On Tuesday, September 2, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Schools Chancellor Joel Klein for a tour of the Excellence Charter School of Bedford-Stuyvesant. The school serves 220 boys in grades K-4 and will eventually also serve grades 5-8. The school, a project of Uncommon Schools, a non-profit organization that founds and manages urban charter schools that prepare low-income students to graduate from college, is housed in a 90,000-square-foot facility that includes a 10,000-volume library, a 500-seat auditorium, sports and recreation areas, and music and art studios.

BP Markowitz also joined City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for a back-to-school visit at JHS 259 William McKinley in Dyker Heights.