Parents to Protest Mayor’s Neglect of Queens Students
**For Immediate Release September 5, 2019** Contact: Liz Baker, 646-902-4200 [email protected] Ann Powell, 646-894-6407 [email protected]PARENTS TO PROTEST MAYOR’S NEGLECT OF QUEENS STUDENTS
Refusing to Use City’s Empty Seats for a Success Middle School, Mayor de Blasio Sparks Parent Ire as He Proceeds to Abandon 200 Children of Color in Southeast Queens
New York, NY — On Thursday, September 26, Success Academy parents, staff, and scholars will rally at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans, Queens, to demand action from a mayor who is skirting responsibility and ignoring the real needs of high-achieving students of color. After more than two years of waiting for classrooms promised by the de Blasio administration in 2017, Queens families are fed up with the mayor’s indifference to the educational welfare of their children. Without a middle school location, up to 200 fifth graders will be forced to leave Success Academy next year and return to zoned schools where less than half of students are able to read or do math. “I cannot believe Mayor de Blasio would force my child out of the best school he’s ever known,” said Dr. Keisha Phillips-Kong, a Success Academy Rosedale parent. “That’s why my family will rally. My son loves this school. The mayor should support great schools, not throw up roadblocks.” Southeast Queens families have been trying to get the Mayor’s attention since July, making more than 350 phone calls to his office and meeting with their local officials for support. In August, an SA Rosedale parent launched a petition that now has more than 10,000 signatures. “The mayor is abandoning children just as they are reaching critical middle school years,” said Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools. “This mayor talks about being a public school parent, yet he is utterly indifferent to these families.” There are at least five public school buildings in southeastern Queens with 450 to 725 empty seats each. Located in Districts 27 and 29, the five Queens Success Academies are among the state’s highest-achieving schools; they also rank in the top 15 of all Queens K-8 schools (see chart below). There are 2,000 Success Academy Queens scholars, and another 3,000 on this year’s waitlist. About 87% of students are children of color and 69% receive free and reduced-price lunch. ### ABOUT SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS Founded in 2006, Success Academy Charter Schools are free public K-12 schools open to all children in the state through a random lottery. With 45 schools across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, Success Academy enrolls 18,000 students, primarily children of color from low-income households in disadvantaged neighborhoods: 74% receive free or reduced-price lunch, 94% are students of color, 16% have disabilities, and 8% are English language learners. Success Academy schools received more than 17,000 applications for about 4,000 open seats for the 2019-20 academic year. For more information about Success Academy, go to successacademies.org.| TOP RANKED K-8 PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN BOROUGH OF QUEENS | |||||
| School Name | Math+ELA Pass Rate* | CSD | Grades | Type | |
| 1 | Baccalaureate School for Global Education | 100% | 30 | 7-12 | Selective |
| 2 | Success Academy South Jamaica | 98% | 27 | K-4 | Success Academy |
| 3 | Success Academy Rosedale | 98% | 27 | K-4 | Success Academy |
| 4 | 30th Avenue School | 97% | 30 | K-8 | Citywide G&T |
| 5 | Academy for Excellence Through the Arts | 97% | 28 | K-4 | Zoned |
| 6 | PS 196 Grand Central Parkway | 94% | 28 | PK-5 | Zoned |
| 7 | Success Academy Springfield Gardens | 91% | 29 | K-4 | Success Academy |
| 8 | Scholars’ Academy | 91% | 27 | 6-12 | Selective |
| 9 | Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School | 89% | 28 | 6-12 | Selective |
| 10 | Success Academy Far Rockaway | 89% | 27 | K-4 | Success Academy |
| 11 | PS 203 Oakland Gardens | 89% | 26 | K-5 | Zoned |
| 12 | PS 188 Kingsbury | 88% | 26 | K-5 | Zoned |
| 13 | The Active Learning Elementary School | 88% | 25 | K-3 | Zoned |
| 14 | Success Academy Queens 1 MS | 87% | 29 | G5-6 | Success Academy |
| 15 | PS 94 David D. Porter | 86% | 26 | K-5 | Zoned |
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