Success Academy Claims City Discriminates Against Harlem School

HARLEM, NY — One of New York City's largest charter schools is taking legal action against the city Department of Education for discriminating against one of its Harlem schools, Success Academy President Eva Moskowitz said at a press conference Monday morning.

The charter school network claims that the city backed out of a deal to increase space at its Success Academy Harlem West Middle School. The school is co-located with two public schools — Wadleigh Secondary School for Performing and Visual Arts and Frederick Douglass Academy II Secondary School — in a building on West 114th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. The school facility is known as the DOE's M088 building.

The city and Success Academy had a deal in place to increase the school's space in the building, but in February the city DOE proposed a building utilization plan that would fail to give Success more space, Moskowitz said.

"We have pursued every possible avenue to avoid litigation," Moskowitz said Monday. "For months and months, we worked to get a resolution. We had an agreement and then the mayor reneged on his promise."

Success Academy argues that it's entitled to 11 more classrooms in the school building due to its high current and projected enrollment compared to the two public schools. In 2010, the city DOE passed a building utilization plan that allocated space among the three schools on the assumption that the public schools' enrollment would increase. Instead, enrollment at Wadleigh Secondary School and Federick Doulgass Academy has decrease while enrollment at Success Harlem West is increasing.

At full enrollment, Success Harlem West would be forced to accommodate 14 more students in an average classroom than the public schools in the same building, the charter school claims.

The city DOE disputed Success' claims that the middle school needs more space in the building.

"Based on their projected enrollment for next year, Success Academy does not require more space in the M088 building," department spokesman Michael Aciman said in a statement. "We have repeatedly assured Success Academy that every student who wants to continue at a Success Academy middle school will have a seat next year, and will continue to work closely with them to address their space requests."

In February, the city DOE submitted a building utilization plan that would cut three middle school grades from Wadleigh Secondary School for Performing and Visual Arts and move the Upper Manhattan Family Welcome Center into three of the school's classrooms. Success Academy argues that those classrooms should instead go to Success Harlem West.

"All Harlem kids should be treated equally," Harlem West Principal Khari Shabazz said. "The City is discriminating against our kids."

Photo courtesy Success Academy Charter Schools