Middle School At Christ The King H.S. Proposed
In front of a small crowd of reporters and legislative aides, representatives of a charter middle school planned for Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village made their pitch at a public hearing last Thursday, Aug. 16 at I.S. 61 in Corona.
Michael Michel, Christ the King’s president, unveiled their proposal for the Middle Village Preparatory Charter School, which would serve students in grades six through eight opening in September 2013 inside a currently unoccupied building at the school campus, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave.
The school’s initial sixth-grade class would be 120 students, eventually growing to a maximum of 360 pupils. The students would be kept “completely separated” from the high school students, Michel stated, including during lunch and physical education classes.
“We are not looking for any public space,” Michel reiterated. “We actually will help alleviate some of the overcrowding in the district.”
The students will be accepted from within School District 24 on a first-come first-serve basis unless over 120 students apply; in that case, Michel stated, students will be chosen via lottery, as per state regulations. If fewer than 120 students apply, the application process will be opened to students from across the city.
The school will also serve English Language Learners and students with individualized education plans.
Michel stated that the school would have a longer school day and long school year than city public schools, with students spending 192 days in class with the school day starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m.
Teachers will also stay longer on Wednesday evenings for workshops.
Michel would later emphasize that Middle Village Prep is not affiliated with Christ The King nor is it intended to be a feeder school for the Middle Village high school.
The curricula of the two schools will not be complementary. Rather, he said, the charter school will focus on ensuring that students can do well on the city’s specialized high school admissions exam.
“Very few students get into their choice high schools,” he said. “We want to prepare them so that they have a choice of going to any high school.”
The school will teach additional classes in math and English, and all students will take three years of Latin to aid them with the high school exam.
A principal and staff have not been hired yet, Michel would note.
Josephine Lume, a member of Middle Village Prep’s Founding Board of Trustees who also serves as the chief financial officer of the Henry Street Settlement (a Manhattan based social service agency), stated that she “would welcome this as an option” for local children.
Kate Mooney, who represented City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley at the hearing, expressed concern that the charter school would take students away from public schools at a time when several of them have seen declining enrollment.
“I think there is a large need for middle schools” in the area, Michel stated.
Michel and Lume added that many of the schools are converting into combined elementary/intermediate schools, changing the space euqation.
Mooney also stated that she was “a little uncomfortable” with the use of public funding for a charter school inside a private school, and asked why the city Department of Education has not considered putting Middle Village Prep into a public space.
Michel responded that the charter school proposal has received support from the District 24 Community Education Council and Community Board 5.
He added that several city non- Diocesan private schools also hold charter schools within their walls.
