NYC Charter Schools Among Bright Spots as State Sets New Baseline
UPDATE: We posted our in-depth analysis of charter school test scores. View it here. The 2012-13 school year marked a new era for public education in New York State, as teachers and students directed their work according to the Common Core State Standards. The test scores released today provide schools a new baseline from which […]
When School Progress Reports Penalize Success
Danny Hayman Nerd Alert: I’m the Charter Center’s Policy Data Analyst, and this post will assume some familiarity with New York City’s system of school Progress Reports. The official DOE documentation is here. In an excellent new report commissioned by New Visions for Public Schools, Sean P. Corcoran and Grace Pai examine NYC’s high school […]
A Community Eager to Learn
Even with a mix of snow and rain in the forecast, nearly 600 parents came out for the first-ever Brooklyn Charter School Fair on Saturday, March 16. The Charter Center put this fair together to give parents the opportunity to speak directly with charter school representatives and learn about their public school options. Some parents […]
Open Line Podcast on Upcoming Brooklyn Charter School Fair
On March 10, James Merriman, CEO of the Charter Center; Karen Jones, Principal of Bed-Stuy New Beginnings; and Karina Infante, high school student from Williamsburg Charter High School sat down with Open Line hosts Bob Slade, Bob Pickett and James Mtume to discuss the first-ever Brooklyn Charter School Fair on March 16 and other issues […]
Creating Strong School Culture Takes Perseverance
Our team had the pleasure of visiting with our friends at New Dawn Charter School in Brooklyn. New Dawn is one of several “transfer-like” charter schools (for a long time there was really only one, Wildcat Academy—but we now have five others). Running a transfer high school is hard. Starting one is even harder. The […]
Advocacy Day 2013 – Many Stories, One Vision
This Tuesday, more than 1,200 parents, students, school staff and elected officials came together in Albany at the ninth annual Charter School Advocacy Day. Embodying the day’s theme of “Many Stories, One Vision,” participants shared their diverse experiences and called on lawmakers to help charter schools continue their support for great public schools. Speakers included […]
Michael Mulgrew’s One Percent
On Tuesday over 1200 charter school supporters came to Albany to meet with lawmakers and tell our stories. We also carried a simple message: charter schools should be eligible to compete for the full-day pre-kindergarten funding that Governor Cuomo has proposed. You would think that supporters of early childhood education would want every strong school […]
Charters Call for Real Leadership on Co-Location
Prior to yesterday’s mayoral debate on education, leaders representing 47 charter schools and three support organizations issued the following statement: STATEMENT ON PUBLIC SCHOOL CO-LOCATION AND THE MAYORAL ELECTION As the mayoral candidates gather to discuss education policy, we call on Bill de Blasio, William Thompson, and John Liu to set aside the call for […]
Charters Should Be Free to Innovate, Even in Teacher Evaluation
The Charter Center is on the record in opposition to the State Education Department’s (SED) assertion that charter schools are required to submit data about teacher evaluations according to the state’s categories, whether or not that makes sense given the charter school’s evaluation practices. (GothamSchools covered the disagreement last month.) A new development has now […]
New Paper: Four Simple Ways to Improve NYC School Data
A flood of data is re-shaping American public education, nowhere more than in New York City. Yet there are still key topics in NYC education debates where the critical data are not publicly available, or do not exist at all. It’s possible for city and state agencies to address these gaps in ways that enrich […]
