Success Academy: Very Expensive Uniforms!

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1. rratto says:

   July 28, 2015 at 11:17 pm

   One size fits all?

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2. Steve B says:

   July 28, 2015 at 11:29 pm

   How about a very expensive uniform for the privatization pushers…in the form of handcuffs and straight jackets for the likes of Rhee and Moskowitz…and those that peddle alongside them, for those who fund the peddlers…and cushy new flats that they may call their new homes….iron-barred prison cells in federal penitentiaries…for their flagrant assault on federalist and democratic principles that they have trashed…for both profit and power.

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3. Mindy Rosier says:

   July 29, 2015 at 5:06 am

   I took this picture yesterday on my lunch break. I have no idea when it opened. Was thinking about asking some questions today.

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4. Andrew Rinko says:

   July 29, 2015 at 8:25 am

   In some ways this made me laugh because so many parents are caught up in their own entitlement. They want independent choices but gripe when those choices don’t suit (no pun intended) their personal interests. I’m sure they revel in the cache of the ‘academy’ moniker. Learned lesson: in a real private school parents actually pay to segregate their kids from the public school. If you want your kids to go to a private school be prepared to pay for the trappings that accompany enrollment in a real academy, prep or friends school. It could have been worse–Lauren togs are way more expensive but then again LL Bean is Made in America!

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5. Linda says:

   July 29, 2015 at 9:25 am

   Former N.C. TFA Executive Director about an elementary school in S.C. , “Young gentlemen marching down the hallways heads up, shoulders back, all sharp red bowties and navy blazers. They were Men who Read. The lads were headed off to meet another gentleman, a grown-up in his own jacket and tie from their community… It was so powerful (for her?) to see how proud the boys were of themselves-they looked like a million dollars and felt like it.”
   (Miamian, Spring/Summer 2015)

   His OWN jacket and tie? Is that the way people describe the attire of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates? They wear their own suits.

   Also, quoted from the interview, “People and organizations really grow in risk-friendly (environments).” If that’s true, how do we explain the success of Bill Gates, who grew up in a risk-free environment, as the son of a lawyer?

   The former executive director is now an employee at a national charity based in N.Y.C., that solicits funds from donors, who receive tax write-offs to pay for school supplies, like uniforms, for which the charity receives fees and, additionally asks for a sizeable voluntary donation to the organization. Is that an example of risk? I would describe it in different terms.

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6. Jack says:

   July 29, 2015 at 12:45 pm

   Here’s a couple odd, perhaps funny
   stories about the inner-workings of
   SUCCESS ACADEMY.

   First, there’s the “Golden Plunger:”

   http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2014/12/success-academy-bensonhurst-golden.html

   In SUCCESS ACADEMY-land, a
   spray-painted toilet plunger is given
   as compensation to students who clean
   the bathroom. Apparently that’s a lot
   cheaper than hiring actual custodians.

   T.C.F.W. … too creepy for words…
   but I’ll try 😉

   And to be honest, I”m not sure
   if this brilliant idea originated with
   Ms. Moskowitz, or some other
   genius school administrator
   within her charter chain.

   This (BELOW) had been posted on
   the “Success Academy Bensonhurst”
   FACEBOOK page for the three months—
   September-December, 2014—

   However, when it started getting media
   attention in early December 2014, it was
   immediately pulled down.

   Thankfully, Norm Scott over at “Ed Notes”
   had the foresight to save it for posterity.

   Doing janitorial work may be okay for the
   kids of the the proletariat, but not so much
   for kids of the middle or upper classes
   that are being now wooed to join up with
   Eva.

   Eva is expanding her charter network
   into these upscale areas, so this
   “GOLDEN PLUNGER AWARD”
   mishegass had to be scrubbed from
   the Internet ASAP. Kids being awarded
   prizes for cleaning bathrooms seems
   a dismal prospect for those upscale
   parents of the Seth’s and Caitlin’s
   who are now joining the SUCCESS
   ACADEMY family. I can imagine
   some upscale parent calling Eva,

   “With all the money you’re raking
   in, can’t you hire a goddamn
   janitor???!!!”

   (to see an actual picture of the “Golden
   Plunger” trophy that had been on the
   “Success Academy Bensonhurst” page,
   go to Norm’s article:

   http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2014/12/success-academy-bensonhurst-golden.html

   … a toilet plunger spray-painted gold.)

   Here’s the text as it appeared on
   the FACEBOOK page for SUCCESS
   ACADEMY BENSONHURST:
   ————————————-

   “Success Academy Bensonhurst

   “September 12

   “Today we launched our Golden Plunger Award. Each week, the boys or girls will have a chance to win the Golden Plunger Award for keeping the cleanest bathrooms! The weekly winners will have the award displayed by their bathroom as a reminder of all their hard work!

   “We want to make sure that our bathrooms are clean and sanitary for your scholars all day long. Please speak with your scholars about putting toilet paper in the toilet, flushing the toilets after use, washing their hands completely after use, and throwing the paper towels in the wastebaskets.

   “Hygiene and cleanliness are extremely important for keeping healthy!”

   ————————————-
   Go to the link where it had been just days
   prior to Norm’s article above:

   https://www.facebook.com/SABensonhurst

   No, it’s gone!!

   For more info on S.A. Bensonhurst, here’s
   an article about its aggressive, and …
   shall we say… inconsiderate expansion
   at its co-located school site.. and the
   public school teachers who are livid
   (not to mention lovers of old trees…
   read on)

   http://www.uft.org/news-stories/tree-falls-brooklyn
   ———

   “‘Eva’s Bad Neighbor Policy:
   A Tree Falls in Brooklyn’

   “by Cara Met

   “At an early morning meeting with UFT President Michael Mulgrew on Oct. 2, teachers at Seth Low in Bensonhurst had a chance to discuss their concerns as the school year — and the school’s first co-location — begin.

   “Rumor has it that when Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz recently toured the Bensonhurst school building where her new school had just put down stakes, she looked out the window and complained that a giant tree in the park across the street was blocking the view from her fourth-floor classrooms.

   “ ‘All we know is that 24 hours later, that tree was removed by the city,’ said Judy Gerowitz, the UFT District 21 representative.

   “Educators at IS 96, the Seth Low Intermediate School in Brooklyn, are wondering if Moskowitz has the power to end the life of an old tree what else she is capable of.

   “Success Academy Bensonhurst has taken up 12 classrooms and more than three-quarters of the fourth floor for its kindergarten students. The school is slated to expand to the entire fourth floor and part of the third floor next year as it grows, even as Seth Low rebuilds under the leadership of a new principal.

   “At an early-morning meeting with UFT President Michael Mulgrew on Oct. 2, teachers at Seth Low had a chance to discuss their concerns as the school year — and the school’s first co-location — began.

   “Coincidentally, Oct. 2 was the date of a charter school rally in Manhattan, and seven large coach buses idled in front of the school as the Success Academy emptied out its students for the morning and shuttled them, staff and parents to Foley Square.

   “Inside, the two schools’ students are kept separate. “Teachers on the fourth floor tell me that they just don’t interact with us — if one of our students does accidentally walk into their hallway, they get them out fast,” said special education teacher Howard Rybak.

   “The students at the two schools use different entry and exit doors.

   “Seth Low educators, parents, community members and elected officials organized protest rallies and objected vociferously at public hearings last school year about the proposed co-location. Chapter Leader Sokol Muja said they were concerned their new math and science academies as well as their new medical program in affiliation with Maimonides Hospital would be harmed.

   “ ‘All these charter schools are pulling kids and pulling money from our system,’ said Corinne Kaufman, a math teacher for 25 years at Seth Low.

   “In his discussion with the Seth Low educators, Mulgrew said that charter schools call themselves public when they ask for funding and facilities, but then say in court that they are private businesses when it comes to auditing their finances and operations.

   “ ‘There’s no transparency and the economics are very different,’ he said. ‘That’s what I’m concerned about.’ ”

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   • Linda says:

     July 30, 2015 at 11:22 am

     Thanks for the addition to the Ravitch post.

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7. Melissa Walsh says:

   July 29, 2015 at 1:29 pm

   Another subtle way to winnow out the poorer patrons of the school? Similar to charter schools near me who advise parents of special needs students that they just can’t properly service their child.

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8. Mindy says:

   July 29, 2015 at 1:33 pm

   OK, they opened yesterday and will be open till Sept 19th. Then I questioned the $450 uniform price. Was told that based on family income they can get a voucher up to $100. Then I got ballsy and said how she, (actually said she) needs stay away from my space and how she has too much of ours already. Then i said, she knows exactly who I am and walked out.

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9. Elaine says:

   July 31, 2015 at 2:51 pm

   What are the chances that Success Academy uses the $8.5 million gift they just received to buy uniforms and LL Bean book bags for all it’s scholars?!

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   • Elaine says:

     July 31, 2015 at 2:51 pm

     ACK its not it’s!

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10. Kelly says:

    August 6, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    Everyone complains about spending money on uniforms for Success Academy. That’s the least you can do to pay for your child’s education. When my child attended a Catholic school we had to pay monthly tuition fees, monthly breakfast and lunch fees, purchase a long list of supplies not only school supplies (pencils, markers,etc) but wipes,paper towels, household items,etc. And paying for school trips and selling candy for the school. So please stop complaining about spending the least $250 on uniforms for your child.

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    • Gina says:

      August 11, 2017 at 9:19 am

      I cannot concur more! While the uniforms pieces tend to be rather pricey… it is fine because that is ALL for which we are obligated to pay ( excluding after school fees which can be claimed as child care on taxes). Success provides all trips free of charge, we don’t have to purchase as little as a pencil , nor do we have to pay for two snacks and lunch. Success provides is all to our children free of charge. Our children are being provided with a sound education plus those extras for free. Further, being a public school teacher I understand how pricey quality trips and a full list of school supplies can be as I have often paid for trips and supplies for my students out of my own pocket. While I do believe Success provide all supplies as a way to keep things “uniformed” so as to keep the focus on learning because they assume all of our children will be focused on and bickering over flashier school supplies , I appreciate ( as a teacher and parent ) the accomadations. For these reasons, I feel that the uniform bill is justified.

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11. Rosalyn says:

    September 2, 2022 at 8:37 am

    My child went to boys and girls choir Academy of Harlem compared to your normal French toast uniforms were very expensive $29 $32 just for skirt. My child is 31 now. My 11-year-old now attend Success Academy much like Catholic school uniforms the prices are about the same. Success Academy also gives full set of uniforms to parents who cannot afford it the uniform is tailored to that child. The child also gets a book bag. At the end of the year they have a uniform Drive where you can purchase gently use uniforms for little to nothing you may also donate uniforms. Aside from the uniform the education is top-notch private school status to say the least numbers don’t lie Hope this helps

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