School Hopes to Give Students a ‘New Vision’ of Education : Activism: Community involvement will be the key element in a public school in Brooklyn. Creators are optimistic; critics are skeptical.

There is a public school in Brooklyn that doesn’t have a building to call its own, a curriculum or even any teachers.

All it has are a few principles and a name.

Its creators say the rest will come later; but critics are skeptical about the school’s proposed emphasis on social activism.

The idea: to provide students and their families with a “new vision” of education through hands-on involvement in their communities.

Its embodiment: El Puente United Nations Academy for Peace and Justice.

The academy was one of 14 proposals for smaller, theme-oriented schools approved by the Board of Education in October. Each project received $25,000 in seed money from the Aaron Diamond Foundation.

If El Puente’s academy opens in September as planned, it will have only two classes of seventh-graders. Higher grades will be added in each successive year.

When it opens, “students will not be studying,” said Frances Lucerna, associate director of El Puente, the Williamsburg-based cultural arts community group that proposed the school.

Rather, she said, “they will be learning.” And that is precisely what makes the school’s critics nervous.

Lucerna explained.

“Students in our community are not learning anything in the traditional ways. Our school will use the community as its classroom and is going to be very project-oriented. Students will be in the field most of the school day, every day, examining issues and problems we have here.”

Lucerna cited such environmental issues as lead contamination from cleaning the Williamsburg Bridge and the proposed construction of a garbage incinerator in the Brooklyn Navy Yard as subjects students might address.

Racial tension and school overcrowding would be examined as well.

El Puente’s president, Harvard-educated Luis Garden-Acosta, said:

“These young people will be going through Board of Education certified programs in order to receive their high school diploma. They will be tested on English, math, science, civics and will be required to meet national standards. But there are ways to achieve those objectives using methods that are relevant and exciting to the students.”

Those methods, only vaguely outlined in El Puente’s preliminary proposal, are the main cause of concern.

“We’re puzzled by the tenor of some of the proposed themes,” began a New York Post editorial. “Some, like the El Puente Academy . . . seem designed to teach students how to organize street demonstrations.”

In response, Lucerna said:

“They’re not that far from the truth. But we’re talking about the realities these kids live with--racism, fear, violence. Children in our cities live under conditions very similar to war; that’s their commonality. Our school is going to unite cultural groups to find peace and justice.”

The United Federation of Teachers, a teacher’s union, embraces the concept of smaller, theme-oriented schools, but is cool toward the idea of student activism.

“I think the Post editorial raises valid questions,” said federation spokesman Neil Rosenfeld.

Rosenfeld added that the state-accredited teachers hired to conduct El Puente’s classes are likely to be members of the federation.

“The teachers will let us know if they feel the kids aren’t getting the required elements of an education,” he said.

Overall, however, Rosenfeld was optimistic. “On the positive side, we’re very excited. The people behind these schools have a lot of energy. I hate to sound like Mao, but hey, ‘Let 100 flowers bloom,’ you know?” he said.

Hilda Mirwis, a Board of Education official, said: “We have the same concerns (about activism). We want to take a look at the extent of community involvement and will certainly expect curriculum presentations.”

That means that El Puente will have to pass a final examination before the city allows it to open its doors.

Gil Crespo, a facilitator at the organization’s headquarters in St. Mary of the Angels Church, said class syllabuses are still in the “ideas stage.” But he hopes that EPTV, the popular after-school program he helps coordinate, is incorporated into the curriculum.

With a youthful, multicultural focus, EPTV teaches students how to shoot, edit and produce videos. When violence broke out at nearby Eastern District High School, prompting a parent-led protest, the EPTV crew created a mock television talk show called “Fernando!” that explored overcrowding and violence in schools. It also produces documentaries on the community.

But lest students think El Puente’s new academy sounds like one big community field trip, Hector Calderon, El Puente’s after-school studies director, said they will be asked to do “a lot of problem solving” using math and science and “a lot of essay writing” in their community assignments.

In a playground outside El Puente, two 14-year-olds, Daniel Mercado and Nicholas Nieves, laughed as they chased each other around a jungle gym. When asked if they might attend a school like El Puente’s Academy, their responses were guarded.

“They done a lotta good things,” said Daniel. “Maybe I’d go.”

Nicholas pondered the question. “I might go too. Hardly nothin’ bad ever happened there. But I gotta read the brochure first.”