New York’s Democratic Primary is a Showdown for Charter School Politics
The upcoming New York primary could redefine the Democratic party in the state—and could mean drastic change for the charter school industry.
The upcoming September 13 primary in New York could re-energize and redefine the Democratic party in the state. It also might mean drastic change for the charter school industry.
Across the U.S., billionaire hedge fund managers have routinely secured support for charter schools through direct campaign donations to candidates, or the simple act of “loading” charter school PACs with millions of dollars, which frightens potential critics into silence.
But public support for charters is waning. The industry took an unexpected beating in a 2016 Massachusetts ballot referendum when voters rejected a proposal to lift a cap on the number of charters allowed each year. Recent pollshave shown declining public support for charter schools, and a litany of scandals surrounding charters have prompted a number of progressive candidates to offer fresh criticism of the industry.
The political friction surrounding charters has dramatically increased in New York, where for years the most visible avatar for the industry has been Success Academy, the largest charter school network in the state. Widely credited by corporate media outlets for raising test scores for traditionally low-performing students, the New York City-based charter chain and its CEO Eva Moskowitz have also been deluged by negative press about heavy-handed discipline and abusive instructional practices.
This summer, things truly went off the rails for Success.
In June, a bill that would have added 100 new charter schools to the statewide cap was declared dead-on-arrival, even though it included an extremely popular repeal for a teacher evaluation law that uses standardized test scores to evaluate teachers.
Just days later, a judge struck down an audacious proposal to allow Success Academy and other charter schools authorized under SUNY’s Charter Committee to train and certify their own teachers. As The Progressive reportedin March, this violated clear legal requirements for minimal training standards and bypassed critical input by the public.
Soon after, there was a “mass exodus” of teachers leaving a Success Academy high school in Manhattan where forty-seven of sixty-seven educators will not return. At least twenty-five quit, nine were dismissed, and the rest were reassigned within the charter network. Some teachers mentioned inappropriate disciplinary policies and lack of respect for teachers, while others cited draconian policies that force students to repeat grades for failing classes.
And news of the charter network’s first graduating senior class brought new criticisms to light. Of the seventy-two first graders who comprised Success Continue reading: New York’s Democratic Primary is a Showdown for Charter School Politics - Progressive.org
