high school in 2001. It is named for Gregorio Luperon, a 19th century Dominican general who led the movement against Spanish colonizers.

The high school, which serves approximately 400 students in grades 10-12, has been located in its current leased space since 1994. Ninety-seven percent of Luperon students are eligible for free lunch and 93 percent are English Language Learners.

Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership to move to new building

In addition to the new building for Luperon High School, the Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership will be relocated to a new and larger building.

In December 2003, the chancellor and I announced plans for a new K-8 school at 501 West 152nd Street at Amsterdam Avenue as part of the strategy to expedite school construction by focusing on projects that are already on city-owned property. Currently a construction site, this location formerly housed the Bishop Dubois High School and the Holcombe Rucker Community League.

The new building will include the Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership when construction is completed. The Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership currently serves more than 150 K-7 students and has outgrown its location at 4111 Broadway at 173rd Street.

The new building will cost $37.5 million and will be completed for the opening of school in September 2007. It will include air-conditioning, as well as a gym/auditorium, library, kitchen/cafeteria and rooftop playground. The Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership will continue as a dual-language school and will serve students in K-8, with an expanded capacity of 500.

New prekindergarten annex for P.S. 173

In the space vacated by the Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership at 4111 Broadway, a prekindergarten annex for P.S. 173 will be created. The annex is expected to be completed in 2008 and will help alleviate the lack of space for prekindergarten students in the area.