Wyandanch Charter School gets another try

Fed up with a school district they say has failed generations of students, a group of Wyandanch residents and educators has renewed efforts to open a charter school in the community, which has Long Island's second lowest graduation rate.

The group, supported by Suffolk's Economic Opportunity Council, hopes to open the Beyond Expectations Charter School for the 2012-13 school year. It plans to apply to the state Board of Regents by Jan. 1.

"The reason we are doing this is to give the kids an alternative," said Anne Stewart, EOC director of planning and development and president of a 10-member charter school board.

Town and county officials also support the charter school, saying an improved educational system could bolster the Wyandanch Rising downtown redevelopment.

While Wyandanch school officials oppose it, charter school advocates said the system has been ineffective, and a charter school would address historical shortcomings.

Stewart said Beyond Expectations would focus on science and technology, start with 50 to 60 first-graders and add a grade each year until the school becomes K-12.

The group has reached out to Geoffrey Canada, a Wyandanch schools graduate whose successful Harlem Children's Zone was featured in the documentary "Waiting for Superman," which examines failures of public schooling.

Beyond Expectations would use Harlem Children's Zone as a model, Stewart said. The group has met with Canada, who is expected to provide guidance, she said. "He was very interested in what we're trying to do," she said. Canada did not return calls for comment.

Residents tried to form a charter school in Wyandanch in 2000, but by 2003, the state pulled the school's charter. The stated reasons: "Unable to find a site. Poor management. Noncompliance with charter."

A site has not been found, though one possibility is the Wyandanch Daycare Center, Stewart said. While the cost of opening the school is unclear, all charters receive public funding based on their number of students.

Phyllis Henry, a former Wyandanch school board member who is on the new charter school board, said Beyond Expectations would allow teachers more creativity and flexibility in meeting state standards. Charter schools can -- and do -- set longer hours and calendars than traditional school systems.

Citing administration politics and infighting on the Wyandanch school board, Henry said the district has had problems since she moved into the community in 1973. "So why not try something where the community has some input," she said.

Wyandanch school board president Shirley Baker said she will meet with charter school officials but opposes the project, saying it would take state dollars and is akin to "giving up" on the district.

Stewart said she has reached out to the school board and believes a successful, competitive charter school "can be a catalyst for better education in this community."

Group member Wayne Harewood said any improvement would make the charter a success. "If it rescues 10 percent of the kids, that's 10 percent more than who's being rescued now."