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THE ADVANTAGES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 18 - MARCH 24, 2022 25
BY HANNAH MALLARD AND DONNA
DUARTE-LADD
A significant advantage of living
in New York is that we have fantastic
school resources. One education choice
for New York students that continues
to grow is charter schools. What is a
charter school, and how do they work?
What is a charter school?
Charter schools are independently
operated public schools accountable
for advancing student achievement.
This combination of freedom and accountability
allows charter teachers to
adapt their classrooms based on their
students’ needs while pushing for high
academic achievement.
New York City’s 267 charter schools
are independent of the New York City
Department of Education, but they can
be closed if they don’t meet certain student
achievement standards.
Charter schools offer students opportunities
for academic success that
unfortunately cannot be said for some
of the city’s public schools.
NYC charters outperform other public
schools
According to New York state exams
statistics in 2019, 63% of charter students
in grades three through eight
passed the state math exam and 57%
of charter students were proficient in
English language arts.
New York’s charter students outperformed
their peers from traditional
public schools: 46% of traditional public
school students passed the state
math exam and 47% of these students
were proficient in English language
arts.
NYC charters do not succeed at the
expense of district schools
A common myth is that as New
York’s charter schools succeed, the
city’s traditional public schools fail
as a result. A 2018 study by the Manhattan
Institute concluded that “competition
from New York City charter
schools has either no effect, or a positive
effect,” on the city’s traditional
public schools.
In fact, district schools have improved
significantly as charter schools
have spread throughout New York
City’s five boroughs. Funding for district
schools has also increased as the
student population at charter schools
has gone up over the years.
Charter schools are specialized, with
no tuition costs
Charter teachers adapt their classrooms
and teaching methods to the
current needs of their students. This
freedom in the curriculum, teaching
style, school missions and policies
resembles that of private schools, enabling
charter schools to provide the
very best approach to academics that
fits their students. Though teachers
have flexibility, charter schools are
held accountable for high academic
achievement levels.
Charter school is a lottery system
New York City’s charter schools admit
students through a lottery system;
they cannot select their students. This
process gives students from all backgrounds
and education levels an equal
opportunity to attend and achieve academic
success at charter schools.
Charter students have had access to
great schooling despite COVID-19
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit
New York, charter schools across the
five boroughs immediately transitioned
to remote learning that adapted
to the students in each classrooms’
needs.
Seventy-five percent of New York’s
charter schools had created a remote
learning procedure before the March
2020 lockdown. Charter students only
had to wait an average of three days to
begin remote learning after in-person
learning was closed.
Both charter students and teachers
had the tools to continue learning and
teaching from home. Eighty percent
of New York charter schools provided
students with devices for remote learning
before schools were closed and 98%
of New York’s charter school teachers
had the technology to conduct remote
instruction.
Charter schools have been able to
keep students accountable and maintain
a high level of learning despite
COVID-19 and its ramifications on
education. Eighty-five percent of New
York’s charter schools continued to
introduce new learning content to
students through the pandemic and
charter schools were three times more
likely to take attendance during remote
classes compared to traditional
schools.
Charter schools also expanded
non-academic programs such as social
emotional counseling and family
outreach during the pandemic. Seventy
five percent of charter teachers
increased their office hours during
remote learning and 91% of charter
teachers increased their time spent on
communication with families during
the pandemic.
Learn more about charter
schools with the charter school
listings online at newyorkfamily.
com.
CHARTER SCHOOLS
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