Finish Line
Whew. The Race is over. Thanks to the Legislature’s action to pass a series of reforms, including lift the statewide cap on charter schools, New York overcame its first-round stumbles and is among the ten winners of Round 2 of Race to the Top. That $700 million you’ve heard so much about? Arne Duncan’s reaching […]
Charter Schools Post Higher Proficiency Rates for Black and Hispanic Students
Saturday’s NY Post reported the answer to a critical question: since over 90% of NYC charter school students are Black or Hispanic, what do this year’s generally sobering test scores say about their performance compared to Black and Hispanic students in district schools? The Post only summarized, but here are all the grade-by-grade comparisons: The […]
The Power of Parents
People sometimes ask me why the charter sector is so intent on building political power, including working with charter school parents to increase the effectiveness of their advocacy. The simple answer is that families wantóand deserve to getóthe best for their kids. Parents can exert enormous influence over public policy, even those policies that seemingly […]
President Obama on Teachers and Teaching
In case you missed it, two quick clips from his speech to the National Urban League. (hat tip: Mike Antonucci) “My sister is a teacher…”: “All I’m asking in return…”: † †
Eight New Charters Win Federal Start-Up Grants
The State Ed Department announced the winners of federal Charter School Program grants today and all of them are in NYC. Eight new charter schools won grants totaling more than $3 million. The competitive dollars are awarded based on the strength of schools’ applications and their plans to use the money to bolster their educational […]
A Sea Change at the State Education Department
The State Education Department has always had the power to authorize charter schoolsÖ but for the past decade, the role of “quality authorizer” has been played mostly by SUNY and here in the City, by the Chancellor’s office. But in issuing its Request for Proposals (RFP) todayóa process mandated under the new Charter School lawóI’m […]
