: Charter Choices

Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein came to Queens last week to announce an unprecedented initiative that will use millions of dollars in private donations to create 50 new charter schools citywide.

The announcement – made at an Oct. 30 press conference at the Renaissance Charter School in Jackson Heights – included plans by the Department of Education (DOE) to create a non-profit entity call New York Center for Charter Excellence to finance and support charter schools. The full embrace of charter schools by public officials represents a major shift in city policy.
During his comments at the press conference, Klein asserted that the federal No Child Left Behind Act empowered the city to transform failing schools by reorganizing them as charter schools.

“If they don’t meet the needs of our children, they can be closed,” Klein said.

Unlike their standard counterparts, charter schools are public institutions that operate beyond the reach of many regulations and guidelines built into bureaucracies like the DOE and the teacher’s union. There are currently 24 charter schools in the city, serving 6,000 students this year. Four of the schools are in Queens.

For the first time, however, this plan will bring city assistance to the independent charter schools, Bloomberg indicated.

The new charter schools will also provide seats for thousands of New York City students granted the right to transfer out of failing schools by the city’s Children First initiative. Since the newly formed charter schools would not be failing, they would automatically be considered an improvement and could be considered a fulfillment of the law.