"Build another One" or "Let them Eat Cake"

Build another One!        All Schools should be converted over to Success Academy. 

These are just two of the flippant comments Success Academy advocates mentioned in the Joint Public Hearing on the proposed co-location at Middle School 72 campus. When actual students, staff and families of that building and community, including me pointed out the severe space restrictions with Cafeterias, Gymnasiums, Auditoriums and more they scoffed these remarks in a nonchalant "Let them eat cake" style out of touched-ness. Not one of the Success Academy parents or speakers seemed at all familiar with MS72 outside of the blue book fallacy that it was under 50 percent utilized. Very few parents were from Queens, and even those who were just spoke to the need for space and giving their students choice. 

No one is trying to stop Success Academy from getting space, the affected community is saying NOT at MS 72. The community is saying NOT at Springfield Gardens Education Complex. Not at the expense of growing Magnet Programs and D75 collaborations at MS 72. Not at the expense of the Mayor and Chancellor touted CTE programs in Veterinary Science and Pre Nursing that are flourishing and have long term build out plans at Springfield Gardens. 

Should choice only be for Success Academy? No! MS72 campus, just as its sister campus under attack Springfield Garden Education Complex, deserve with their current occupants,  the choice to expand their programming, and provide their students the wonderful immersive experience that Success Academy paraded with their solicited student speakers from almost every corner of NYC besides South East Queens. 

Today Tuesday December 20, the virtual Joint Public Hearing turns to the Springfield Gardens Educational Complex at 6 pm. 

Sign up to comment at 5:30pm https://learndoe.org/districtplanning/

If last night was ANY indication, the local community fully understands that Success Academy is OUT FOR BLOOD by any means necessary. Even if this blood is by parading a long line up of students who are prepped on stand by for the many of these battles that Success Academy partakes in yearly. We applaud the advocacy of the students, and were quite impressed by the debating skills demonstrated by a couple. Yet others demonstratively rushed through what was undoubtedly just an adult prepared speech handed to them without any actual passion or understanding of the issue at hand. One young Success Academy cutie pie adorably ended the parade of students repeating verbatim the words being fed to them by a parent or elder sibling audibly heard in the background. That child did not know why he or she was on that call and a few times nearly gave the wrong answer no matter but we applaud the willingness to step up and speak. 

The community gets it. Success Academy families and students are proud of their school and want their students to have opportunities. That is not in question. What is the point of contention, is that the families and students of MS 72 Catherine and Count Baisie Magnet School of Multimedia and the Arts and MS 332 Redwood Magnet School of Leadership and Exploration and P993Q D75 Middle School and Preparatory Academy for Writers: A College Board School and Excelsior Preparatory High School and George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences and Queens Preparatory Academy are  ALSO proud of their schools and the robust academic and co-curricular development of their students.

  The D28 and D29 community students who spoke on topic against the collocation about the challenges with lunch, the benefits of the programming and the realistic concerns around safety demonstrated just that. These formerly failing school campuses are now flourishing in the type of turn around that the Mayor and the Chancellor are promoting for previously failing buildings. They have maximized the use of the space on their campus to facilitate the achievements of the past few years, and obviously the School Planning Blue Book has not been updated. 

These campuses are also community campuses and have opened their doors countless times during the pandemic and beyond for a myriad of activities jointly benefiting students and community. The Community Partners such as Sheltering Arms that work with the MS 72 campus for example, do have a needed office space in the building as they provide support all through the day and even after hours for community support and programming as late as 9 pm. The blue book numbers do not include them. 

Hopefully tonight, unlike last night Success Academy will do the right thing related to these proposals, and instead of misdirecting the conversation to toot the benefits of a Success Academy Education, will also encourag their leadership to withdraw the proposals and LET THE CURRENT CAMPUSES FLOURISH.

Find all the details of the colocation and upcoming PEP vote at the link:

https://pwsauth.nycenet.edu/about-us/leadership/panel-for-education-policy/2022-2023-pages/january-05-2023-school-utilization-proposals