Waiting for a Cap Lift
Experienced educators? Check. Innovative plans? Check. Neighborhood roots? Check. Actual charter? Well, keep your fingers crossed. That’s all you can do, even if your school would expand the services of a venerable youth services organization like The Door. This week the Charter Center is profiling prospective charter schools, just a few of the dozens of […]
And Then There Were Twelve
The SUNY Board of Trustees voted today to approve six new charter school applications, leaving SUNY only 12 more charters to issue. SUNY is the only charter school authorizer with spots left under the statewide cap, and it has already received 22 applications. (There are still dozens more applications in the works, behind those applications […]
What the Charter Bill Does (Pt. 3): Meeting Students’ Special Needs
This is the third post about what’s actually in the much-discussed New York State charter schools bill (S.7678/A.10928). Read about the raising the cap in Pt. 1 and improving transparency in Pt. 2. Do charter schools enroll too few students who require special education (SpEd) services? Over at Gotham Schools today, researcher Kim Gittleson breaks […]
Assem. Lopez: Want Great Schools and $700 Million? Raise the Cap.
Appearing on Good Day New York yesterday, Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D – Brooklyn) talked about his reasons for supporting the charter schools bill that recently passed in the Senate.† “The status quo hasn’t worked. There has to be some creativity…. Parents in my district are actually moving out of my community. Some of them are […]
Charter critics turn to Yogi-isms
When you use any available logic to oppose something, you find yourself saying funny things. In the charter school debates, the latest example making the rounds is this gem: – Wall Street people are giving away their money to charter schools. All they care about is profit! It joins a list of other classic absurdities, […]
One on One with Diane Ravitch
Yesterday, I debated Diane Ravitch on New York 1’s Inside City Hall. Watch it for yourself, but I have to say there is a Moby Dick quality to her obsession with charter schools. While Professor Ravitch has every right to try to engage in a public renunciation of her former viewsóincluding her support for choice […]
What the Charter Bill Does (Pt. 2): Improving Transparency
This is the second post about what’s actually in the much-discussed New York State charter schools bill (S.7678/A.10928). Read about the attack on zombie charter schools in Pt. 1. The charter schools bill that the NYS Senate approved this week doesn’t just lift the cap on charter schools, it addresses concerns about charter school transparency […]
What the Charter Bill Does (Pt. 1): Raising the Cap and Killing Zombies
After the New York State Senate voted to approve S.7678, a compromise charter school bill that Charter Center supported, it’s worth reviewing what’s actually in the legislation. So here’s the first in a series of explanatory posts. For an overview of the bill, read the Charter Center’s support memo here. The full bill is here. […]
Leadership in Albany
Kudos to the John Sampson and the NY State Senator for approving a solid charter schools bill by a vote of 45-15. It’s an important step forward. Charter school advocates are looking forward to working with Speaker Silver and the Assembly in the days and weeks ahead, to help charter schools serve more students with […]
James Merriman on Perkins Hearing
“As I sat through the hearing waiting to testify, I found myself in an odd position. I’ve always been a firm believer in oversight, regulation, transparency, and accountability for charter schools. As a charter school authorizer for seven years, I built a regulatory regimen that has been praised nationwide. “So why couldn’t I muster any […]
