About the Charter Center
The New York City Charter School Center is committed to a future in which all of New York’s students have equitable access to a high-quality public education. We believe charter schools are a key component to achieving that goal. Accordingly, we help new charter schools get started, provide education and services to empower school teams, and build community and policymaker support so that highly effective schools can flourish. In turn, these schools – and their students – show us what is possible in public education.
Our Work
2023-24 Highlights
The Collaborative team spent 306 hours on the ground in NYC charters, providing thought partnership, coaching and personalized PDs to school teams.
Our new PD on Demand platform launched with 52 online courses produced by the Collaborative team. The courses, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere are designed to build the capacity and skill sets of leaders and educators as they seek to best serve their special populations.
Over 32,00 applications to NYC charter schools were submitted through the Charter Center’s Common Online Charter School Application.
PRO-CHARTER LEGISLATION INTRODUCED! For the first time ever, pro-charter legislation was introduced in both NY’s Senate and Assembly. The bills, which our team helped shape, call for facilities funding for charter schools in private facilities that were left out of the 2014 legislation.
RAISING CHARTER LEADERS VOICES. Our legal and policy teams submitted two amicus briefs, delivered testimony at five local and state hearings and developed two sector wide sign-on letters to bring attention to and garner resources for NYC’s charter schools.
LEGISLATION PASSED! After more than 7 years of advocacy, our team secured charter schools’ inclusion in NYC Council Bill 532a-2024, which will enable NYC charter schools to access approximately $8M to cover security guard expenses.
532 NYC charter school educators received one-on-one consultations from our Teacher Certification Advisors, putting teachers on the path to certification and supporting their continued development.
The NYC Charter School FINDER launched featuring information and data sets for NYC’s approximately 420 charter school campuses, making it NY’s definitive guide for families.
For over 20 years, the Charter Center has served as the leading expert, proponent and supporter of New York City’s charter school movement. Launched as the country’s first citywide charter support strategy, the Charter Center takes a holistic approach to “clearing the brush” so that charter school leaders and staff can remain focused on the core work of educating their students. Today, with 285 charter schools serving an estimated 150,500 students, NYC’s charter sector is one of the top performing in the country, consistently narrowing the proficiency gap with schools in more affluent suburbs.
25 years of NYC
charter schools
“You can’t get ‘one size fits all’ and think that every child is going to be successful. That’s why the charter school movement is so important here in New York City.”
Geofrey Canada, President, Harlem Children’s Zone & Promise Academy Charter Schools
