FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com OCTOBER 24, 2013 • THE QUEENS COURIER 7 Rally against co-location BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] Queens lawmakers and dozens of students carrying picket signs rallied last week against the city’s plans to put another school inside the storied yet struggling Martin Van Buren High School. “We’ve been fi ghting so hard,” said Councilmember Mark Weprin. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but in the dead of night, in secret, they put a colocation in the school.” The city’s Department of Education (DOE) has proposed adding a new early college within the Queens Village school to serve grades nine to 14. Education officials said the Early College and Career Technical Education High School would give students a chance to get an associate degree while in high school. It would focus on computer science and business technology and give students “realworld work experience” through internships and focus on career readiness, the DOE said. But students are unwilling to share the already congested 230- 17 Hillside Avenue building. “It’s already crowded as it is,” said Gaitree Boojraj, 16, the school’s junior president. “We don’t need more people in this school.” The new school would also undo progress Van Buren has made since Principal Sam Sochet took over last June, said Queens legislators, who held another rally in July. “Sochet’s been turning the school around,” said State Senator Tony Avella. “The students are getting the type of education they need. Then, we get a knife in the back. We’re not accepting this. We are not going to let this happen. We’re going to fi ght until the bitter end.” Van Buren has improved a full letter grade from a “D” to a “C” under its new leadership, the latest city progress report shows. “It’s not about one person. It’s about an entire community,” said James Vasquez, the UFT district representative for Queens high schools. But the community seems to be split. Leaders from nine of the largest civic associations in eastern Queens, representing thousands zoned to Van Buren, said they supported co-location plans that would “fast track” positive changes. The early college would “be the catalyst needed” to restore Van Buren’s prior high academic standards, said Mike Castellano, president of Lost Community Civic Association. More than a decade of decline, the group said, is too much for one principal to quickly fi x. The school would also give its graduating students two years of tuition-free education at Queensborough Community College, the civic leaders said. “This is a win-win for students, parents and the community, and a huge attraction that will fi nally begin to raise the four percent local community participation rate,” said Bob Friedrich, president of Glen Oaks Village. “This is a blueprint for success.” The city held a public hearing to discuss the plans on October 23, after The Courier went to press. THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan Martin Van Buren High School students rallied against the city’s plans to add a new early college to the school. Is your bank closing your business account? Recently, a bank announced that they’re shutting their doors to their small and mid-sized business customers. At Flushing Bank, we focus on creating long-lasting relationships with the businesses in the neighborhoods and local communities we serve. We are a local community bank that provides businesses with the expertise, products and business banking solutions they need and deserve, and we‘re ready to provide them to you today. As a Flushing Bank business customer, you will quickly learn that we’re small enough to know you, yet large enough to help you. For more information, visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call 800.581.2889 or go to www.FlushingBank.com. Don’t forget to ask about our Free Business Checking Nexus7 32GB tablet offer. From Forbes.com March 18, 2013. © 2013 Forbes.com LLC. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark
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