NYC charter schools emerge as new
opportunity for diverse, inclusive education
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F BTR FEB. 4-10, 2022 49
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
With 272 charter schools throughout
the fi ve boroughs of New York
City, many parents are wondering
what exactly makes a charter school
different from a more traditional public
school.
If there are drastic differences or
benefi ts between public and charter
schools that suit their children’s
learning styles, is it a good idea to
make the switch? And what exactly is
a charter school?
According to the National Alliance
for Public Charter Schools, charter
schools receive government funding
but operate outside the previously
established school system in the area
where the charter school is physically
located. They maintain independent
operation from traditional school districts,
giving them freedom “to design
classrooms that meet the students’
needs.”
The New York State Education Department
(NYSED) reports that approximately
145,000 NYC students are
enrolled in charter schools – roughly
14% of all NYC students.
Charter schools in NYC also encourage
a diverse enrollment of students.
According to the NYSED, in
the 2020-21 school year half of the student
body in the NYC charter school
system identifi ed as Black and 40%
as Latinx. Additionally, 79% of charter
school students are economically
challenged, 8% are multilingual and
9.3% live in temporary housing.
“Charter schools employ many
many Black and Latinx educators,”
said James Merriman the CEO of
NYC’s Charter school system on Jan.
13. “I think increasingly we are having
a ‘moment’, and I think people
are beginning to realize that while
it is fi ne to have a white teacher and
white administrators, it is so important
that Black students see people
like them in positions of leadership
in front of the classroom, who understand
some of the struggles that kids
come into school with.”
Since charter schools do not operate
in any of NYC’s established public
school systems, they are able to implement
certain rules and regulations
that other public schools in the area
are not – especially COVID-related
protocol.
“Charters are overseen by an independent
board of trustees, which itself
is overseen usually by one of three entities
in New York City – either by the
board of education, by the NYS education
department Board of Regions and
also by the Charter School Institute of
the SUNY Trustees,” said Merriman.
Because of this, charter schools
are not governed by the NYC Schools
Chancellor or the Department of Education,
and each school is able to
make independent decisions regarding
the safety of their students as
the COVID-19 pandemic continues to
spread.
“Charter schools have to follow
the same health and safety regulations
that district schools do,” said
Merriman. “They follow what the department
of health NYC and NYS tell
them to do in terms of testing, vaccination.
social distancing. But on the
other hand, they can also make their
own decisions about whether it makes
more sense to go virtual. Many of the
charters – not all – stayed open, but
many decided that they would hold
the fi rst two weeks of class virtually.”
Charter schools are designed to accommodate
the individual learning
needs of students, and this includes
students in need of special education.
“At the NYC Charter School Center
we actually have a collaborative
which almost every charter school
belongs to better provide special education,”
said Merriman. “Providing
special education well is very very
diffi cult, but charter schools are stepping
up to that and have basically the
same rates of students who are identifi
ed as needing special education as
those in district schools.”
With fi ve more charter schools being
planned to open in the coming
year, it is clear that the popularity of
charters is increasing.
“We are trying to make sure students
actually get the services they
need, and beyond that succeed as we
hope all students do,” said Merriman.
Charter School Guide