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Congratulations to OCS! Your staff have worked diligently to ensure the best services to the city’s neediest children.

Mr. Special Ed, in case you missed this part,
“Unique among charter schools in NYC, Opportunity welcomes all students regardless of past academic success or special needs”
I think unique should settle the issue, they are the only one….that is the meaning of unique

KS: according to the article as published, they are the only school that has a rough balance of 50% of the students with IEPs and 50% of the students without IEPs. That is their uniqueness. Other schools, private, independent, parochial, public and charter do not intentionally provide that type of setting. They may provide an integrated setting or an inclusionary setting based on naturally occurring ratios of disability populations, but they do not have the same balance…hence their uniqueness.
I am glad that the school got a second chance to stay open. Folks there are doing God’s work. I have, as I have said a number of times, no objection to any school that teaches children. I chose one type of school for my kids, a friend chose another. Amazingly, we still talk. Amazingly the kids learned.
Broad brush, narrow brush, any brush…… there is no need to be so defensive in these discussions. leave that to the permanently self righteously indignant…of which there are so many

A fool and his money are soon parted, and I will take you up on that bet. They serve very high needs students as defined by their IEPs. Why make that assumption? I am sure that info is publicly available based upon that percentage of services required on IEPs, which would be ready data not tied to personal student information. By the article it is imiplied that they serve students who have self contained classes on their IEPs.

as a matter of fact it is publicly available, most documents that charters create including their budgets are subject to public disclosure under FOIL, that would indicate the level of services of student required because there are different reimbursement rates, or you could deal with questions the way people used to before the anonymity of the internet, you could actually ask the people involved. And I am actually pretty sure they would be happy to answer. But why bother gathering the facts when its easier to just lob accusations based on preconceptions (which I am not denying are true in many cases). This is a great forum and I just wish people would take it seriously and do homework before spouting off some tired and inaccurate rhetoric. I would love to put money on it, and have a fool parted from theirs with the actual facts determining who that is

The mere fact that someone would claim that making a FOIL request is evidence of “transparency” is preposterous. If these were really public schools, the information would be posted online, as it is for public schools.

But, of course, these are not public schools, but private entities receiving public subsidies. In fact, many of them are invading public school buildings that (if all goes according to plan) will be “sold” to them for $1 down the line.

This should not be a free floating place for everyone to raise personal gripes. the post specifically said that they serve high needs students at Opportunity– I will take the brave step of asking them the percentage of students requiring 20-60% sped and 60% and greater– unless someone has a better objective definition of high needs. I also agree that many charters dont serve high needs students–but from my own personal experience I will list some that I know personally
1. NYC autism– 100% autistic students 2. Opportunity- 55% sped high needs numbers to come 3. DREAM charter (last years numbers)–full inclusion co teach 24% Sped and 16% in 60% or greater services, 4.John Lavelle Prep- inclusive middle school model focused on students with emotional challenges, will try to get actual number but 30% sped, these are from the minority of schools that I know. My point is a narrow one- and I will actually try to bring some facts to bear; Opportunity Charter serves high needs students, and rather than just saying they dont people should spend time to gather the facts– which I will

Dirk – I’m responding to the conversation on the thread. You said charter documents are subject to disclosure under FOIL. Mustafa and Michael responded and now so am I. Yes, it is personal for myself and other charter parents who have requested this information and are being denied and/or ignored. These are our children, we the parents are the stakeholders and we have every right under the law to have that information.

Do you disagree? Do you believe charters should not have to disclose those documents to the parents whose kids they’re receiving public money to educate?

If charters are public non-profit education corporations AND public schools – then their information should be easily accessible to everyone. Parents should not have to FOIL their schools to get their charter, by-laws or budget information from their schools.

Re opportunity: As Opportunity CEO Leonard Goldberg said “Unique among charter schools in NYC, Opportunity welcomes all students regardless of past academic success or special needs, with over fifty percent of Opportunity students classified to receive special education services.”

Opportunity should not be unique in welcoming ALL students regardless of past academic success or special needs. Charter schools are Public schools and they’re supposed to serve ALL students. But, we know they don’t. That must change.

Why does a parent have to F.O.I.L. their charter school to get public information that is rightfully theirs? Dirk -This should not be a free floating place for everyone to raise personal gripes? I find that very offensive. What should this forum be? I am the parent of three children in charters schools, two of which are considered “the cream of the crop” for these charters and one that has special needs. My charter school has done nothing to help the special needs students and is currently “counseling out” my child. In fact, they did not obtain an OT therapist for the children that are mandated to receive such service on their I.E.P until the end of the 2009. Is this what you call “servicing”? If charter schools are “true public schools” they should mimic the student body of district schools. It should not be by chance that charters such as Opportunity are servicing special needs/ELL students it should be a given. Charter schools are preying on the “miseducated” charter parent. They do not inform us of our rights as parents or on the rights of our children. They only utilize us as they seem fit. An example of this was “Charter Advocacy Day.” School leaders gave “scripts” to parents which demanding more money. When charters truly serving all children regardless of their needs, that is when you deserve equal per pupil funding!

As a parent of two children with special needs both of whom are at opportunity I can make the claim that they do in fact serve all students. My sons are classified as HOH they are both deaf in one ear among other issues. They have sign language interpreters in their classroom are given counseling services,speech therapy and are treated as everyone else. This is the first time I’ve not had to fight to get any services my children require. The school is not perfect it is a work in progress but I feel empowered to help as much as I can because of the response I receive from everyone at the school. This is the first time that my teenage boys have not been ostracized because of their appearance and the way they learn,and I agree that this should not be unique of a few schools but should be the mantra of all schools because all can learn. If we take the time to educate our children that we all are unique and created for a purpose, what a wonderful world it would be. The problem is not only Charters but all schools that are failing our children.