"ALBANY -- Albany school leaders are considering an expansion of the district's extended day and academic programs to better compete with the city's ever-increasing number of charter schools.
District officials have also extended an olive branch to the city's biggest charter school organizer, a move that would have been unprecedented just 12 months ago.
The Albany district's newly formed Charter Schools Committee quietly met last month with leaders of the Brighter Choice charter school network, which has provided assistance to 11 of the 12 charter schools that will be operating in Albany by next fall. The two sides in a decade-long bitter war for students in Albany discussed enrollment issues and agreed to share data, student information and effective teaching practices.
'We both serve the same kids and we should be talking,' said Chris Bender, executive director of the Brighter Choice Foundation."
District officials have also extended an olive branch to the city's biggest charter school organizer, a move that would have been unprecedented just 12 months ago.
The Albany district's newly formed Charter Schools Committee quietly met last month with leaders of the Brighter Choice charter school network, which has provided assistance to 11 of the 12 charter schools that will be operating in Albany by next fall. The two sides in a decade-long bitter war for students in Albany discussed enrollment issues and agreed to share data, student information and effective teaching practices.
'We both serve the same kids and we should be talking,' said Chris Bender, executive director of the Brighter Choice Foundation."