A group of dedicated parents will be in Albany today to try to persuade the Legislature to approve a broad expansion of charter schools in New York. It's unbelievable they have to beg lawmakers to give more children a shot at academic success, for charters have proven an invaluable option for kids in failing schools. Charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently of traditional school systems. Opening primarily in the worst-performing districts, they generally admit students by lottery and are held strictly accountable. They're shut if the children fail to learn, but overwhelmingly the kids do learn. On the 2004 statewide English test, for example, 62% of charter school students scored at or above grade level, compared with 55% of their peers at regular public schools. In math, the score was 61% versus 50%.
Viewing charters as an experiment, the Legislature in 1998 gave education officials the go-ahead to open a maximum of 100 across the state. That limit has now been hit, with 47 charter schools in the city and thousands of students on waiting lists for admission. To meet the demand, Gov. Pataki wants to add 200 charters in the state, with New York City getting at least 50. Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to open all of them by 2009...
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