BEDFORD STUYVESANT RESIDENTS SUPPORT CHARTER SCHOOL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN CITY COUNCIL PARTICIPATORY BUDGET
Bed-Stuy New Beginnings Charter School to Receive $248,000 for Mobile Science Labs
Brooklyn, NY – The community of Bedford Stuyvesant allocated $248,000 to science education at Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School (“New Beginnings”) in this year’s participatory budgeting program, City Councilman Robert Cornegy (D-36) announced today. The initiative was one of five proposals voted on by the community to allocate $1.1 million in discretionary funds and the only charter school to receive funding.
The funds will be spent on four science carts for New Beginnings, a public charter school serving elementary and middle school students since 2010. Neighborhood families advocated for the proposal by distributing campaign materials and knocking on doors. Students created their own projects to emphasize how the carts would enhance the school’s science programming.
“This year’s participatory budgeting process produced an outstanding variety of proposals for how to make District 36 better than ever for its residents,” said NYC Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. “New Beginnings is a great community partner and I am proud to support their science programming with these funds.”
“This funding allocation is a testament to the deep ties between charter schools and the communities they serve,” said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center. “Councilman Cornegy and parents in Bed-Stuy know that schools like New Beginnings offer a valuable option in their community. I’m thrilled to see this year’s participatory budgeting process used to fund an educational resource that so many students need.”
“New Beginnings is proud to see the Bed-Stuy community support our efforts to provide a great public education to young scholars,” said Nick Tishuk, Executive Director of Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School. “We thank the community and Councilman Cornegy, and we can’t wait to see what our scholars can do with the mobile science carts!”
"This was my first time voting, and it felt very good to get to vote for something that can do a lot of good,” said Marilyn Julien, a parent with children in 6th and 4th grades. “I am always pushing for my kids to have more resources and have more experiences.”
"If students want to grow up to be scientists, they can have more experience and know what to do because they have those carts,” said Jada Crockwell, 3rd grade scholar at New Beginnings.
Residents of District 36, which encompasses Bedford Stuyvesant and northern Crown Heights, proposed over three hundred ideas for this year’s participatory budgeting process.
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About the New York City Charter School Center
The New York City Charter School Center is an independent non-profit committed to fostering an environment in which public charters can open and flourish, and, through their innovative approaches, provide models for improving all public schools. The Charter Center helps new charter schools get started, supports existing schools, and engages the charter school community around key issues. Learn more about the New York City Charter School Center at www.nyccharterschools.org.
About NYC’s Charter Schools
Charter schools are free, independently run public schools that are able to innovate in their classroom structures, curriculum, and teaching methods. In return, they’re held to higher standards of accountability. More than 90 percent of the City’s charter school students are African-American or Latino, and over 70 percent are from low-income families. There are 205 public charter schools serving over 95,000 students in all five boroughs for the 2015-2016 school year.
