40 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 17, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
The advantages of New York City charter schools
BY HANNAH MALLARD AND
DONNA DUARTE-LADD
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
A signifi cant 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. Th is 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 off er 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 profi cient 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 profi cient 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 eff ect, or
a positive eff ect,” on the city’s traditional
public schools.
In fact, district schools have improved
signifi cantly as charter schools have spread
throughout New York City’s fi ve 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. Th is 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 fi ts their students. Th ough teachers
have fl exibility, 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. Th is process
gives students from all backgrounds and
education levels an equal opportunity to
attend and achieve academic success at
charter schools.
Learn more about charter schools with
the charter school listings online at newyorkfamily.
com.
Photo via Getty Images
charter schools
Write Your Own
Future at
LaGuardia
Online and
on-campus,
LaGuardia offers
dozens of majors
to choose from,
plus workforce
training,
professional
certificates, ESL
and GED courses.
31-10 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
718-730-7500
Apply Now:
www.laguardia.edu/future
Keeping to the Academy Charter School’s Mission of creating world-class
competitive scholars who will learn today, lead tomorrow and serve in the
future, The Academy Charter School is seeking dynamic, focused and
accomplished educators for the 2022-’23 school year!
• K-12 Teachers
• Bilingual Math/ELA & Science Teachers
• SPED Teachers • ENL Teachers
Positions available in our Hempstead, Uniondale and Wyandanch Locations
New York State Teacher Certi��cation Preferred
For more information, please visit the career page on our
website at https://www.academycharterschool.org/careers/
or call us at 516.408.2200
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