Charter kids do better for less money
The simple equation that explains push for school choice
New York City’s charter schools have lifted the fortunes of thousands of schoolkids, leading Gov. Hochul to push for more new charters and the revival of some “zombie’’ licenses of those closed. This week, The Post reveals the success city charter schools have had by examining data and talking with those most closely involved in the system. To oppose more charters is simply racist, say some supporters, including former Gov. George Pataki.
New York City charter schools are giving taxpayers more bang for their buck, routinely outperforming traditional public schools — and doing it at less than half the cost per student, data show.
The charters’ mostly minority student population bested its publicschool counterparts by up to 8 percentage points on both state math and reading tests in the 2021-22 school year, show statistics compiled by New York City Charter School Center.
And the impressive results come courtesy of a relatively shoestring budget, with city charters spending just $17,626 per student compared to the $35,941 spent on each public student, according to the center and Citizens Budget Commission.
The situation provides a strong argument in support of Gov. Hochul’s push to increase the number of charter schools in New York, despite opposition from many progressive Albany Democrats and their deeppocketed teachers union donors.
“The numbers speak for themselves about the performance of charter schools and the transformational opportunities they are providing students — the performance and the results are undeniable,” said Joseph Belluck, chairman of SUNY’s Board of Trustees’ Charter School Committee, which doles out most of the state’s charter licenses.
Belluck said he didn’t expect the stiff opposition to Hochul’s plan, given the broad support by the most important constituency in education: parents.
“It’s surprising that parents’ voices haven’t been heard,” Belluck said.
“We have waiting lists’’ for charter licenses, he said. “There are waiting lists because parents aren’t getting their kids into charter schools.”
Amina Mamah-Trawill, 43, whose 6-year-old son, Sudais Mohammed Bashiru, is in first grade at Success Academy Bronx 2 in the Claremont section, said her family is living proof of what charters can do, noting that while her little boy is thriving, an older son in public school is not doing so well.
“They don’t help him. I have to have tutoring for him,” Mamah-Trawill said of her older child.
“But with the charter school, I see they help a lot . . . [The younger son], he reads, they pushed him from kindergarten . . . He knows his words, he knows his math.
“We have to work so hard to help our children,’’ she said. “What about the other parents? I’m already in . . . How would they do it?”
New York first launched charter schools in 1998 under then-Gov. George Pataki, who has told The Post it is racist to oppose expanding their numbers.
The city currently has 275 of the schools with a total of about 141,000 students. Roughly 80% of those students are from low-income families, and 90% of them are black or Latino, according to the charter center.
Charters get only about 10% of city education spending, thanks to years of backroom maneuvering between state lawmakers and city teachers unions. The unions oppose charter schools, claiming in part that they only serve the children of families who are motivated enough to pursue public-school alternatives, leaving district schools with a surplus of es
pecially needy kids.
A woman who gave only her first name, Dawn, said she has a kindergartener son at Success Academy Harlem in East Harlem — and it’s clear his school does a better job at stretching its money than Public School 149, which is located in the same building.
Gap in testing
“You go to some schools that share a building, and the charter school is painted in bright colors to motivate the students, and the bathrooms are better,’’ the mom said. “In the public school, you’ll see that the conditions aren’t that great . . . A lot of it comes down to funding, not the quality of teaching.”
The performance metrics of the city’s charter schools are impressive by any measure when compared to those of public schools. Charter students outperformed their publicschool peers in English Language Arts proficiency by 55% to 49% and math proficiency by 46% to 38% in 2021-22, according to data compiled by the charter center.
Broken down by race, the performance gap widens even further.
Black charter-school students bested their public-school counterparts in ELA by proficiency rates of 55% to 36% and in math by 46% to 21%. Among Hispanics, the massive gulf slightly lessened to a 52% to 37% divide for ELA and 42% to 23% in math proficiency rates, data show.
In terms of third- through eighthgraders — students whose performance is specifically looked at by the state as a predicator of student success — 83% of charter students outperformed their public-school counterparts in both ELA and math in 2021-22, according to a new analysis conducted by SUNY’s Charter Schools Institute.
Kadiala Diallo, 28, has four daughters — ages 11, 9, 8 and 4 — at the Bronx Academy of Promise Charter School in the Mt. Eden section.
“They learn better here. When my daughter was in public school, she could not read, she could not do her homework by herself,” Diallo said.
“If they know your kid is not good in one class, they let you, the parent, and the child come after school for help,” she said of the charter. “My friend told me about it, I brought my kids. I told another friend, and she brought her kids.
“I pray that they open more schools like this, especially in this community.”
Charter schools can be authorized by either a local Department of Education, the state’s Board of Regents or the State University of New York.
The vast majority of city charter schools — 175 of them — got a license from SUNY, whose board is comprised of appointees of the governor. The approval process — and staying open — are far from a slamdunk.
Only 38% of recent applicants were OK’d, and 11% of SUNY-authorized charter schools had not been renewed or were closed for lackluster performance, SUNY officials told The Post.
The schools, founded by not-forprofit Boards of Trustees, operate under a contract, or “charter,” of up to five years, subject to having their licenses revoked by state officials if the school underperforms.
“Charter schools are extremely motivated, they are extremely incentivized . . . and they’re passionate about making sure students receive a quality education. The very existence of the schools relies on that, right?” said Yomika Bennett, executive director of the New York Charter Schools Association.
Parents approve
A January poll conducted statewide for the pro-school-choice Democrats for Education Reform by the online Morning Consult found that 64% of New York parents have a favorable opinion of charter schools, while only 22% have an unfavorable view, with the remainder undecided or having no opinion.
Almost two-thirds of parents — 64% — said they support increasing the number allowed, while just 23% of parents said they were opposed.
The survey was released days before Hochul’s budget proposal to make 85 more new slots available for charter schools.
Djiba Camara, a 57-year-old Uber driver whose children Mariame, 6, and Ismail, 10, attend Bronx Academy of Promise Charter School, cheered the plan to add charters.
“Charter schools pay much better attention to my kids,’’ said Camara, who moved with his family out of the neighborhood but kept the kids enrolled in the school.
He said his older child went to public school about 10 years ago and didn’t have as good of an experience.
“Charter schools care more about our children, that’s the main thing,” the dad claimed.
His son Ismail, a fourth-grader, added, “I love the teachers — they check my homework every day.
“My teachers encourage me. They say, ‘Keep trying. You can do it.’ Then I do it! It’s a good school.”