Charter School Guide
NYC charter school open house month
continues for prospective students and parents
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
February is New York City’s charter
school open house month, and
despite the pandemic NYC charter
schools have been performing incredibly
well – offering educational support
and resources to students across
the city. Charters have been doing so
well, in fact, that this year marks the
sixth consecutive year of growth for
the NYC Charter School Center.
This month, prospective students
and interested parents will be able to
schedule virtual and in-person visits
to charter schools within their neighborhoods
to see if the services offered
would better benefi t the student.
According to data released Jan. 31
by the NYC Charter School Center,
charters citywide have seen a 1.3%
enrollment increase this school year,
20% growth for English Language
Learners (ELL) – leading to an overall
increase of 63% of ELL students
over the past fi ve years – and an increase
in Black student enrollment,
with current fi gures indicating 25%
of Black students across all fi ve boroughs
are now attending charter
schools.
“Despite a cap on the creation of
charter schools in New York City and
the historic challenges of the past two
years, the City’s public charters continued
to grow during the pandemic
– by 9%,” said James Merriman, CEO
of the New York City Charter Center.
“Our growth is a direct result of the
incredible work of our teachers, staff
and school leaders across 272 schools
to provide a high-quality education
to the students who make up our diverse
and vibrant public charter
school community, and to give families
a choice to fi nd the school that’s
best for their child.”
Charter schools are public schools
that run independently like private
schools, but are funded by state income
tax, grants, awards and donations.
While “normal” public schools
are federally funded. This allows
charters to tailor their curriculum
more personally to fi t the needs of
independent students, while still fulfi
lling the overall mission of educating
a community of students. Charter
schools are also held to a standard
they set of advancing student achievement
and if they don’t reach these
goals, they can be shut down.
“The difference between public
and charter schools at a government
level is that charters are of course
run independently of the district,”
said Merriman in an interview with
amNew York in January. “This gives
charters the ability to give more options
to parents regarding class size
and curriculum or way in which the
school approaches how they view parent/
student relationships and parent/
teacher relationships or a particular
emphasis on certain school
subjects.”
This more hands-on approach to
learning seems to be appealing to
more NYC parents, with the ability
to be more informed on a child’s individual
needs and educational development
being one of the reasons parents
are gravitating towards charter
schools, and another reason being
racial representation within educational
spaces.
“There are many many Black
and Latinx educators in NYC charter
schools, and there are charter
schools that are diverse by design,”
said Merriman. “Because charter
schools often cater to low-income
families, they were created precisely
to serve those families because those
are the families where the system
hasn’t well-served all kids historically.
So for those students, it is about
making sure that they are performing
well and getting a rigorous education
and getting themselves ready for
college or careers.”
Your choice today creates
opportunities for tomorrow!
¡Los Fifth lugares grade de spots quinto are now grado available ya están for disponibles NEW and transfer para estudiantes students!
y
transferidos! Actualmente estamos aceptando solicitudes de estudiantes
We are currently accepting student applications
for grades 5-10 for the 2022-23 School Year.
NUEVAS para los grados 5-10 para el año escolar 2021-2022.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 28 FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 BTR
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Apply Now for SY2022-23
Email questions to:
admissions@newheightsacademy.org
1818 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10031
(212) 283-5400
www.newheightsacademy.org
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