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…
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…
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…
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,…
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...": † †
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…
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…
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…
"When Ann and Jonathan Binstock started shopping for an apartment in Manhattan in 2007, their first call was not to a real estate broker. Instead, they hired an education consultant, to show them where the best schools for their daughter, Ellen, were. After the consultant suggested the most desirable zones,…
School leaders and board members from the 27 new charter schools opening in NYC this fall attended a welcome celebration at the Tweed Courthouse on June 23. This is always a proud moment for the Charter Center because we've worked with so many of the teams from the very beginning.…
