16 JULY 27, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Parents outraged over 5-fi gure
tuition at new Bushwick school
BY KATARINA HYBENOVA
AND MAGDALENA WAZ
BUSHWICK DAILY
SPECIAL TO THE RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Among the usual bars and restaurants
that grow, and oft en times
die, faster than grass in spring,
is a small private school, Bushwick
Montessori, which is set to open at an
aff ordable housing complex on Knickerbocker
Avenue this September.
The school’s full time tuition, a
whopping $25,500 for 10 months, has
enraged a group of local parents
who demand “transparency and
accountability regarding details of
the available grants and fi nancial aid.”
The group pointed out that Bushwick’s
median income is $42,369.
The school has claimed it has scholarships
and fi nancial aid available
for underserved and at-risk families.
Bushwick Daily has taken a look at
how aff ordable Bushwick Montessori
really is.
THE PRICE OF A
MONTESSORI EDUCATION
Besides the emphasis on the independence
of a child and respect for its
natural development, schools using
the Montessori method are also known
for their high tuition. Currently, there
are at least 20 Montessori schools in
New York City neighborhoods, and the
closest one, Williamsburg Montessori,
charges $21,850 per year for full time
tuition for a similar age group. Bushwick
Montessori will be our neighborhood’s
fi rst.
According to the school’s director
Becky Simkhai, Bushwick Montessori
will accept 34 children between the ages
of two and fi ve in their fi rst year and
plans to be capable of accommodating
up to 66 children in the future. Simkhai
told us that they currently have
13 families enrolled at a discounted
tuition rate as they off ered incentives,
a discount of up to 20 percent, to the
founding families.
A MONTESSORI SCHOOL
AT AN AFFORDABLE
HOUSING COMPLEX
The school is operated by a non-profit
organization Labor & Industry
for Education, Inc. (L.I.F.E.) and is
housed at the ground floor of 803
Knickerbocker Ave., also known as
Knickerbocker Commons, which is
an aff ordable housing complex built
to environmentally friendly “passive
house” standards. (“Passive” means
that the building uses only 10 percent
of the energy normally consumed by
a building of its size).
Knickerbocker Commons, which
currently rents to low-income and
disabled people, is owned by another
non-profi t, Ridgewood Bushwick Senior
Citizens Council (RBSCC), whose
mission is to address the problems of
low-income families. RBSCC has not
responded to Bushwick Daily’s request
for a comment.
On July 15, the parents sent a letter
to L.I.F.E. “We are concerned about
the lack of transparency of the forthcoming
Bushwick Montessori School
operated by L.I.F.E.,” read the letter
provided to Bushwick Daily by the parents.
“We believe that L.I.F.E is taking
advantage of community resources
under false pretenses and with no
intention of honoring their own 503c
mission statements or delivering on
their promises to the community.”
The community resource the parents
say that L.I.F.E is taking advantage of
is the community space within the
aff ordable housing complex.
NO MIDDLE CLASS KIDS,
PLEASE
According to Jacki Rogoff , the executive
director at L.I.F.E., which besides
Bushwick Montessori also runs two
other daycare centers in Bushwick
geared toward low income residents,
Bushwick Montessori is in the process
of obtaining its license from the
Department of Education (DOE).
“This school is not for middle class
children,” Rogoff told Bushwick Daily.
“This building was built for low income,
high risk children. When I was
trying to explain this to the concerned
parents, they thought I was being
inconsistent and inconsiderate. But
it’s not for middle class. We are not
funded by any governmental agency at
this point. We have to pay our rent, we
have to pay our teachers, but it is also
a building in which we are mandated
to help the poor.”
17 SEATS FOR VOUCHER
AND FINANCIAL AID KIDS
Aft er the license is in place, which as
Rogoff assured Bushwick Daily, would
defi nitely be before the school year begins,
the school will open 50 percent
of its slots to low income and at risks
students through city’s ACS and HRA
“voucher” programs as well as through
a fi nancial aid program through an
agreement with a private foundation
that funds L.I.F.E. Rogoff declined to
provide the name of the foundation.
Rogoff said that the voucher students
will pay no to very minimal tuition
based on their economic situation.
In order for a family to be considered,
they have to apply through the system
city has in place. Aft er the city fi nds
a family eligible for subsidized child
care, the family will receive a voucher
that can be used at one of the approved
schools. Bushwick Montessori will be
on the list once their license is in place,
according to Rogoff .
Another option for the children of
low income families or families who
suff ered a hardship is to apply for
fi nancial aid directly through L.I.F.E.
According to Rogoff , the private foundation
that funds L.I.F.E. is committed
to making Bushwick Montessori “one
of the most inclusive community
groups ever.” Rogoff added, “You’re going
to have children who are literally
homeless sitting next to a millionaire’s
kid, getting the same education. That is
our mission for the school.”
The parents who reached out to
Bushwick Daily claim that school administrators
are off ering this scholarship
option with strings attached: a $39
application fee to determine eligibility.
Rogoff said that the school is using
an independent portal TADS which
collects documentation and assesses
eligibility, and charges the fee for their
services.
The remaining 50 percent of the students
will pay the full or discounted
tuition.
Editor’s note: This is a condensed
version of a story that originally ran
on Bushwick Daily. To read more, visit
www.bushwickdaily.com.
KIDS & EDUCATION