Charters Close the Achievement Gap: NYC Charters Continue to Lead

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 01:12:07 +0000

Sunday, September 30, 2018

On Wednesday, the New York State Education Department released results for the 2017-18 grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and math assessments. As in 2015-16, when the state implemented new testing procedures that differed from past years’ Common Core assessments, these results are not directly comparable to those from the year prior.

What Does Inclusion Look Like?

bzappzpp7 — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 15:24:06 +0000

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

By Melissa Katz, Director, English Learner Supports

The NYC Special Education Collaborative’s mission is to empower schools to develop inclusive education environments. This is an ambitious undertaking given that inclusion is not a teaching strategy, but rather a mindset. In the most basic language, inclusion means any student...

Charters Widen the Gap: NYC Charters Continue to Lead

bzappzpp7 — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 21:26:10 +0000

Thursday, August 24, 2017

On Tuesday, the New York State Education Department released results for the 2016-17 grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and math assessments. Unlike 2015-16, when the state implemented new testing procedures that differed from past years’ Common Core assessments, the 2016-17 results are directly comparable to those from the year prior. Across New York City, both charter and traditional district schools made improvements in ELA and math. However, following last year’s trends, New York City charter schools outperformed and outgained traditional district schools in both ELA and math.

Charters Are Still Not "Creaming" Students

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 14:14:10 +0000

Monday, April 3, 2017

By Michael Pih, Associate Director of Policy & Research

Despite significant evidence to the contrary, it’s a common refrain among charter school critics that the strong academic performance of NYC charter schools can be explained by their selective enrollment of students based on certain characteristics, including prior academic performance...

The Best Case for Returning to the Funding Formula

bzappzpp7 — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 14:09:19 +0000

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

By Michael Pih

And the funding gap between charters and the district continues to grow...

The IBO released an updated report comparing public spending for charter schools to traditional district schools, and its analysis is clear: not only do NYC charter schools receive less in public spending than their district counterparts, but this funding disparity continues to grow.

Giving Voice: Special Populations Series

bzappzpp7 — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:12:38 +0000

Friday, January 6, 2017

By Dixon Deutsch, Vice President of Special Populations

Accountability: College Football vs. Public Schools

While enjoying the holidays in my home state of Texas, I received an email from my alma mater - the University of Texas at Austin. The email caught my eye because it referenced a new head coach for the university football team. For those that don't know, college football is big in Texas. So big in fact, that when a relatively new head coach didn't perform after three years, the university let him go. This isn't surprising, considering that the football program is a multi-million dollar endeavor. What is surprising is the very public nature and the reasons that the university gave for firing the head coach.

Giving Voice: Special Populations Series

bzappzpp7 — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 20:20:11 +0000

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

By Megan Davis-Hitchens, Director of the NYC Special Education Collaborative

When we say, “We do inclusion,” what do we mean?

In my third year attending CHIME Charter School’s Creating Inclusive Schools conference, I continue to experience shifts in my conceptualization of inclusion. By observing and learning directly from the teachers and school leaders at CHIME, it becomes clear that behind their inclusive systems are highly passionate and committed educators - educators who believe, whole-heartedly, that all students can be successful and truly belong in their school community. They continuously adapt, modify, shift, and learn, in order to ensure that all students are included.

Giving Voice: Special Populations Series

bzappzpp7 — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 20:52:44 +0000

Thursday, November 3, 2016

By Melissa Katz

Inclusion: We Must Get There

It’s 6:00pm on a Saturday and I’m sitting on a flight back to New York after three days of intensive professional development about inclusion. As the Charter Center’s Program Manager of English Learner Supports, I’m constantly on the lookout for the best educational practices around recruiting and supporting English language learners. This trip took me to CHIME, a well-known and successful charter school in Los Angeles that started as a Pre-K for students with moderate to severe disabilities. Eventually, their successes and parent demand skyrocketed and the school grew to serve Kindergarten through 8th grade with plans to expand to high school.

Major Gains Seen in Achievement of Charter School Children in 2015-16 Test Scores

bzappzpp7 — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 19:26:33 +0000

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

By Michael Pih

In what can be described as yet another transition year for New York State testing, NYC charter schools made significant gains, and outperformed their district counterparts in both ELA and Math. As the sector has done for the past three years, math proficiency continues to exceed district averages—this year by +12.3 percentage points (48.7% vs. 36.4%). Most encouraging is the fact that charters outperformed the district in ELA for the first time since the transition to the Common Core assessments in the 2012-13 school year (43.0% vs. 38.0%).

Out of Options: No Judicial Review for Charter School Non-renewals

bzappzpp7 — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 15:22:58 +0000

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

By Corey Callahan, Director of Legal Affairs

In a recent op-ed, James Merriman, the Charter Center’s CEO, reminds us of one of the bedrock principles of chartering: that the autonomy to operate free of many of the hurdles faced by district schools comes with the price of accountability. He goes on to assert that the price of this autonomy can be particularly high when the price is school closure. Merriman’s piece references a recent charter school closure where an authorizer’s non-renewal decision was based on the schools’ failure to meet set academic benchmarks. This non-renewal decision was challenged by the school in court, but the court held that charters do not have the right to judicial review of non-renewal decisions.

The Devil is in the Details: Ensuring the Future of New York’s Charter Movement

bzappzpp7 — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 20:59:31 +0000

Thursday, April 14, 2016

By Michael Pih

Somewhat buried in the coverage of the passage of the state’s budget was some great news for charter schools (beyond the needed and much appreciated $430 in additional per pupil for schools statewide). The budget included a little noticed and seemingly small “technical” change making permanent how rental assistance is calculated for schools in New York City under the Facilities Access Law.

Leader Voices

bzappzpp7 — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 20:10:13 +0000

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

By Christina Reyes, Executive Director of Inwood Academy for Leadership

Starting Your School Right

The proverbial saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” is one that I constantly refer to as I relate the process of opening a charter school. It seems like an impossible task at times – opening a school that teachers want to teach in, parents want to send their children to and that will help students succeed could seem like the largest elephant of them all. The reality is, no one can eat the elephant on their own. An excellent team and support from the field are the keys to success. The charter sector in NYC is one of the most open environments that I have ever seen. Charter leaders and educators, in general, are willing to share best practices and learn from one another in a way that not many other competitive fields do. The New York City Charter School Center is at the heart of this open communication and best practice sharing.

Alive and Growing Smartly

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 17:34:52 +0000

Monday, March 14, 2016

By Michael Pih

Each morning, my inbox contains a digest of all the latest in education news here in the city, which gives me some sense of what the day has in store. It was with some shock, then, that I recently read an opinion piece in which the author claimed the death of the New York charter movement. As proof, we’re told that in 2015, just six new charters were approved (so far) by the two state authorizers—the State Education Department (SED) and SUNY—while the New York City Department of Education seeks to close seven charters. Anyone with a basic understanding of arithmetic can tell you that is a net of negative one.

Leader Voices

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 20:26:30 +0000

Monday, December 21, 2015

By Stacey Gauthier, Principal, Renaissance Charter School

First Charter Sector Advocacy Efforts

Reflecting on the Charter Center’s ten year anniversary, I want to take you back to a historic summit that took place in June 2007 when, for the first time, representatives from the Charter Center, CEI-PEA, NYC DOE, NY Charter Schools Association and UFT sat down in a public forum to address a broad set of policy and advocacy issues facing New York City’s charter schools.

Leader Voices

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 18:06:46 +0000

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

By James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center

A Reflection on the Last 10 Years

In 2003, then as Executive Director of SUNY’s Charter Schools Institute, I found myself in conversations with philanthropists, charter leaders and officials at the New York City Department of Education (DOE) on what a new organization devoted to supporting charter schools in the City might look like. It would be a new organization, a public-private partnership between philanthropy and the DOE. Its mission would be to help grow a high-quality charter sector, one that would work in tandem with the Department as it sought to fundamentally reshape how it governed the schools it managed and transform New York City from a school system to a system of schools.

2014-15 State Test Score Analysis: Charters Better Serving African-American and Hispanic Students

bzappzpp7 — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 18:23:34 +0000

Friday, August 14, 2015

By Michael Pih

On Wednesday, the New York State Education Department (SED) released scores from the third year of the Common Core 3-8 Assessments.

Performance by African-American and Hispanic students in charter schools far exceeds that of their district counterparts. In Math, African-American and Hispanic charter school students outperform their district peers by +23.9 percentage points, and +18.4 percentage points, respectively. Gaps in ELA are smaller but still significant with a gap for African-American students in proficiency rates of +9.9 percentage points and for Hispanics of +6.8 percentage points. Given that charter schools enroll mostly students from these two subgroups (over 90%), this finding is significant and highly promising. Further, for students identified as economically disadvantaged, charter schools once again outperform their district peers.

Charter Schools Remain Underfunded: New Report

bzappzpp7 — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 14:45:16 +0000

Thursday, July 23, 2015

By Michael Pih

Today’s IBO report, Charter Schools Versus Traditional Public Schools: Comparing the Level of Public Support In School Year 2014-15, shows that charter schools receive significantly less public support than do traditional district schools. When compared to 2009-10, the last year for which the IBO calculated the data, the gap between traditional district schools and charter schools has grown more than five-fold. In fact, on average, charter schools receive over $1,400 less per pupil than traditional district schools compared to the $250 less per pupil they received in 2009-10.

New IBO Report: Positive Trends in NYC Charter Growth, Diversity, Backfilling & Achievement

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 14:44:18 +0000

Monday, July 13, 2015

By Michael Pih

Today, the New York City Independent Budget Office released a new report, School Indicators for New York City Charter Schools: 2013-14 School Year. The IBO has put out a series of similar reports for NYC traditional district schools for the last three years; this is the first such report on the charter sector. The report is a straightforward presentation of data and, commendably, takes pain to avoid editorializing.

Myth Busting: Charters Do Share, Mr. Mayor!

bzappzpp7 — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 16:00:30 +0000

Thursday, June 11, 2015

By Jaclyn Leffel

I was disappointed to read in a recent news article Mayor de Blasio’s pronouncement that, “…district schools will share where charters will not.” I commend the mayor for opening up more PROSE schools and allowing a percentage of district schools more freedom and flexibility, but his statement that charters are not sharing is simply untrue.

Charters Tackle ELL Instruction

bzappzpp7 — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 18:43:46 +0000

Monday, June 8, 2015

By Melissa Katz

It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end of the school year! As I reflect on the progress made this past year since I joined the Charter Center team, I already find myself looking forward to next school year. After conducting numerous, stimulating and informative school visits and English Language Learner (ELL) events this year, I would like to share with everyone some of the trends I’ve noticed throughout NYC’s ELL community:

Updated IBO Study: Special-Needs Students Staying in Charters

mwawrzyniak — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 19:19:55 +0000

Thursday, January 29, 2015

The IBO has just confirmed what we have long known – charter school students stay in charter schools at higher rates than students in nearby traditional public schools (TPS). Even more counter to charter detractors’ claims– fewer charter school special needs students leave their schools than nearby special needs district students.

2013-14 School Quality Reports

acone — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 21:31:54 +0000

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The NYC DOE released its first School Quality Report from the 2013-14 school year. The report no longer includes an overall grade for each school, but instead presents multiple ratings on different aspects within 5 categories for charter schools: Student Progress, Student Performance, School Environment, Closing the Achievement Gap, and College and Career Readiness.

Why the ELL Gap?

lbloom — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 17:51:11 +0000

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

In Why the Gap? English Language Learners and New York City Charter Schools, a new report from the Manhattan Institute, Dr. Marcus Winters uses NYC DOE data from school years 2008-09 to 2011-12 to follow charter and district school ELLs over time. (Winters previously studied special education in NYC charter schools.)

2013-14 Test Scores Show Gains

lbloom — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 14:07:47 +0000

Friday, August 15, 2014

New York State entered the 2013-14 school year—the second year of the Common Core era—with a pointed awareness of the challenges revealed by the 2012-13 test scores. The good news is that test scores released yesterday show progress across the board toward the goal of college and career readiness for all students in both Math and ELA.

Skip to Interactive Charts

IBO Admits Flawed Finding on Charter School SpEd Attrition

lbloom — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:00:16 +0000

Friday, February 21, 2014

The New York City Independent Budget Office now has egg on its face after its shocking finding – 80% attrition among charter school kindergarteners in special education! – turned out to be inaccurate.

Chalkbeat New York has the details:

A Rare Moment of Unanimity

lbloom — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 17:23:43 +0000

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Back in 2008, when Senator Obama was running against Senator McCain, something unusual happened in the final minutes of their third and very contentious, partisan debate. They agreed on something: charter schools were a good thing. They agreed on this one issue because charter schools when done right (as in NYC) are a good thing.

New IBO Study: Charter Students Stick Around

lbloom — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 17:54:14 +0000

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

A new report from the NYC Independent Budget Office found that student attrition rates in charter schools are lower across nearly every student subgroup -- with the one exception, which contradicts previous research, being calculated from a tiny sample.

The ABCs of NYC Charters

lbloom — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 17:36:21 +0000

Thursday, November 14, 2013

The NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE) released its 2012-13 Progress Reports for all public and charter schools*. Charter schools continue to earn a higher distribution of A and B grades than district schools; 69% of charter schools scored an A or B grade over 63% for the district.

School Choice Structure is Key to Success

lbloom — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 16:53:14 +0000

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

James Merriman

How can we improve school choice in New York City? The Education Funders Research Initiative asked a range of experts, and Charter Center CEO James Merriman shared his thoughts. They're reproduced below with permission.

Hiding the Bill for Teacher Pensions

lbloom — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:34:32 +0000

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Michael Regnier

The debate about charter school funding was split wide open last week when a new study found that charter schools receive much less public support per pupil, when accounting for the full value of retirement promises to district school teachers. The valuation matters because the City is not saving enough for today’s workers’ future benefits, instead effectively running up a credit card bill.