Though the application to found the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School has not yet been approved, more than 500 people have already signed an online petition pledging that they would consider applying, with many adding comments such as "We need this school in Brooklyn!" and "Bravo."

 The school's founders, Luyen Chou and Daniel Kikuji Rubenstein, are both fathers who live in Park Slope, where they said demand is obvious. "All of those strollers are turning into bicycles, and these kids are all marching off to middle school," Mr. Chou said. "But there's just not enough inventory right now."

He and Mr. Rubenstein hatched the idea to build a new middle school, which they hope will eventually extend through high school, during shared car rides to Columbia University's Teachers College in Upper Manhattan, where both studied independent school administration.

This articled appeared in the July 9, 2007 edition of the New York Sun.

http://www.nysun.com/article/58030?page_no=1

Published Monday, Jul. 9, 2007