36 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • NOVEMBER 29, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
Queens martial artists kick down hunger
with food drive to help local charity
BY CASSIDY KLEIN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e Queens region of Champion
Martial Arts partnered with Operation
CR (Child Rescue) last month to collect
2,171 canned and boxed foods to be
donated to the Food Bank for New York
City.
Th e Food Bank for New York City runs
food pantries and soup kitchens throughout
the fi ve boroughs.
Operation CR is a nonprofi t that was
offi cially launched Nov. 1 in an eff ort
to fi ght child hunger locally and globally,
as well as provide clothing and toys
to children in need. Th e organization
hopes to continue to partner with local
groups to help impoverished children in
the community, according to Operation
CR Secretary William Dobie.
Champion Martial Arts in Bayside,
Flushing, College Point, Maspeth,
Ozone Park and Little Neck worked with
Operation CR as part of their community
service outreach.
More info about Operation CR can be
found at operationcr.com.
Charter schools allowed to monitor their own pre-K without DOE interference
BY NAEISHA ROSE
nrose@cnglocal.com @QNS
Th e State of New York Court of Appeals
sided with Success Academy Charter Schools
in a 5-2 decision last week as the academy
fought for Universal Pre-K funding from
the State Education Department without
oversight from the city’s Department of
Education.
Success Academy can now receive a part
of the city’s $300 million in state funding for
Universal Pre-K and have oversight over its
own preschools, according to the Court of
Appeals’ Nov. 20 decision.
“Th e issue before us is whether the statutory
scheme governing charter school prekindergarten
programs allows for shared
oversight authority between charter entities
and local school districts. We hold that
it does not,” according to the Court of
Appeals.
CEO James Merriman of the New York
City Charter Center, which had fi led a joint
friend of the court briefi ng in support of the
case, was happy about the result.
“Th e court found that DOE overreached
its statutory authority by requiring charter
schools to adhere to a hyper-detailed,
one-size-fi ts-all contract in order
to provide UPK programs. Now NYC
charter schools committed to providing
high-quality UPK will be able to do so
without undue interference and yet with
proper and appropriate oversight from
their authorizers,” Merriman said.
Th e ruling means that charters still have to
meet the legal requirements of the Universal
Pre-K statute that ensures the schools are
high quality, but their own authorizers will
monitor them. Th e court did fi nd that the
DOE had the ability to inspect the program,
but this did not mean they had oversight
authority.
Th e ruling sided with charters because a
section of a 2014 pre-K law’s language had
no provisions in its statute permitting the
DOE to oversee the day-to-day curriculum
and activities at charters, according to the
Court of Appeals.
Th e city’s Law Department issued a statement
saying that it would “review the decision
to determine how it will exercise its lawful
authority.”
“We believe that all publicly funded pre-K
programs serving New York City kids should
meet the same high standards. In resolving
the tension between confl icting statutes,
the Court of Appeals signifi cantly limits, but
does not eliminate the Department’s legal
authority to ensure that charter schools’ programs
meet the educational standards set by
law,” the Law Department said.
Currently, Success Academy has charter
schools in Far Rockaway, Rosedale, South
Jamaica, Springfi eld Gardens and St. Albans,
according to its website.
“Th e Charter Center has supported this
lawsuit since the beginning and is gratifi ed
that New York’s highest court has upheld
the legislature’s clear intent. Th is is a win for
Photo: Facebook/ Success Academy Charter Schools students,” Merriman said.
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