By Juliana Calção
Eighteen months ago, plans for a sixth charter school in and around the Hempstead School District —the Diamond Charter School — were announced. The school is expected to open in September 2026. The proposal, however, has sparked local debate, with charter proponents extolling the benefits of a school untethered by state requirements and detractors saying students do not learn at the same level and rate that they do in the public schools.
Why Hempstead?
“I chose the Village of Hempstead because it mirrors my upbringing and the community I’ve been surrounded by for four decades in Maryland,” said Mark Crusante, founder and executive director of the Diamond Charter School. “Hempstead represents the melting pot of a great community to live in and be a part of.”
The Diamond Charter School is set to be built at 131 Fulton Avenue in Hempstead. While work on the permanent building is taking place, the school is expected to open temporarily at 12 Westminster Road in West Hempstead.
Crusante said he grew up with parents who emigrated from the Philippines, and he is a first-generation college student. He said that experience ignited his passion for education. According to Crusante, his parents, who worked as housekeepers, wanted a better life for their son and stressed the value of education early on.
He said his experience helps him understand students in Hempstead, many of whom have similar upbringings.
Before the Diamond Charter School, Crusante worked extensively with charter schools. From October 2006 to April 2009, he was project manager of development for the New York City Charter School Center, a non-profit organization that advocates for and supports charter schools in New York City. From July 2009 to February 2026, he worked at Our World Neighborhood Charter School, another institution operating in the Hempstead Union Free School District. He was the director of development, and from June 2017 to January 2026, he also served as the director of external relations.
“Working with Our World Neighborhood Charter Schools, I’ve experienced the ability to work with families along with teachers and staff to put the child first,” Crusante said. “I have always and will continue to make sure that families are involved and engaged in their child’s education.”
Crusante said criticism over fiscal policy is unfair. “I have taken zero dollars from the Hempstead Public School District. We haven’t even opened yet,” he said.
Hempstead teachers’ perspective
“My question is, how do these approvals continue when the community has clearly expressed opposition?” said Alison Chaplar, a teacher in the Uniondale School District, referring to approval of charter schools in and around Hempstead. “When will decision-makers begin listening to the voices of the communities they serve instead of prioritizing for-profit charter interests?”
Chaplar has been an outspoken critic of charter schools. She runs a Facebook page called “Long Island Against Charter Schools,” with 3,000 followers and a website under the same name. She aims to educate the public on how charter schools use tax dollars, which she said operate without public oversight.
“Districts are losing millions of dollars to these charter schools, and that money is not accounted for,” Chaplar said. “I have looked through all of the websites, and I can say that the information is either not there or it is old data.”
The teacher and activist grew up on Long Island, attended school in Uniondale and has taught in the Uniondale School District for 26 years. She also said she is troubled by the idea that public schools are failing students, calling the notion wrong.
Chaplar spoke about her district, highlighting its programs and opportunities. She cited offerings in real estate and nursing, as well as extracurriculars such as an award-winning show choir and jazz band.
Robyn Wagner, an elementary teacher in West Hempstead, said she supports families’ choices about where to educate their children. However, as a taxpayer, she said she is concerned about the fiscal impact that charter schools are having on districts like Hempstead.
Wagner said that while funding has long been a struggle, the money allocated for charter schools poses a deeper concern. She said taxpayers have the right to know where their money is going. “SUNY Charter Schools Institute is not being held responsible for the lack of transparency and accountability,” Wagner said.
Parents’ perspectives
“Generally speaking, I am completely against charter schools. Even more so as a taxpayer and parent,” said Ylana Grier, a Uniondale parent. “The very core of what charter represents at the basic level should agitate any taxpayer and parent within the school district.”
Grier is an involved parent. She is PTA vice president of Uniondale High School, PTA treasurer of Northern Parkway Elementary School and secretary of Uniondale Council of PTAs. Grier urges community members, especially parents, to ask charter schools for their statistics. “How many children stay, complete, graduate and are happy?” she asked.
“It’s like giving your money to a business with no gain or return to the taxpayer,” she continued.
Yesenia Campos, Parent-Teacher Organization member, agreed, citing her personal experience of children affected by their time in the charter school system for three years.
Campos spoke about her final year with the Academy Charter School and a realization that she said was painful. She said her second-grader struggled with reading because she was not correctly decoding words. The student excelled in the classroom but fell behind on timed assessments.
Campos said when her second daughter was in kindergarten, her teacher left mid-year. The school promoted the assistant teacher to a lead role. While teaching, she worked on her online certifications, as her education was from Jamaica and she had never attended school in the United States.
Campos said these experiences were revealing. “I realized I had very little understanding of how my tax dollars were being spent,” Campos said. “There was no clear transparency and little to no meaningful parental involvement. As parents, we deserve to be informed and included — especially when it directly impacts our children.”
The proposed costs
Jamal Scott, assistant superintendent for business and operations for the Hempstead School District, said Diamond’s administration aims to enroll 162 students for the 2026–27 academic year, a projected expense of $4 million.
According to Herald Community Newspapers, the Uniondale District is paying $27 million in tuition annually because more than 800 students have switched to charter schools. This excludes costs such as transportation — a number that increases as more students leave the school system for charter schools.
