Meet Our 2010-11 Incubators
Today we welcomed our new charter school incubators for 2010-11. The Incubation Program is part of our New School Institute, which provides trainings, workshops, and support to start-up teams throughout every stage of the charter start-up process. Program participants have access to office space, computers, telephones, storage, and meeting facilities during their time here. In […]
Why Teachers Need to See Waiting for Superman
I finally got a chance to see Waiting for Superman; it lived up to its hype. There’s not much to add about the film’s emotional punch. The portraits of the individual children and their parents are heart-rending. And the consequences of failure at a national level are laid out with frightening clarity. It will resonate. […]
The Polls Are In…NYC Residents Say “Yes” to Charter Schools
With all the insiders’ debate over the merits of charter schools, we often forget to ask what ordinary New Yorkers think.† A recent poll of NYC residents by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion and the New York Daily News provides some evidence: two out of three New Yorkers say they consider charter schools a […]
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 […]
Charters, Unions, and “Big Dollars”
In today’s WSJ, Jacob Gershman reports on how charter school supporters are catching up to the state’s teachers unions when it comes to campaign donations. “What we’re clearly seeing from so-called reformers is that they’re putting money out there early and clearly threatening to use big dollars against people who don’t toe the line,” [NYSUT […]
