By Dustin Brown
Only two years after being converted to charter schools, two Long Island City high schools have announced they will reunite with the Board of Education as part of a newly created district for high-performing schools.
Middle College High School and International High School will be the first schools to join the Learning Zone, a new special district created by Schools Chancellor Harold Levy that will give schools the autonomy of a charter school while putting them under Board of Ed control.
“It’s an experimental school district in which high-performing schools are freed from the kinds of rules and regulations that might inhibit innovation,” said International Principal Eric Nadelstern.
Charter schools were established in New York by a 1998 state law, which allows any combination of parents, teachers, school administrators and community residents to found schools that operate independently of the laws governing all other public schools.
Middle College and International were the first two schools given charter status by former Chancellor Rudy Crew, having been converted from public high schools in 1999.
Although charter status is intended to provide schools with more autonomy, Nadelstern said the state Department of Education — which oversees charter schools — was more prohibitive in its supervision than the Board of Ed.
“Their only experience in direct oversight of schools comes when they intervene in the case of failed schools,” Nadelstern said. “Essentially what they attempted to do was use that same template as a framework for supervising charter schools, and it proved inadequate and inappropriate.”
Middle College Principal Cece Cunningham said per-pupil funding was cut to two-thirds its original level when the schools came under state control, a shortfall the Board of Education was incapable of covering with additional funding.
By returning to city control, the schools will be eligible for their original funding levels, Cunningham said.
Both schools have sent letters to the state Board of Regents requesting that their charters be annulled immediately. Nadelstern said the schools will officially join the Learning Zone in September.
The schools are located on the campus of LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, where their students are allowed to integrate with the college and enroll in college courses.
Middle College was founded 27 years ago to provide a small learning community to neighborhood students. International, currently in its 16th year, serves students who recently immigrated to the United States. Both have some 500 students.
Cunningham said the Board of Ed has considered the concept of the Learning Zone for a number of years, primarily due to support shown by Deputy Chancellor Judith Rizzo.
“What pleases me is that the Board of Ed honored its commitment to us,” Cunningham said. “They said … that we would in no way suffer from being a charter. When they found out that they couldn’t get us full funding, they honored their commitment and welcomed us back.”
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
