In the latest show
of its political and organizational muscle, New York’s school
choice movement held a rally in lower Manhattan this morning to
draw attention to a
recent report by the non-profit Families for Excellent Schools,
which found that 1 out of 4 traditional public schools in New York
City are failing. (Ninety percent of students in these failing
schools score below grade level in both reading and math, the
report found.)
There were about 21,000 protesters, according to the organizers,
made up primarily of charter school kids, parents, and teachers.
They held signs demanding “Great Schools Now” and wore red shirts
bearing the rally’s slogan, “Don’t Steal Possible.” A handful of
state lawmakers were on hand to show their support, including
Senate co-Majority Leader Jeff Klein (D-Dist. 34), Assemblyman
Marcos Crespo (D-Dist. 85), and Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez
(D-Dist. 68).
Annaly Lopez, a 26-year-old single mother whose daughter, Renee,
fled a traditional public school to attend Success Academy, the
city’s largest charter network, was among the protesters. (I
profiled Lopez for Reason back in April.)
Nearby, two
counter-protesters from New
York Communities for Change, a nonprofit affiilated with the
United Federation of Teachers, held a banner that said, “Reveal
Your Donors. Wall St? Wal-Mart?” Elzora Cleveland, a parent leader
with the group, released a prepared statement, calling for an end
to the “pretense.”
“It’s the same super-rich hedge fund donors who are against
Mayor de Blasio’s progressive agenda and are pushing a right wing
agenda in Albany,” said Cleveland—a characterization that seemed at
odds with the bulging crowd of students and parents. “[They] are
all for handing more and more unaccountable dollars to charter
schools only because they stand to make a profit.”
The rally is the latest in a series of protests by charter
supporters. A year ago, advocates
led a pro-charter march across the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by
a rally in Albany on March 4 that led to the passage of a
new state law which made it easier to open and operate new
charters in New York.
In a shift in focus, today’s event was geared towards bringing
more attention to the shortcomings of traditional public schools. In
a recent (soon to be released) interview, Eva Moskowitz—the founder
and CEO of Success Academy and the most prominent figure in New
York’s charter movement—told Reason’s Nick Gillespie: “I feel
personally that I have not done enough to shine light on [why
traditional schools haven’t worked] and the stakes for kids.” This
week,
Moskowitz announced that Success Academy’s charter network
(which includes some of
the highest scoring schools in the state) will hold a free
professional development workshop for traditional public school
principals.
I covered the rally in Albany last March for Reason TV, and
looked at roots of the ongoing polical feud between Eva Moskowitz
and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D):
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