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Mother: What the Times Didn’t Report About Success

I am the parent of a kindergarten scholar who attends Success Academy in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. When my daughter started, she did not know any English since we only speak Spanish at home. I was so worried about this because I thought she would stay behind due to her poor language. But no, she did not; her teachers really took the time and worked very hard with her. They even take the time to help parents. In other schools, parents don’t even see teachers until the last day of school.

After a couple of weeks, I saw a big improvement in all ways. My daughter’s vocabulary had improved a lot. At this moment, when she is just 5 years old, she is reading on Level E, she knows how to do number stories, and is subtracting, adding, and counting. I do not have words to thank Success Academy for all they have done for my daughter up to now. My daughter loves her teacher, principal, and other staff. I see it on her face every day! All my family loves Success Academy.

After I read the article about Success Academy in The New York Times, I saw that the most important things about my daughter’s school and other schools in the network were missing in the article. This left me worried, and feel parents who are trying to choose a good school for their kids might not know everything about Success Academy. I cannot believe how a reputable company can attack a school that is showing good results on tests and everything else. I need to tell all people how good Success Academy is and how they will change a kid’s life for the good and prepare them for the future.

First, I would mention how stressful it was to find and choose a GOOD school for my daughter. Since my daughter started pre-K, I started looking for schools in my zone. All the district schools I checked had not good grades. Most of them had less than 50 percent of kids that did not pass the exams. I worried that my daughter might end up going to one of these schools, so I started searching the charter schools. The only one that grabbed my attention was Success Academy. So I went checking everywhere, trying to find all information that might be helpful. I wanted my daughter to receive the best education.

In April, we received a letter from Success Academy that was not an acceptance letter. Instead, it was a “most likely” letter, which means they did not guarantee a spot for my daughter. If we wanted, we could continue with all the process, and we did, hoping we would get a spot. A week before classes started, we got a call from Success saying that we got a spot. I felt this was the happiest day in my life. The first day, I must admit I was totally surprised when I saw the principal shaking hands with scholars and teachers and all the staff with a smile that made me feel welcome and comfortable leaving my daughter with the school.

A district school in my zone was not a choice for me, first, because there are no rules. For me, rules make kids respect each other. Also, rules make parents get involved and be more responsible for their kids. Second, a very poor education is provided at district schools. Third, too many kids in a small classroom and only with one teacher makes impossible to help every child individually. I had volunteered for one year in a public school, and this experience left me very unhappy about the education, treatment, and unorganized staff. Unfortunately, nobody writes about the reality of these schools.

On the other hand, Success Academy has and provides everything that a good school needs to help children succeed. They do have rules, which they explain very clearly in the orientation process. So parents have the choice to continue or not, and it is very clear that a lot of the parents still prefer Success. They have two teachers per classroom, who really care for kids and help them individually with their needs. The best thing is that all staff works together with parents, and together we make a strong team to help our kids. I feel that we all are a family.

I wake up at 5:30 am to prepare everything for school. From my house to Success Academy Bensonhurst it take us 40 to 50 minutes in the train and in the car 20 to 30 minutes, and we do have a public school that accepted my daughter that is just two minutes away in front of my house. This is just one proof of how much we love Success, and we will do all possible for my daughter to receive the best education, the education that only Success offers.

New York Times, I hope you take the time to read my letter and take the time to also show your audience the real Success Academy. It is time to stop attacking a school that is preparing kids for the future, our future. Everybody knows public schools, private schools, and some charter schools are not doing a good job in providing a good education for kids, so why not let Success Academy Charter Schools help?

Written by Maria Uzhca April 22, 2015

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