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Thursday, September 9, 2010

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Albany (NY) charter schools

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Albany (NY) charter schools

Albany (NY) charter schools

THE CHOICE TO BE APART, September 7, 2010, The Times Union (Albany, NY)

Albany's charter schools have created a second school system that is almost entirely segregated.

Virtually all of the schools' students -- 96 percent -- are black or Hispanic, according to a Times Union analysis of data from the 2008-09 school year, the most recent available. AchievementAcademy Charter School had only one white student and Albany Preparatory Charter Schoolenrolled just 16 white students, the highest number of any charter school in the city.

The privately run schools are funded by the Albany City School District, where the minority enrollment has been steadily increasing. According to the latest available figures, 80 percent of the