J’can-owned schools making a difference in Queens, NY

In 1975, at the age of 14, Merna Hughes left Jamaica on a visitor’s visa to see her mother in the United States (US), fully intending to return to Jamaica. However, fate had another plan in store for her.

Hughes, who lived in Independence City before moving to Havendale in St Andrew, learned that her mother decided, when time came for her to return home at the end of her visit, not to send her back to Jamaica.

The teen would however experience difficulties getting enrolled in a school in New York because of her immigration status.

“For more than four months I could not attend school as the public schools refused to enrol me because of my immigration status. My mother had to work even harder and she eventually enrolled me in a private Catholic school,” she said.

Hughes attended Bishop Loughlin High School and then attended Boys and Girls High School before going to Medgar Evers College where her dream began to take shape as she flourished.

She was fortunate to be part of the staff at the Ella Baker Pre School on the Medgar Evers campus, under the guidance and direction of her mentor, Dr Luberta Mays, affectionately called Luby Mays. The possibilities were endless. Once she graduated cum laude, she taught at a private preschool, P&B Children’s Academy on Church Avenue in Brooklyn. She moved on to the ACS city-funded Irving Place Day Care and then to PAL Quincy as an assistant director. She later relocated to Queens and to the Western Queen’s Day Care Center, and then became the infant-toddler director at the NAACP Child Care Program.

During this time, Hughes continued her studies in early childhood education and then leadership at the prestigious Bank Street College. Once she graduated, she joined the New York City Department of Education. During this period of transience within the Department of Education, she began a small group family daycare centre at her home. This began to grow in demand in the community and so she decided to expand the programme that is now known as Laurelton Academy at its current location in Laurelton, Queens. It took two years before she was able to occupy the leased premises, but persistence, perseverance, and patience were the hallmarks that helped her come closer to her dream.

Passion for teaching

In 1998, Hughes became the founder and owner of the Laurelton Day Care, seeing to the needs of more than 100 students and with a staff of 18.

She started in a small space with about 16 children from ages two to 12. Today, enrolment at the daycare is more than 100 students and the institution is recognised by the New York City Department of Education. The school also caters to the 3k and 4k programmes paid for by the city. However, the main funding for the school comes from the tuition parents pay to the institution.

Hughes said she has loved teaching, ever since she was a small child.

“I used to play school. It is my passion. I love children,” she told The Gleaner.

A small listing of her collaborations and concerns for the need of the community include:

• Using an occupied space in her current facility as a food pantry to meet the needs of the marginalised, impoverished and destitute members of the community. All food that is shared is donated.

• Inviting seniors to an annual senior concert. Seniors are treated to band and chorus performances from her own students as well as students from the Springfield Gardens High School Campus.

• Mentorship programme for the young boys and men in the community. This is in collaboration with community partners who are invested in boys.

Laurelton Day Care is just one of four such schools in the Queens area that have been started by Jamaicans who are educating the borough’s children.

The others are Cambria Center for the Gifted Child, Stepping Stone Pre and Grade School and Sunshine Learning Center.

All four schools were started by Jamaicans and, with the exception of Laurelton, have now been passed on to children of the founders.

Hughes said however that her daughters will take over when she retires in the not-too-distant future.

Stepping Stone Pre and Grade School was started by Madge Warren in 1982.

Warren was a teacher in Jamaica before migrating to the US, having graduating from Bethlehem Teachers’ College and having taught for five years in the Jamaican school system.

However, coming to the US in 1969, Warren found that her teaching certificate was not recognised, so she had to go back to school where she earned her bachelors and masters degrees in education.

Warren said she found it difficult to teach in the New York public school system and did not want to do that, so she decided to start her own school which she did with the encouragement of two friends who had gone through a similar process.

She started with three to five children, ranging in ages from two to five years.

This was the beginning of the creation and growth of a dream come true.

“That first day was historical and challenging, to say the least. Stepping Stone started with just three children. Consequently, that resulted in a one-woman operation. I was the teacher, director, custodian, and everything else,” she said.

“It took faith, hard work, determination and prayers to grow my school from its very humble beginnings, to what it is today. Stepping Stone has become a well-known, reputable and highly acclaimed private school for children ages two years and up to the third grade (eight years old),” she told The Gleaner.

The school’s current registration is 175 students, with a full-time staff of 15 teachers and three administrators. Along with its privately operated grade school and toddler programmes, it is contracted by the NYC Department of Education to provide pre-kindergarten education to three- and four-year-olds.

Tradition of Excellence

In keeping with the school motto ‘A Tradition of Excellence in Education’, it has a strong focus on academics and achievement.

Her oldest son, Chad Warren, joined the staff as assistant director and has held this position for more than 30 years.

“My son and I will endeavour to ensure that Stepping Stone will continue to maintain the high standard and reputation that we’ve established over the years,” she said.

Sunshine Learning Center was founded in 1998 by the Spencer family and started with six children ages two to four years, located in a commercial space on Linden Boulevard in St Albans, Queens.

Today, enrolment has grown to 130 children with a staff complement of 30, with 20 of these being teachers.

Shawn Spencer, who runs the school, said it is funded almost entirely through the tuition paid by parents. The school also has a five-year contract from the New York City Department of Education which covers students from birth to two years.

Spencer, who took over as principal in 2021, said his parents are still actively involved in the school.

He added that, for the future, the institution is hoping to be awarded independent school status by the state and that there are also plans to renovate the building.

“My vision is to continue having a part in educating the future leaders of tomorrow,” he told The Gleaner.

Cambia Center for the Gifted Child was started in 1980 by Sheree Palmer, who had migrated from Jamaica.

Today the school is run by her daughter, Rebekah Gibson, who told The Gleaner that the school started with four children in her mother’s home.

As the student population grew, the school moved into large accommodations at its present location on Linden Boulevard, Cambria Heights, where it now occupies the entire block.

The school’s population is currently 350 students ages two to 10 years and 11 to 14 with a staff complement of 40, including 25 teachers.

The school targets gifted students who go on to high schools for the gifted in New York, said Gibson.

The school is funded entirely by parents’ tuition, she added.

Gibson noted the challenges that the school faces as it has to compete with charter schools.

“We provide students with a well-rounded education, not only academically but in other areas such as music and arts,” she told The Gleaner.

These Jamaican schools are making a significant impact in their communities in the education of the children who live there.

editorial@gleanerjm.com