By Joe Anuta
The first charter school in District 24 came a step closer to becoming a reality earlier this month, and its founders are now hunting for space.
“We are excited. It feels terrific,” said Suyin So, one of the founders of the school. “It looks as though we have been approved.”
The school would be located somewhere in District 24, which covers Ridgewood, Glendale, Elmhurst, Corona, Maspeth and Middle Village.
The State University of New York, which regulates all the charter schools in the state, approved the application for school, which will initially house grades 5-8 and eventually 5-12. If the Board of Regents approves the plan, which So said is likely, then the charter has one year to prepare for the first day of school.
The application for the charter was especially appealing to SUNY because of the school’s focus on English language learners, according to So, since Queens is an immigrant borough and one of the most diverse places in the entire world.
“This is about Queens,” she said. “The demographics in the neighborhoods have changed tremendously.”
The school first needs to find a principal, So said, and then she can get the word out to parents in District 24. She hopes to hire a principal this year, begin looking for a location and then alerting the parents of current fourth-graders in the fall. After the 30 percent of the student body dedicated to English language learners is filled, students within District 24 will be picked by a lottery system.
But many members of the District 24 Community Education Council did not share So’s excitement about the new school and had expressed resentment at previous meetings that anyone would try to start a charter school in the most overcrowded school district in New York City.
“We’re overcrowded as it is,” said CEC 24 President Nick Comaianni. “Was my voice heard? The council’s and the community’s? No.”
Comaianni said that starting a charter school with only 100 children in a small private space, which is how the charter plans to begin, is not the ideal way to educate elementary students.
“These kids have needs growing up, there are a lot of factors,” he said. “Where’s your gym, where’s all your other facilities that you’ll need to use? It’s a complete disservice to the kids.”
Comaianni added that charter schools are not held to the same financial regulations as public schools and questioned the motives of those who run charters.
“For them, it’s a money-maker,” he said. “They don’t do this for the kindness of their heart or for education, they do this because they can make a dollar.”
But So said regardless of a school’s status as a charter or public institution, quality is a common concern for parents.
“I don’t think it needs to be us vs. them,” she said. “Part of the mischaracterization of charter schools is that they are not publicly accountable, but that is something I would like us to be able to overcome.”
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
