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Democracy Prep Charter School Students Testify on Both Sides of Mayoral Control Debate before New York State Assembly from Elizabeth Green on Vimeo.

Maybe the clearest articulation of the debate on mayoral control was laid out Friday by two middle-school students from Harlem. The two boys, students at Democracy Prep Charter School, testified back-to-back before the state Assembly hearing in Manhattan.

One argued for preserving the law as-is, on the grounds that giving one person power allows the most efficient and effective leadership. The other pushed for adding checks and balances to the mayor’s power, on the grounds that total control is un-American and makes him feel a little queasy.

Daniel Clark Jr., a seventh-grader and the first of the boys to testify, asked the Assembly members to consider his family’s dishes. He said the dishes are more likely to get washed if only one family member has sole responsibility for them.

LeiShawn McClean, an eighth-grader, also used a family metaphor. “Student and parent input isn’t just about sitting around a table talking about how bad this dinner is,” McClean said. “We need to really have input on how the schools are run.” (more…)

A postcard Democracy Prep sent out inviting other schools and parents to their Harlem Armory inauguration party.

I’m planning to spend next Tuesday at this event in Harlem, where a bunch of charter schools — more than 30 last I heard — will be gathering to celebrate inauguration day. School leaders at Democracy Prep Charter School in Harlem planned the event after being disappointed in their first plan, to take the whole school to Washington, D.C. The day will include student performances, art projects, and some political work too.

As the postcard Democracy Prep sent out to advertise the day makes clear, the party will also be a chance for charter school supporters to make a political statement in favor of school choice.

Now that the ELA test has been postponed, I’m guessing other schools are making inauguration plans, too. Leave yours in the comments section.

State Senator Kevin Parker of Brooklyn meets with charter school students at the Brooklyn Museum of Art last night (Philissa Cramer/GothamSchools)

Charter school boosters are often seen throwing compliments at Mayor Bloomberg.

So yesterday it was a little surprising to hear a state senator, Kevin Parker, in one breath sing the charter gospel and in the next lambaste the Bloomberg administration for its management of the public schools.

At Brooklyn Charter School Night yesterday, Parker told me that his position isn’t really a contradiction. Everything he loves about charter schools, he said — their freedom from bureaucratic restrictions, their creative spirit — is absent from traditional public schools. And he said that charter schools’ long waiting lists reflect families’ frustrations with district-run public schools. (more…)

I mentioned in a previous post that two charter school students from Harlem were among those testifying in favor of extending term limits at the City Council earlier this month. Their school head, Seth Andrew of Democracy Prep, sent me their testimonies, which he said they drafted on their own, on blank pieces of paper, by hand.

Andrew said the students had the opportunity to testify either for or against extending term limits. Both came out in favor. (Not a surprise, since Andrew also said that his students testified at the invitation of James Merriman, the executive director of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence and a political ally of Mayor Bloomberg.)

The testimonies are worth a read. Here’s how seventh-grader Daniel Clarke Jr. explained the connection between term limits and education:

Well, this chancellor has made a lot of progress in seven years, but he’s not done…YET. My school goes from grade 6 to 8 right now, but we are supposed to grow all the way to grade 12. Unfortunately, we can’t do this without a public school building, and this chancellor says he wants to give us one. He wants to close bad traditional schools and grow good ones like mine. If you pass this bill, my school will have a chance to take me all the way to college. If you don’t, the progress can’t continue and my school might not be able to grow. But I deserve a great high school, and there aren’t any others in my neighborhood like Democracy Prep that are open to all kids.

Term limits prevent my family from having a choice, both in schools and in mayors and what we need are more choices, not fewer. This bill is not about Mayor Bloomberg or the City Council; it is about giving our community choice, voice, and progress for the kids of New York City. Thank you for Listening, I’m Daniel Clark Jr.

The full testimonies are after the jump. (more…)