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Older students from Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center curse arrival of Democracy Prep Charter School

The lavatories in the W. 120th St. building now reek of reefer, the adults say, and the high schoolers are a drag.

Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center students Patricia Bowles-Simmons (l.) and Angel Benitez.
Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center students Patricia Bowles-Simmons (l.) and Angel Benitez.

Continuing education students at Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center in Harlem say the recent arrival of a charter school in the building has made learning hell.
Now, they want to pump the brakes on the plan to expand the co-location.
The ninth-graders from Democracy Prep Charter School have been hard to handle since they arrived in the four-story building on W. 120th St. near Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., say the adults — some of whom are old enough to be called seniors.
The lavatories now reek of reefer, the adults say, and the high schoolers are a drag. In one instance, a ninth grader bumped into an older student outside the building and later tried to provoke a fight.
“I’m trying to learn and this throws my mind off,” said Calvin Jenkins, 62.
The Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center served roughly 2,800 students in 2012 and now shares space with 105 students from Democracy Prep.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/co-location-pits-adults-kids-article-1.1757628#ixzz2zMoJTza1

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, April 16, 2014, 2:00 AM

 

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