By Steve Mosco
A potential new charter school in Middle Village took its initial step toward reality with its first public hearing last week.
The school, which would be housed in Christ the King Regional High School, at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave., would serve students in Grades 6 to 8 and would offer college preparatory courses. According to representatives from the school’s board of trustees, the preparatory school will be tuition free with a longer school day and an extended school year.
The proposed opening day is scheduled for Sept. 2, 2013, with an initial enrollment in the sixth-grade of 120 students, reaching full enrollment of 360 within three years.
The school will begin accepting applications for students in School District 4 and entering sixth-grade in January 2013. If the school receives more applications than available seats, there will be a random lottery held between April 1 and 15.
Michael Michel, president at Christ the King and a founding member of the new school’s board of trustees, said overcrowding in Community School District 24 is what led to calls for a new charter school.
“Community School District 24 is the most overcrowded district in New York City with a need for an additional 7,000 seats,” said Michel, citing a Building Utilization Report by the city School Construction Authority. “In the past six years alone, public school enrollment has increased by 11 percent in District 24. With a desire to offer students more options for a quality education, Middle Village Preparatory was established.”
Michel said the school would begin accepting applications for students residing in School District 24 and entering the sixth-grade in January 2013 via its website middlevillageprep.org.
“The School Construction Authority is projecting that the district’s public school enrollment will increase by between 5,000 and 7,500 students by 2018,” he said. “By creating new, high-quality public school seats in a private space, Middle Village Prep will be part of the solution to the overcrowding crisis in School District 24.”
Board members said by leasing space inside of an existing school building, Middle Village Prep allows students to experience and more easily assimilate into a college preparatory high school while still maintaining independence. Students will enter the building through a separate entrance and classes will be held in a separate wing from the existing school.
Michel said the school still faces three more steps before the bell rings officially. After the initial public hearing SUNY must vote on the school’s application, then it moves to the state Board of Regents and finally another public hearing next year.
Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
