Don’t Penalize Excellence

‘It would be difficult for me to expand” the Success Academy network unless SA’s board chairman, Daniel Loeb, steps down, says Joseph Belluck, chairman of the SUNY Charter Institute. Worse than blackmail, that’s educational malpractice.

As the latest state math and English test scores amply demonstrate.

The enemies of charters are on the warpath to exploit a dumb Facebook post that Loeb has deleted and apologized for — an over-the-top comment on state Senate Democratic leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ opposition to charters.

But even sincere outrage over the post wouldn’t justify denying opportunity to schoolchildren — especially the minority ones who are most of SA’s scholars.

This year, a remarkable 95 percent of SA kids passed the math exam; 84 percent passed English. The citywide pass rates were just 38 percent and 41 percent.

SA students of color outperformed the citywide rates for white children. So did Success’ special-needs scholars, and those who live in shelters.

Plainly, the network’s growth (enrollment is up 38 percent over last year) hasn’t compromised its high academic quality.

If Success Academy were its own school district, it’d be the seventh-largest in the state — and also the best-performing on these exams. (Yes, it beats Scarsdale.)

Some families may not want to send their child to a school with such a strong emphasis on traditional academic excellence. But Success provides the opportunity for those who do — unlike far too many regular public schools, especially in low-income areas.

Success Academy’s expansion is a boon to the city’s black and Hispanic children. The kids shouldn’t suffer for the sake of an adult dispute.