Success Academy Lobbies City For Southeast Queens Middle School

JAMAICA, QUEENS — Success Academy parents and students are lobbying the city for more classroom space in southeast Queens.

The public charter school network has waited two years for the city to give it space for a second middle school in southeast Queens to serve its rising population of graduating elementary school students, according to Success Academy spokespeople.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration still hasn't given them a location, according to Success Academy leaders.

Now, they're dialing up the pressure on city officials with a media blitz and a rally Thursday in Roy Wilkins Park that the network's press representatives claim drew 4,000 supporters.

"The mayor has a double standard when it comes to charter school parents," Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, said in a statement. "They are public school parents, and their children deserve a space to learn."

Success Academy first asked the city for space for another middle school in 2017, to prepare for its Rosedale school's first class of rising middle school students.

The public charter school network has four elementary schools in southeast Queens that educate roughly 2,000 students but only one middle school, which opened in 2018.

While waiting for an answer from the city, the charter network placed Rosedale students in the existing middle school, which is in the same building as its Springfield Gardens elementary school.

Success Academy doesn't admit students after fourth grade, according to Chalkbeat, so leaders put a lot of effort into getting its younger students to stick around.

The charter network's leaders claim the lack of a second middle school in the area will force 227 fifth graders to commute to other boroughs for school or leave Success Academy entirely.

In an interview with the Queens Chronicle, Moskowitz acknowledged that the charter network can secure a space on its own, but she said the city has several buildings in southeast Queens that already fit the bill.

"It's important to engage with the community when considering any co-location proposal, and we look forward to hearing more from both charter and district school communities about this space request," city Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Fislon said in a statement to the Chronicle.

Charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run, are among the city's most high-achieving schools — at least by some measures.

Charter students outperformed other public school students on state tests this year, according to NY1.

In Success Academy's charter schools alone, 99 percent of students passed this year's math test and 90 percent passed the English test, NY1 reported.

Supporters say the schools, which primarily serve children of color from low-income households, are great for parents who want a rigorous education for their kids but live in areas with poorly performing schools.

But state education officials found earlier this year that Success Academy violated the civil rights of kids with disabilities, according to Gothamist, and parents have accused the charter network of pressuring them to take students with disabilities out of its schools.

Success Academy's harsh disciplinary policies have also made headlines.