Editorial: New high school’s opening is a victory for everyone in Yonkers
Next month the Charter School of Educational Excellence will open a $27 million state-of-the-art high school in Yonkers, the city’s first new public high school building in decades.
Aside from the significance of the new construction, the opening of the 78,000-square-foot high school at 220 Warburton Ave. fulfills a vision that inspired me and my co-founders almost 20 years ago to launch a public charter school in Yonkers. Despite years of opposition, we have successfully delivered school choice, educational equity, and high academic standards to low-income families. It is important to understand that the Charter School of Educational Excellence is a PUBLIC school, and any child resident of New York is eligible to attend. The money follows the child.
School choice is a controversial concept that our society has debated for decades, but the reality for many low-income families is that they have diminishing choices. Prior to our school’s launch, the only budget-friendly alternative to public schools was parochial schools. Yet the relatively low tuitions at Yonkers’ former parochial schools were still unmanageable for many working-class families.
Today, there are even fewer low-cost alternatives to public schools. Our new high school—built at no additional cost to taxpayers—is located on the grounds of the former Our Lady of the Rosary Church, which closed its parochial school years before we opened. Since the 2005 opening of our elementary school, we have seen the closure of parochial schools in Yonkers’ poorest neighborhoods, including St. Denis, St. Bartholomew, St. Casimir, St. Mary, and Mount Carmel-St. Anthony. Now, more than ever, the Charter School of Educational Excellence is a vital option for families seeking alternatives.
The opening of the high school allows us to provide desperately needed educational equity to Yonkers’ children. The state-of-the-art building will provide students with 24 college credits and our programs include an auto technology lab, culinary arts training kitchen, technology and science labs, an art studio, a gym, and a band practice room. Almost 90 percent of our students receive reduced or free lunches, and they deserve a dignified learning environment free of leaking roofs and crumbling bricks.
The new structures at our Warburton Avenue campus set the stage for our most important mission: academic rigor and accomplishment. Over the years we have seen tremendous results from our teaching methods. CSEE is one of the state’s highest academic achieving schools and it has received Reward School and Recognition School designations from the New York State Education Department for the last six years.
According to assessment results posted on the New York State Education Department’s website, 80 percent of our third graders and 72 percent of our eighth graders scored at proficient levels in English language arts exams. Statewide, 52.3 percent of third graders and 47.7 percent of eighth graders scored at proficient levels in English language arts exams in 2019, according to the state’s website.
As we prepare to welcome our first 11th grade class to the new high school, our commitment to school choice, educational equity and academics is unwavering. Yonkers’ families have watched our teachers, parents and supporters transform a dilapidated, empty supermarket into an elementary school and then the community watched us build a new middle school and high school. For so many reasons, that is a Yonkers success story that everyone should celebrate.
Eduardo LaGuerre, founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees, Charter School of Educational Excellence
