By Alexander Dworkowitz
Southeast Queens’ charter school has been recognized by the president of the United States. Now its leaders hope that recognition will bear its fruit.
The Merrick Academy Queens Public Charter School in Queens Village has begun raising funds to build a new home for the school.
The school is already in the midst of expanding. Housed in a former bowling alley and shooting range at 207-01 Jamaica Ave., Merrick plans to use the building’s renovated second floor in September. The extra space will allow the student body to double to 350 students and add a fourth grade.
Merrick’s administration hopes to add a middle and high school to its elementary school and has begun a campaign to raise $100,000 by the middle of August.
Merrick is one of two charter school in Queens. In 1998, the state Legislature created a system of charter schools which are publicly funded but privately operated. The school’s finances are run by Victory School’s Inc., a private management company
Alma Alston, a former private school principal, submitted an application to the state to open a charter school in southeast Queens. Ninety applications were submitted, and Alston’s proposal was one of 14 approved.
The school opened in September 2000 in the annex of the Springfield Gardens United Methodist Church.
“It was a tough situation,” said Joe Terry, business manager of Merrick, who said the church did not have much room.
The next year the school moved to its current home in Queens Village.
On May 2, Merrick PTA President Deggra Stratton visited President George Bush in the White House. Stratton had been chosen as a charter school representative to meet with the president as part of National Charters Schools Week.
Merrick officially kicked off its fund-raiser Saturday with a walk-a-thon in Brookville Park in Rosedale
“We are pushing to collect money to start building another school,” said Stratton.
Stratton praised Merrick, where her daughter Chavontya has just finished the second grade.
“It’s a public school with that private feel,” said Stratton. “We’re a family atmosphere.”
Carolyn Thomas, a former public school teacher, compared Merrick, where she teaches kindergarten, with her former schools.
“It’s a lot better,” she said. “They’re coming out of kindergarten reading.”
Since the school is publicly funded, Merrick is free to all students, Terry said.
“What makes our charter school or any charter school is small classes and that we are a public school,” he said. “We are open to any child.”
Saturday’s event was attended by dozens of students from the school as well as many parents and teachers.
“I like it when we go to different places,” said Jermaine Stevenson, who just finished first grade.
Terry was confident that Merrick would find the funding to construct a new building.
“We feel very strongly it’s going to happen,” he said.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
