4 AUGUST 31, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Middle Village Prep opens as lawsuit over its future is pending
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
With the future of their school
hanging in the balance, hundreds
of students at Middle
Village Preparatory Charter School
(MVP) began their fi rst day of the new
school year on Monday morning.
As a judge continues to deliberate
a ruling in the lawsuit between the
Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens and
Christ the King High School (CTK),
parents, teachers, students and leaders
at MVP proudly announced the
start of school at a press conference
outside the middle school at 68-02
Metropolitan Ave. on Monday, Aug. 28.
Earlier this year, it was announced
that the diocese was suing CTK,
charging that the high school renting
out space on its campus to the secular
middle school violates a 40-year-old
agreement between the two entities.
If the judge rules in favor of the diocese,
it could spell the end for MVP,
and the over 400 students that attend
MVP would need to fi nd other schools
in the already overcrowded School
District 24.
“Today is the first day of school
and we are very excited to see the
children start another school year,”
said Josephine Lume, board chair of
MVP. “We are working very hard to
give them a safe and welcoming place
to learn. Of course there is still uncertainty
because of the diocese lawsuit,
but we do trust the process. We are
waiting for the judge to make a decision.
In the meantime, school started
today; the kids came in on time and
very excited.”
Not only has MVP provided quality
education for students in grades six
through eight, explained Serphin
Maltese, vice chair of MVP’s board
of trustees, but it has also allowed the
other schools on the CTK Campus to
benefi t as well. Christ the King High
School and the Christ the King Community
Day Care/Preschool provides
older MVP students with mentorship
opportunities, and high schoolers
looking to get into teaching a place
to get hands-on training right on the
campus, and many other programs.
“I feel MVP is very great school. It did
outdo state test standards,” said Daniela
Valdes, a seventh-grader at MVP. “Everyone
here is very friendly; it really is
a big family. Coming to MVP last year as
a sixth-grader was a really good year for
me. I got on the National Juniors Honor
Society, which is a great honor.”
“I think it’s really sad that the Brooklyn
Diocese wants to take away the
foundation of our education,” added
Daniella DiSanti, an eighth-grader at
MVP. “Especially when the school has
been so good with the extracurricular
activities and the academics.”
Although the future is unclear for
MVP, Maltese is confi dent that the
judge will rule in favor of the school.
“Middle Village Prep is here to stay,”
Maltese said at the conclusion of the
conference. “The very fact that the
court has delayed its ruling till the fi rst
day of school indicates to many people
and our lawyers, that the court does
not appear to have decided to close the
school at this time. Our attorneys feel
at the minimum we will have the three
years that the school has the present
students in the school and the court
will, in its good judgement, give those
students an opportunity to graduate
no matter what else they decide.”
In a statement, the diocese reiterated
that the lawsuit is between the diocese
and CTK.
“This dispute is between the Diocese
of Brooklyn and Christ the King
High School,” a diocese spokesperson
said. “The Diocese wishes Middle
Village Preparatory Charter School,
its parents, and students a successful
school year.”
Ridgewood Property Owners
& Civic Association
General Membership Meeting-for existing& new membersonly
Thursday, September 7th, 2017 at 7:00 pm
Ridgewood Presbyterian Church
59-14 70 Ave1/4 block East of Forest Avenue Entrance from side parking lot – no steps
Welcome the Democratic Candidates
for the City Council seat in the 30th District
Meet the incumbent Elizabeth Crowley
and the challenger Robert Holden
Please come with written questions for the Candidates
(depending on time and quantityyour question may or may not be used)
Charles Ober will Moderate
Following: Pastor of Ridgewood Presbyterian
Church discusses:
Ridgewood’s homeless population
Starting at 6: 45 PM
Catered sandwiches & salads by Frank’s Deli (Maspeth)
Courtesy of Kerzner Realty, Inc.
Ridgewood Property owners are always welcome to submit a membership application,
subject to RPOCA Board approval.
For information contact: Paul Kerzner, President - 718 381 3366
Photo by Anthony Giudice/Ridgewood Times
Students from Middle Village Preparatory Charter School speak at the
school's opening day press conference.
Students at Middle Village Prep are
among city’s best in Math & English
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
With the threat of a potential
eviction looming overhead,
students at Middle Village
Preparatory Charter School (MVP) are
eager to start school on Monday, Aug.
28, aft er learning their state test scores
were among the best in the district in
math and English language arts (ELA).
According to scores released
by the New York State Education
Department on Tuesday, Aug. 22,
MVP’s English language arts profi -
ciency has grown from 37 percent
in 2015 to 56 percent in 2017, while
students’ mathematics profi ciency
has improved to 60 percent, which is
up slightly from 58 percent in 2015.
MVP’s 2017 ELA scores are for
grades 6-8. The 2017 District 24 numbers
show 43 percent profi ciency in
those grades versus MVP’s 56 percent.
MVP’s math scores are only for
grades 6-7, since the charter school’s
eighth-graders take the New York State
Algebra 1 Regents exam, where 85 percent
passed the exam this year. District
24’s proficiency in math for grades 6-7
was at 40 percent versus MVP’s 60
percent.
“These scores are the result of hard
work by our students and excellent
instruction by our teachers, in an
overall environment that fosters
learning and high character,” said
Josephine Lume, MVP’s board chair.
“All our students, their parents and
our staff can feel good about these
results – knowing full well they are
just part of what makes MVP a great
school. That said, there’s more work
we as school leaders can do so our
students can continue to rise.”
To see the citywide data, visit the
Department of Education website.
The test scores come at a time when
parents, teachers and students anxiously
await a judge’s decision in the
lawsuit brought forth by the Diocese of
Brooklyn and Queens against Christ the
King High School (CTK) — where MVP
is located — charging that the secular
charter school breaches an agreement
the diocese and high school made in 1976.
If the diocese wins its case, then
MVP would most like be forced to
close its doors and send its 400 middle
school students into the already
overcrowded District 24 system.
Parents and students have held
meetings and rallies to try and get
the diocese to drop the lawsuit and
allow MVP to remain open.
