Charter schools: NYC blocks Success

The Big Apple’s largest charterschool network has delayed its scheduled on-site reopenings because the city is barring access to their shared buildings until at least mid-September, the group said Tuesday.

Success Academy planned to begin some in-school instruction Aug. 20, with a staggered schedule that would have students alternating between remote and campus teaching.

The network traditionally begins its school year several weeks before the city’s public schools.

But in a statement Tuesday, Success CEO Eva Moskowitz said the city’s position and new state requirements amid ongoing concerns over the coronavirus have forced a delay in the reopening of Success shared buildings with the city — so there will just be remote learning for its students for now.

“We are disappointed,” Moskowitz said. “We miss the kids so much, and we know parents need some relief to be able to work.

“But our students simply cannot pay the price of delay. There are already gross educational inequities. We were founded to counter them, and so we will launch remotely.”

Sources said Success tried pushing back on the lack of access to the co-location buildings but

Our students cannot pay the price of delay . . . so we will launch remotely.

Success charter CEO Eva Moskowitz

wasn’t getting anywhere, so it decided to just move forward with its adjusted plan.

Success said it was told that it would not have access to the shared schools until the middle of September “at the earliest’’ — which is when the city’s public schools are set to reopen with a mix of online and on-site learning.

The city Department of Education said it wants to open all schools simultaneously to make logistics easier. The city has always provided operational support — including nurses, safety agents and custodians — to Success Academy schools in its buildings.

“The health and safety of all New York City students, teachers and staff is the priority when it comes to reopening,” said DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson. “To ensure the safety of all New Yorkers, we’re planning to open all buildings at the same time in September, with equitable space-sharing arrangements among co-located schools, including charters.” For the sake of uniformity, Success said, it will also delay the reopening of its Hudson Yards location, for which it is solely responsible. The network operates 47 schools in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan and enrolls 20,000 mostly low-income black and Latino students.