Talk Bronx New York

Angry parents protest the closing of schools at a Department of Education hearing at Brooklyn Tech High School.

 Over the objections of thousands of protesters, the city Education Department’s panel voted early Wednesday morning to close 19 failing city schools.

After more than eight hours of testimony, the Panel for Educational Policy gave the go-ahead shortly after 3:00 a.m.

The four panel members representing the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan voted against most of the closings.

Mayor Bloomberg’s eight appointees along with the representative from Staten Island supported the decision.

At the beginning of the hearing, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein defended the proposals.

“The sad reality is that the schools we must close tonight are not meeting the standards,” he said, barely audible over boos from the crowd.

At one point he left the stage for several minutes, and the crowd interrupted testimony, repeatedly chanting, “Where is Klein?”

Only after he returned did the crowd allow testimony to continue.

Renee Donaldson holds up a sign as she yells against the closing of schools. Read more..

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Wholesale changes this week. Six spots out of 10 change and we welcome two new teams – both from the Bronx – to our rankings. The picture is still very cloudy and some of that should clear up this week, especially Tuesday when Wagner plays MSIT and Lehman takes on Kennedy.

Here’s how they break down:

1. Francis Lewis (2-0) (Last week: 1)

The Patriots have been sitting pretty in first the last three weeks. Can anyone in Queens 6-A knock them off? Not very likely. But watch out for upstart Bayside, which will attempt to upend Francis Lewis at home Friday. The Commodores have stepped into the division’s No. 2 hole after winning last month’s Seward Park tournament and beating Cardozo last week.

2. John F. Kennedy (3-0) (3)

The Knights have an interesting claim to fame: they’re the last PSAL team to have beaten Francis Lewis. That win came in the 2006 championship match. If the early season is any indication, those two teams could meet again in this year’s final. Kennedy, which won last week’s Tottenville tournament after a final victory over Lehman, will play the Lions again Tuesday in a huge match-up in Bronx 1-A, perhaps the strongest division in the city.

3. Hunter College HS (2-0) (2)

Hunter is very balanced, led by setter Francesca Sosnowski, and the Hawks have had little trouble in their first two Manhattan 5-A matches. They also boast a tournament win over Stuyvesant. Hunter’s real first league test will come Tuesday when it plays second-place and fellow undefeated squad LaGuardia, which has a pretty good setter of its own: Hannah Cassius.

4. Stuyvesant (3-0) (4)

Seward Park gave Stuyvesant a tough time last week, but the Vixens prevailed led by middle hitter Alexandra Albright, libero Alice Zhang and setter Tina Khiani. This week, Stuy doesn’t play until Friday when it travels to Murry Bergtraum.

5. , (4-0) (9)

The PSAL’s biggest gainer this week. Wagner followed a strong performance in the Tottenville tournament with dominant wins in Staten Island 9-A last week. JFK coach Iris Bromfield, whose team beat the Falcons in a tough one at Tottenville, was impressed with coach Marco Altieri’s team, which is led by do-it-all junior Amanda Fiore. Wagner faces its biggest league test to date Tuesday: McKee/Staten Island Tech.

6. McKee/Staten Island Tech (3-0) (6)

The Seagulls are a spot under their Staten Island 9-A rivals courtesy of a loss to the Falcons in the Tottenville tournament. MSIT, which is led by junior Kristen Markoe, will have a chance to erase that in a big rematch Tuesday.

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