By:  Ilana Siyance

A co-located charter school has opened its doors at Rockaway Park Middle School, following a victory in its bitter fight with the powerful United Federation of Teachers Union.

As reported by the NY Post, on Monday Success Academy launched its Queens location at the Rockaway Park Middle School, with eager parents and children celebrating the opening.  On Friday, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank gave Success Academy, the city’s largest charter network, a victory by tossing out an 11th hour bid by the by the city’s powerful teachers union to block the charter school network from opening classes in two public buildings in Queens and Brooklyn.  “It is unconscionable that a union representing educators would try to block schoolhouse doors and bar hundreds of children from starting school,” Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz had said in a statement.

“Especially when the majority of those children are underserved.”

“To now, three days before classes begin, force respondents, Success Academy, and hundreds of school children and their families to change course and find a new location for both SA-Far Rockaway and SA- Elementary would be a significant disruption to the status quo and clearly would be against the equities,” the charter school network said fighting the UFT attempt to block their operations, per court documents.  “The lawsuit targeted about 450 children at the two schools and is the latest in the United Federation of Teachers union war on charter schools,” Success Academy said. “There have been nearly 20 legal attempts by the union over the years to block or delay co-locations for Success Academy students, none of which were ultimately successful.”

Per the Post, hundreds of school children and their parents were grateful that their high-achieving charter schools were opened Monday at PS 225 in Far Rockaway and the K495 high school complex in Sheepshead Bay.  “Charter schools are the best when it comes to the curriculum,” said Adelola Adedokun whose daughter is in the 5th grade at the Far Rockaway school. “You can’t take that away from them.”  She added, “I will go the extra mile to make sure they don’t close the charter schools. You can’t take their rights away from them.”  Success Academy, which runs 53 schools across all boroughs except Staten Island, boasts considerably higher test scores and a long wait list of eager students.

The teachers unions have historically fought charter schools, claiming that the privately run schools utilize public funding siphoning resources from traditional public schools.  They are also against the schools since they don’t hire union teachers. The UFT said that it is not done fighting and plans to appeal Friday’s ruling.  “The New York City Department of Education must include the impact on the state’s new class size law when it co-locates schools or allocates public space,” a union spokesperson said. “Judge Frank avoided addressing this central issue in today’s decision and so we plan to appeal.”