GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

ProudBSA1Parent..schools have no say…the DOE dictates where the charter is going to have classes…so it is poo poo on the kids who attend 241…and bells and whistles for the charter school kids…moscowitz is a disgusting cow…and i hope that she reaps what she sows…karma is a powerful thing…she is literally throwing the children that do not attend her glorious academies to the wolves…every parent should band together and fight this mandated invasion…every parent who have children who attend REAL public schools should treat the charter school students the way their children are treated…then, maybe, you would get the picture…but your attitude is that as long as your kid benefits, who cares…

Despite all the debate, I am left with the same concerns and OUTRAGE over the current state of education in NYC. I have one child currently in the New York City public school system and two that are graduates of NYC public schools. My older children were fortunate and received a fantastic education. My youngest, who is in H.S. is receiving a very good education at his public school, DESPITE the tsunamis of high stakes testing, the corporate curriculum and willfully ignorant “educational” policies imposed by Mr. Mayoral Control. Why? Because he has teachers who manage to rise above the Mayor induced maelstrom and go above and beyond what any human being should have to do.
While I understand that parents are trying to advocate for their children, I think parents who are in support of charter schools as a solution to the problems we all face today, are ill advised. Some of the reasons given in support of charter schools in this thread are 1. “Bad” zoned school,” “choice,” “brilliant child needs the arts,” “no time to waste,” “my first grader in a charter school is reading at a 4th grade level,” “our charter school has higher test scores.”
   To which I say:  Frankly there is no reason to impose charter schools on our NYC school children. Why not put those resources instead (and I’m not just talking about cold hard cash) and support (educational and political) into the Neighborhood public schools?  For those who need choice, create some more MAGNET schools already. We have some excellent Magnet New City Public Schools already in existence and some phenomenal neighborhood public schools as well, that are tried and true. Yes, there are plenty of issues facing NYC public schools, so I am at a loss as to why a solution would be to implement unproven educational “measures,” such as charter schools, high stakes testing and computer programs that teach languages. Frankly, no one has come up with any logical reasons, besides some personal narratives, as to why there should be charter schools. I think it’s ridiculous, and suspect, that Mr. Mayor would ignore, the wisdom and professional experience of educated educators in favor of educational entrepreneurs with dubious curriculum vitae. I’ll also say that those who like that charter schools can be ‘somewhat’ autonomous, your autonomy should not be garnered at the expense of the neighborhood and magnet public school children. There are many other issues I have with charter schools and the politics behind them. I think the only solution is to GET RID OF MAYORAL CONTROL and get EDUCATORS not billionaires and corporations running the DOE.
Kudos to the NAACP and UFT!

Jonathan Webber:  It’s nice that HSA is finally catching up to the rest of the public schools “next year”  that have not had the luxury of picking and choosing whether or not they offer a service.   In other words, HSA had no students classified as emotionally disturbed last year.  NONE.  NADA. 
  Also, the only part of my post where Harlem Success is listed in in reference to advertising ONLY. Nothing was said specifically about HSA and cherry picking.  In the same vein, you said, “Provide evidence that charters cherry pick “well mannered, intelligent and intuitive” students. How would a school manage such a feat? Is there some test that identifies well mannered 5 year olds?” The quote is from Smart Dad, not me.  Apparently reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit.  That must not be in the script.  And regarding your Google snark:  all of these folks just decided during the same evening at the same time to go to one particular website?  Please.     ND:  How many ISS classes?  Percentage of population?  The ISS students you have are those with the mildest, most easily remediated disabilities.  How many over the counter students have you taken in from Rikers in mid term?  In many of the large comprehensive high schools that are struggling, more than 50% of the population are SIFE or other ELLs, or ISS.  What’s the percentage of special education students to Mainstream in your CTT classes?  I’ll wager it’s not the 60 : 40 split in traditional schools, as you have no ED kids and few ISS.  What about ELLS? Class size in most NYC schools ranges from 34 – 50, particularly in large comprehensive HS. 
 

Parents have always had choice. If you chose not to have your child attend a public school then you would pay for a private (elitist) school. Public money  should not be used to create pockets of small publicly funded private schools.

It’s a sad thing having parent against parent and there right to choose what education is best for whom. And because of it parents are going against each other. What happens when the board makes a decision june 21 or 23. Are these students who are already enrolled out in the cold with no school to attend? They will be displaced. Schools are already overcrowded in most neighborhoods, so what do we do? We fighting to keep our children already enrolled in school and fight for funding to help others to get the same chance.

Of course the NAACP, should back the students in neighborhood and magnet public schools who are being shortchanged by Bloomberg! It makes me very angry that charter schools are exploiting the people of NYC! It makes me very angry that people  are not aware of the long term implications of the charter school agenda. I feel sad that children are being treated inequitably, that charter schools “entrepreneurs” are being dishonest, not only with the taxpayers of NYC, but the very  parents (charter school parents) who are supporting them. As a parent of a NYC public school child, I would recommend, if you haven’t yet, that you get as much information about both sides of the issue as possible. Yes, sadly, I think the children are the ones who will bear the brunt of this.