By Stephen Witt
Fort Greene is set to have a charter school serving 75 fifth-graders for the 2006-07 school year. While the Department of Education (DOE) has already approved the school, they are still looking for a site in Fort Greene. The site is expected to be in an existing DOE facility. Meanwhile, staff from Achievement First, which will run the school, gave a presentation of their plans at last week’s Community Board 2 meeting. Established in 1999, Achievement First currently runs several charter schools in Connecticut as well as one in Crown Heights and one in East New York. Charter schools are privately-run public schools that generally have smaller class sizes and goals of raising school attendance and performance on Regents exams. Once approved, the state funds the charter on a per-pupil basis. In most cases, charter schools operate under a clear agreement between the state and the school: increased autonomy in exchange for increased accountability. “I’m very excited about serving kids in Central Brooklyn,” said Eric Redwine, a former Department of Education assistant principal, who will serve as principal at the new school. “We will prepare thinkers to meet any challenges,” he added. Redwine said the goals of the school are to strengthen the academic and character skills of the students. The roadmap for doing this includes a longer school day, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., including three and a half hours of reading/writing, and over an hour of math every day. One to two hours of homework will be assigned every night. In addition, tutoring will be available before and after school, and possibly Saturdays, said Redwine. Redwine said the school will also have a male leadership program where male students will get additional support and guidance centering around manhood, success and responsibility. A girls’ program will follow. All students will wear a uniform and the school expects parents to be full partners in ensuring their child’s success. Achievement First recruits teachers from all over the country with a focus on hiring teachers of color, and has a tough evaluation and hiring process. Once hired, the teachers enjoy competitive wages and benefits. Students from Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant will be accepted through a lottery to be drawn at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 8, at the Bedford Library, 496 Franklin Avenue. The application deadline is Friday, March 3. In the meantime, Achievement First is holding several parent information sessions, where they can meet the principal and submit an application. The first session is slated for 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 13, at Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street. Other sessions are at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Bedford Library; 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 27, at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 279 Lafayette Avenue; and 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 1, at the Walt Whitman Library, St. Edwards Street. For more information, visit the school administration’s website at www.achievementfirst.org or call (718) 774-0906.
