Remainders: Space fears at only public school for the deaf
- Teachers union lobbyist Paul Egan is one of NYC’s 20 most influential unelecteds.
- Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott has been going back and forth to Albany to negotiate RttT legislation.
- Bloomberg hasn’t donated to a pro-charter school group, but “maybe I should” he said today.
- Charter school skeptic Sen. Bill Perkins has two rivals arranging a sit down to take his seat.
- Teachers at the city’s only public school for deaf children worry about another school sharing space.
- The range in principals’ knowledge is partly why special ed service vary so greatly, writes Beth Fertig.
- A private school consultant says tutoring could explain the increase in kids eligible for gifted programs.
- Members of NY’s state teachers union sprung into lobbying action when the charter bill was announced.
- Rick Hess worries some states are going too far to win RttT’s round two.
- The Chicago Tribune backs a school voucher creation bill for students in the worst schools.
- And programs that prepare Texas’ teachers can’t agree on what to teach.
Charter cap lift passes Senate, union says it’s a “one house” bill
A bill that would more than double the number of charter schools allowed in New York passed the State Senate today to critics’ warnings that it would need an overhaul to win the Assembly’s approval.
Passed by a margin of 45 to 15, the bill would raise the charter school cap from 200 to 460 and would require the schools to serve at least half of the percentage of special education students and non-English speaking students that district schools enroll.
Senators who voted in favor of the bill said it would improve the state’s chances of winning $700 million in Race to the Top and help families stuck on charter school waitlists. Those opposed said the bill ignored major concerns about co-location, the state comptroller’s inability to audit the schools, and the number of charter schools that should be able to operate in a single district.
Chair of the Senate’s education committee, Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, voted against the bill, calling it a “distraction.”
“The idea was to try and bring as many entities together so our application to Race to the Top would be a strong one,” Oppenheimer said. “It is certainly not just adding numbers to charter schools, it is adding accountability.”
New Harlem Children’s Zone building planned for public housing
The Harlem Children's Zone is planning to open a new building for one of its two charter schools on the grounds of the Saint Nicholas Houses. The school's proposed site is marked on the map in blue.The city and the Harlem Children’s Zone announced a deal today that would create more charter school space in Harlem — without, officials hope, setting off a new front in the bitter space wars there.
The deal would have the city and philanthropists team up to fund construction of a new building on the grounds of a Harlem housing project, the Saint Nicholas Houses, HCZ President Geoffrey Canada and New York City Housing Authority Chairman John Rhea said.
The new building would eventually nearly double the number of students in HCZ schools without imposing on nearby district schools in Harlem. The convenient deal could avoid political headaches, but it will also likely raise questions about whether erecting a new $100 million building in Harlem is the best use of city capital dollars.
HCZ’s two charter schools are currently run out of three sites, two of which share space with district schools. When the new building opens, Promise Academy 1 would move out of the space it currently shares with P.S. 175. The zone’s second school will continue to split its grades between the building it currently shares with the
Passed by a margin of 45 to 15, the bill would raise the charter school cap from 200 to 460 and would require the schools to serve at least half of the percentage of special education students and non-English speaking students that district schools enroll.
Senators who voted in favor of the bill said it would improve the state’s chances of winning $700 million in Race to the Top and help families stuck on charter school waitlists. Those opposed said the bill ignored major concerns about co-location, the state comptroller’s inability to audit the schools, and the number of charter schools that should be able to operate in a single district.
Chair of the Senate’s education committee, Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, voted against the bill, calling it a “distraction.”
“The idea was to try and bring as many entities together so our application to Race to the Top would be a strong one,” Oppenheimer said. “It is certainly not just adding numbers to charter schools, it is adding accountability.”
New Harlem Children’s Zone building planned for public housing
The Harlem Children's Zone is planning to open a new building for one of its two charter schools on the grounds of the Saint Nicholas Houses. The school's proposed site is marked on the map in blue.
The deal would have the city and philanthropists team up to fund construction of a new building on the grounds of a Harlem housing project, the Saint Nicholas Houses, HCZ President Geoffrey Canada and New York City Housing Authority Chairman John Rhea said.
The new building would eventually nearly double the number of students in HCZ schools without imposing on nearby district schools in Harlem. The convenient deal could avoid political headaches, but it will also likely raise questions about whether erecting a new $100 million building in Harlem is the best use of city capital dollars.
HCZ’s two charter schools are currently run out of three sites, two of which share space with district schools. When the new building opens, Promise Academy 1 would move out of the space it currently shares with P.S. 175. The zone’s second school will continue to split its grades between the building it currently shares with the