NYC charter schools emerge as new
opportunity for diverse, inclusive education
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
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 32 FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 BTR
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
Scan to view
open house
events in your
neighborhood.
Find out what
NYC public charter
schools can offer
your child!
CharterNYC.org
/CharterNYC.org