Rise & Shine: Schools closed for snow — and Eva Moskowitz?
- City schools are closed today because of snow, for the second time this month. (Daily News, Times,NY1)
- The record shows Joel Klein closes schools just for Eva Moskowitz, Juan Gonzalez says. (Daily News)
- For the first time ever, the PEP voted down a proposal, stopping a home for Eagle Academy. (Daily News)
- The PEP also passed new rules banning homemade treats in school bake sales this week. (Times)
- Demand appears to be down at city private schools. (Bloomberg)
- Readers weigh in on Bob Herbert’s column extolling the Harlem Village Academy. (Times)
Charter schools take PEP meeting as chance to launch PR blitz
Charter school parents packed into last night's Panel for Educational Policy meeting to call for more city building space for charter schools.But this time it was charter school parents, not teachers and parents at closing district schools, who drove to the meeting in busloads.
“What we are pleading for this evening is space,” Trevor Alfred, a parent at Explore Empower Charter School, told the panel. “We deserve it.”
At first blush, the level of passion, and sometimes anger, directed towards the panel could seem odd. Although 16 school space proposals were up for a vote, the board had never voted down a city proposal, and none of the charter school proposals on the agenda yesterday was defeated.
But charter school advocates, stung by what they felt was a bruise at last month’s PEP meeting on school closures, which was dominated by charter school opponents, decided to take the opportunity to launch a new