ten things everyone should know about nyc charter schools

8/8/2019 Ten Things Everyone Should Know about NYC Charter Schools

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NYC charter schools by boroughSince the rst New York City charter school was established in 1999, more

have opened each year to meet rising parent demand. Charter schools are

now located in every borough of the city, serving students from all areas and

neighborhoods.

The New York City Charter School Centeris an independent nonprot committed to expanding access to

high-quality public schools for all students regardless of where

they live and the challenges they face. We believe that charter

schools are partners in a larger effort to build and maintain a

great system of public schools.

The Charter Center fosters an environment in which public

charter schools can open and ourish, and, through their

innovative approaches, provide models for improving all public

schools. We help new charter schools get started, support

existing schools, and engage the charter school community

around key issues.

Datashownisforthe 201011schoolyearunlessotherwisenoted.

Data sources: [1] NYC Department of Education; [2] NYC Department of Education

and NYC Charter School Center analysis; [3] NYC Department of Education;

[5] Hoxby, Mararka, Kang (2009); [6] NYC Department of Education;

[7] NYC Independent Budget Ofce analysis of 2008-09 data; [8] NYC Department

of Education, NY State Education Department, and SUNY; [9] NYC Charter School

Center; [10] New York Daily News-Marist Poll (September 2010)

DesignedbyBigDuck

111 Broadway, Suite 604, New York, NY 10006

tel: 212.437.8300 fax: 212.227.2763

www.nycCharterSchools.org

3Staten Island

49Brooklyn

9Queens

32Bronx

32Manhattan

10 thingseveryone shouldknow aboutNew York Citycharter schools

8/8/2019 Ten Things Everyone Should Know about NYC Charter Schools

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Charter schools are free,independently-run public schoolsopen to all New York City students.

Charter schools are public schools.Many people confuse charter schools with

private schools or school vouchers, but

charter schools are free public schools

open to all NYC students. Charter schools

get their name from the ve-year terms

or charters under which they operate,

authorized by either the New York City or

New York State Department of Education

or the State University of New York (SUNY).

Charter schools are closing theachievement gap.Charter schools, which predominantly serve African-American and Hispanic

students, consistently perform better than traditional public schools on

standardized math and English Language Arts (ELA) exams. A recent study

showed that after nine years in a NYC charter school, a student will have

considerably closed the so-called Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap.

Charter school students are diverse.People often think that charter schools draw only elite, high-achieving

students. In reality, charter schools help give traditionally underserved

students an opportunity to excel. Charter schools enroll a higher percentage

of African-American and Hispanic students than NYCs traditional public

schools, and a higher percentage of low-income students.

Charter schools are accountable.Charter schools are run as nonprot organizations by boards made up

of educators, business leaders, community members, and parents.

These boards meet publicly, oversee the schools funds and staff, and are

responsible for making sure the school reaches the goals set out in its char

If a school does not measure up at the end of its ve-year term, its charter w

not be renewed.

Charter schools target specialpopulations.As public schools, all NYC charter schools are required to offer support for

special education students and English Language Learners. In addition, several

of these schools are specically dedicated to serving special needs and include:

a school for students with autism

a school for students in foster care or the child welfare system

a school for students who have previously dropped out

Charter schools are in demand.Since the citys rst charter school was established in 1999, more have open

each year to meet rising parent demand. Yet charter school lotteries still

receive far more student applications than there are seats available.

Charter schools haveoverwhelming public support.A recent poll found 66% of New Yorkers think charter schools are a good th

because they give more choices to parents and kids. This broad support ho

steady regardless of race, gender, borough, income level, or political party

Charter schools try out new ideas.Charter schools were created to give students and parents an alternative to

traditional public schools. Each charter school is formed around a unique

educational vision, with many founded by public school principals or teachers

who want the freedom to enac t non-traditional teaching models. Each schools

vision and goals are described in its charter, as are the standards that will be

used to evaluate whether the school is a success.

With this vision in mind, each charter school designs its own policies and

curriculum, and manages its own staff and resources. This autonomy lets

charter schools try out innovative methods, which may include:

rigorous academic standards deep focus on math and literacy

or college prep curriculum parental partnerships

longer school days or school year selective teacher recruitment and

school uniforms performance-based rewards

integrated arts education character education

Charter schools empower teachers.Because charter schools are

freed from centralized curriculum

constraints, teachers have an

increased opportunity to innovate,

using creative instructional and

classroom management strategies.

In addition, charter schools offer

teachers competitive salaries and

benets, as well as professional

development opportunities.

Charter schools receive lessfunding than other public schools.Charter schools in NYC receive

less operating funding per

student than traditional public

schools, even though they

enroll the same students

and provide a public school

education. Additionally, the

vast majority of charter schools

receive no funding to construct

or maintain school buildings.

Many charters have been

allowed to share space with traditional public schools because they, too, are

public schools - but in too many cases, they dont have enough room to grow

and there is not sufcient space to meet parent demand for charter schools in

their neighborhoods.

The NYC Independent Budget Ofce estimates that some charter schools

receive $3,017 less per student than other public schools. As a result, many

charter schools are forced to do more with less or spend enormous effort

raising private funds to provide a public service.

125Charter schools

in NYC

38,000Charter school students

in NYC 2,900Teachers choose to work in

NYC charter schools

$45k-125kSalary range for NYC charter

school teachers

1 3

4

6

5 8

9

10

7

2

1999

4 charterschools2000

14 charter schools2001





47charter schools2006




99 charter schools

76%Leadershipor characterdevelopment

programs

92%Extendedschool day orschool year

92%Communityor parental

partnerships

86%of the achievementgap closed in mathHarlem

66%of the achievementgap closed in ELAHarlem

76%Free or reducedprice lunch

62%Free or reducedprice lunch

NYC charter schools

NYC traditional public schools

90%African-American& Hispanic students

71%African-American& Hispanic students

NYC charter schools

NYC traditional public schools

2010

125charter schoo

34Five-yearrenewals

12Probationaryrenewals

4Closed down

NYC charter schools: Initial renewals 1999-2010

54,000Estimated applica

11,800Seats available

2010 NYC charter school lottery

Charter schools receive

$3,017 lessper student

than traditional public schools,if they are not in a district building

Note: As of September2010, 79 charter schoolsare still in their initialcharter period.

Scarsdale

Scarsdale

66%say that charterschools are agood thingNew York City Residents

ten things everyone should know about nyc charter schools

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