Historic Reflections 2015

original concepts. Rafael Rothschild was instrumental in helping to create a design for the Center, in spite of austerity

cuts, using color to restore style to the facility.

undraising

fforts

upport

the

uild

out of

the

enter

upport

from

the

overnor

’

ife

, S

ilda

all

pitzer

lanning

for

harter

chool

earing with

the

empstead

chool

oard

aza

inding

onsultant

elp

repare

the

írculo

’

harter

chool

pplication

Círculo continued to look for alternative funding sources to build out the center and replace items that had been

valued engineered. Sarah and Gil worked on an application with a consultant for Empire Development Funds,

this was not approved. They also worked on an application to the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York

(DASNY). This proposal was to support green features of the building including the green roof and the geothermal

system among other features. This was also not approved.

In March of 2008, Gil and Sarah had an important meeting with Silda Wall Spitzer, the wife of then Governor,

Eliot Spitzer. Mrs. Spitzer was an advocate of sustainability and Círculo was hopeful that it would obtain support for

its green initiatives, being the first nonprofit in New York State to achieve green status. The week of the meeting,

however, news of a scandal broke and the governor resigned shortly afterwards.

In late 2007, the moratorium on charter schools in New York State was lifted. Ever since charter school legislation was

put in place in New York State in 1998, Gil Bernardino had long thought of developing a charter school in Hempstead

to support the needs of the community and respond to the parents who desperately wanted a different education for

their children than what the District of Hempstead could provide. Originally legislation only allowed for 100 schools

to be operated in New York. These charters were quickly used up. When the moratorium was lifted creating 100

new charters in 2007, Círculo sought to be a part of this and submit an application in 2008. Sarah Brewster, Círculo’s

administrator, had completed her doctorate at Columbia University several years before in the area of educational

administration and policy and worked diligently with Gil to develop the charter school.

They began meeting with different individuals and institutions in New York City to get support and find

consultants that could support Círculo with the idea for a charter school. This includedmeetings with theNewYorkCity

Chancellor’s office, the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence, and charter school management

companies, including Uncommon Schools, Achievement First and Victory Schools. All said that they were not able

to help us at that time; they were busy with other projects and could not take on another school.

Gil and Sarah also met with representatives from La Raza, the largest Hispanic Nonprofit organization in the

United States, to discuss financing for our Charter School. La Raza had extensive experience supporting charter school

initiatives and expressed interest in Círculo’s school. They also promised funding for a facility, which was vital. La

Raza sent a representative from their office in the Midwest to meet with Sarah and Gil and together they looked at

potential sites in Hempstead where the school could operate.

Frank Puig was instrumental in connecting Gil Bernardino and Sarah Brewster to Seymour “Sy” Fliegal of the

Center for Educational Innovation. Sy Fliegal and Harvey Newman provided important advice about creating a

charter school. They also connected Gil and Sarah to Frank San Felice, a consultant whom Círculo later hired to

help prepare its application to the New York State Board of Regents. At this time, the Office of Public School Choice

required that a full curriculum be submitted with each plan for a charter school. Frank San Felice worked with Sarah

and Gil to find qualified individuals to assist in writing the curriculum for the School, one based on Círculo’s values

of art, instruction in a second language, Spanish, and care for the environment.

The process for charter approval could take two different paths, through the Board of Regents or through the State

University of New York (SUNY). Gil Bernardino, remembering conversations with New York State Regent, Roger

Tilles, about the conditions of the Hempstead School District, decided to apply through the Board of Regents.

The application was cumbersome. When it was finally completed in the late spring of 2008, it was 2,784 pages.

The application was prepared in large four inch binders. Thinking we still had a day to prepare the box to go to

Albany via overnight mail, we called the office to confirm that address. We were told that the application was due

that same day by 5:00 pm, it was already after 2:00 pm and we were in Long Beach, several hours from Albany. We

had put blood, sweat and tears into the project and somehow a terrible mistake occurred in communication with our

consultant about the day the proposal was due. Office staff scurried into action, handing us papers and a hole puncher as

we still were compiling the finishing touches to the binders. We had over five boxes filled with four inch binders of the

application. Gil Bernardino drove to Albany in record time while Sarah put the final papers in the binders. Somehow

we arrived just at 5:00 pm. Building security would not let Sarah go upstairs to help Gil carry the boxes of binders

with the proposal because in her rush she left her identification back at Círculo’s office in Long Beach. Gil carried

the five boxes with copies of the proposal and submitted them to the Office of Public School Choice in time for

consideration for the June submission.

Círculo was informed that its application was being considered by the Office of Public School Choice over the

summer. As part of the submission and review process, Círculo has to respond to over 100 questions about its

application and make modifications to its curriculum. Modifications were made in the late summer so that Círculo’s

final application was over 3,600 pages.

As part of the process to seek a charter, Círculo had to request a hearing from the Hempstead School District for its

school. This was procedural and required of all charter schools. The hearing was scheduled during the late summer.

Representatives from Círculo and from the Academy, a second charter school in Hempstead, spoke and voiced their

support, with many parents coming to the microphone to share their enthusiasm and excitement for the schools.

There were over eighty parents and community members voicing their support for Charter Schools in Hempstead.

A month later, representatives from Círculo were told that they had to hold a second hearing at the Hempstead

School District. When Círculo asked why, as this was unprecedented, no explanation was given other than the district

required this. In conversations with the Office of Public School Choice, Círculo was recommended that it follow

Hempstead’s request. At the second hearing, there were over two hundred individuals present. Someone had given

blue T-shirts to all the attendees that were not representing the charter schools, the T-shirts were printed with the name

of a popular teacher’s union and one by one individuals representing the union went to the microphone to voice their

concern about Círculo obtaining permission for its Charter School.

Círculo was also required to submit copies of its charter application to the district. The application consisted of several

binders. The first time Círculo went, two of our staff signed off that they had distributed the application to the district

personnel. Several months later, Círculo received a call from the Office of Public School Choice that the District had

not received Círculo’s application. Círculo showed the certified letter that its staff had signed when they delivered