PARENTS’ CLEAR SCHOOL CHOICE
THE hundreds of parents and children who rallied Tuesday at City Hall to urge state lawmakers to lift the cap on city charter schools are just one sign of the justice of this cause.
Gov. Hochul simply wants to let 21 “zombie” charters be recycled for the city and let Gotham use some of the 85 charters still available under the statewide cap.
The so-called progressives who control the state Legislature are resisting — at the behest of the teachers unions who’d be the only losers from letting charters flourish.
It’s a simple fact that charters are often the only good public schools in a neighborhood — but too many neighborhoods don’t yet have them, even though at least a dozen promising charters are eager to open as soon as the cap stops stopping them.
As parent activist Wai Wah Chin wrote last month: “It’s hard to go to a parents’ gathering without hearing their complaints about district schools, their anguish over the poor options and stories of how they or their friends left or are planning to leave the system — whether to charter schools, parochial schools, private schools or outside the city entirely.”
Charters overall do a far better job at teaching than the regular public system, with far more of their students testing proficient in math and English — even though charters largely enroll kids from lower-income families and get less than half the per-pupil funding.
The only lawmakers standing in the way are the ones who put the special interests’ needs ahead of those of children.
More than 500 parents and students rallied at City Hall on Tuesday, urging resistant state lawmakers to lift the cap and allow more New York City charter schools to open.
Parents and students carried signs that read “Our kids can’t wait — lift the cap” and “My child — my choice.”
The push comes as Gov. Hochul’s plan to lift the cap has faced fierce resistance from state Democratic legislators allied with the anti-charter teachers union.
But only two politicians — Assembly members Brian Cunningham of Brooklyn and John Zaccaro of The Bronx — showed up to back the campaign.
“I would think that most Democrats would support this,” said Harlem mom Natasha Burrell, whose two children, Maverick and Monarch, attend the Success Academy charter in Hell’s Kitchen. “This is like upward mobility. Public schools are not doing well. They haven’t been doing well for a long time. The success of charter schools in general should speak for itself.
“They need to lift the cap because education is key — education is important. It creates opportunities. Charter school is the way — it’s the way for my family.”
‘We should have a voice’
The city has 287 approved charter schools, but others in the pipeline or planning stages can’t open because of the legal cap — and parents in neighborhoods served by failing public schools want the chance to put their kids in a better learning environment.
Anyta Brown, a public-charter grandma from Brooklyn’s East New York, said state legislators “ought to be for the people” — giving more educational opportunities for kids rather than siding with defenders of the status quo.
“That cap has to be lifted . . . where does our money go? We should all have a voice for where our money goes,” Brown said.
Harlem parent Kathryn Marrow, whose 16-year-old son, Christopher, attends the KIPP NYC College Prep Charter HS, said, “I was amazed that there were only two politicians here, because this is a very hot topic.”
About 90% of charter school students are black and Hispanic — and Marrow said more charters should be allowed to open to help close the racial achievement gap.
“There are people of color who want to open up these charter schools so they can assist the children of color who are undervalued,” she said.
Cunningham, who represents Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Garden, said lawmakers should support both traditional and publicly funded charter schools instead of pitting them against each other.
Noting the increase in funding for traditional public schools, Cunningham said, “This choice is not a choice of saying that one doesn’t matter or the other. It is giving parents the choice to choose.”