The PS 9 Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO) today announced that the Park Place/Underhill Avenue Block Association has provided a grant of $4,000 toward PS 9’s 2012 Holiday Fundraising Challenge. The school’s fundraising effort this year has targeted residents of Prospect Heights outside of the PS 9 parent community with the slogan, “Invest in Prospect Heights.” The Block Association’s grant is a significant boost to the fundraising campaign which has raised more than $10,000 so far. 

In June of 2012, PS9 was notified that the school would be dropped from the Federal Title I program, representing a loss of $160,000 a year. "The next 24 months are a critical time of transition as the school shifts from being a majority low-income (Title I) school," says School Leadership Team (SLT) parent co-chair Matt Fleischer-Black. The fundraising appeal references the school’s loss of $160,000 a year, since PS9 no longer meets the 60 percent low-income requirement to qualify for Title I funding.

“For our neighborhood to continue to flourish, we must have strong public schools,” said Stacey Weinstein, president of the Park Place/Underhill Avenue Block Association. “We’re delighted to be able to help PS 9 meet its fundraising goals, and support the efforts of the parents and teachers who have done so much for the school and our community.”

Community members wishing to donate to the Holiday Fundraising Challenge may do so online at http:/www.ps9brooklyn.org/donate. Checks made out to "PS 9 PTO" can be sent to 80 Underhill Ave., Room 132-A, Brooklyn, NY 11238.

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About the PS9 PTO: This community-building and fundraising organization at PS 9 was registered as a 501(c)3 public charity in 2010.  For more information on PS 9 or the PTO, visit www.ps9brooklyn.org.

About the Park Place/Underhill Avenue Block Association: Organized in 1956, The Park Place/Underhill Avenue Block Association is one of the oldest continuously operating block associations in Brooklyn, and serves Park Place between Washington and Vanderbilt Avenues, and Underhill Avenue between Prospect Place and Sterling Place. The Association is a member of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council.