Charter Schools
Charter schools continue to provide
diverse and 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
COURIER L 14 IFE, JANUARY 21-27, 2022
students’ needs.”
The New York State Education Department
(NYSED) reports that approximately
145,000 NYC students are
enrolled in charter schools – roughly
14 percent 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 percent
as Latinx. Additionally, 79 percent
of charter school students are economically
challenged, 8 percent are
multilingual and 9.3 percent 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
Kids at play at Challenge Charter School in Far Rockaway, Queens. Photo via Facebook/
Challenge Charter School
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 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 Regents 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.
Williamsburg Charter High School
WCHS Offers:
Apply Now!
Follow Us:
Facebook.com/williamsburgchs
Instagram.com/williamsburgcharter
Twitter.com/williamsburgchs
/williamsburgchs
/williamsburgcharter
/williamsburgchs