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Four new charter schools coming to Queens

By Alex Robinson

The SUNY board of trustees has approved four new charter schools that will open in Queens.

The charters, which were certified along with 13 other schools citywide, will form part of the Success Academy, a network of charter schools headed by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, a polarizing figure on the issue of co-locating her charters in public schools.

A new state law, championed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, paved the way for other Success Network charter schools in Queens last spring after Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened to deny public space for them.

The city Department of Education will now have to find places in public schools for the new charters to occupy or pay their rent.

“There is clearly tremendous demand from parents for high-quality schools in New York City with the applications far exceeding the number of available seats in our schools,” said Moskowitz, whose political action committee has given Cuomo’s campaign tens of thousands of dollars since 2011. “We look forward to working with the Department of Education to identify appropriate locations so that these schools can open and more children have an opportunity to receive the high-quality education they want and deserve.”

The new schools will be in Districts 24, 27, 28 and 30. The charter in District 27 has been approved to open in August 2015 and the other three are set to welcome their first class the following year.

Once the charter schools apply for space with the city, DOE will have five months to respond.

“It’s our goal to invest in all our public schools to make sure parents have great options for their children, regardless of what neighborhood they live in,” said DOE spokeswoman Kaye Devora. “It doesn’t matter whether a child attends a traditional public school or a charter public school – we want every child to get the education they need to succeed and are committed to complying with the space law. When schools collaborate, share resources, and work to meet the needs of every child, all of our students win.”

Two elected officials, whose districts could include the new charters, responded to the new approvals with little enthusiasm.

Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), a former public school teacher and the chairman of the Council’s Education Committee, called for a moratorium on any more charters being approved unless there is more oversight of the schools, which are publicly funded but operate independently of the DOE.

“If you take government money, you must accept sunshine and transparency,” Dromm said in an interview.

State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) said she was concerned the new schools could further overwhelm the city’s overcrowded public system.

“There are children in District 30 who are learning in trailers and we’re giving 17 new charters to organizations that are going to encroach on our schools even further,” she said. “If we’re serious about universal Pre-K, we should certainly be using public education to educate our children. There is a shortage of space and to co-locate a charter school instead of universal pre-K is wrong.”

Proponents of charters have argued the high-performing schools provide a place for children who have not thrived under public education.

“I’m happy they were able to bring a Success Academy to our location. I used to bus my little girl to the school in Brooklyn. It was very hard on me,” said Stephanie Cummins, of Rosedale, whose daughter, Orianni, started kindergarten at Success Academy’s Springfield Garden school this fall.

“Every child that deserves an opportunity to go to school and I’m lucky my daughter was able to get into Success Academy,” Cummins added.

Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobi‌nson@‌cnglo‌cal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.