Pro-charter group rallies for Cuomo plan
StudentsFirstNY held a rally in support of Governor Andrew Cuomo's education reform agenda Wednesday evening as the well-organized, well-funded pro-charter sector attempts to respond to criticisms of the governor from teachers unions.
Several hundred parents, largely from district schools around the city and almost exclusively black, attended the rally at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, where Assemblyman and future Cuomo official Karim Camara and City Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. spoke.
Cornegy, one of the few Council members to show public support for Cuomo or the charter movement, received a standing ovation from the crowd on Wednesday.
"I'm here because every exceptional teacher deserves a reward," Cornegy said, referring to Cuomo's controversial merit pay proposal. "I'm here because I've seen too many generations pass through failing schools without someone taking responsibility for turning them around," he added, referring to Cuomo's plan for state takeover of failing schools.
Cornegy compared the fight for education reform to the Civil Rights movement, saying it was "apropos" that the rally was taking place during Black History Month.
Camara, who is joining the Cuomo administration as head of the new office of Faith-Based Community Development Services, thanked the governor for his stance on education.
"When you're at that level ... you don't have to fight the tough fights, but he decided to be courageous," Camara said.
After Cuomo outlined his education proposals in his State of the State address last month, much of the reaction has been provided by the teachers unions and from the United Federation of Teachers in particular, whose president, Michael Mulgrew, has been perhaps Cuomo's lead agitator over the last month. The U.F.T. has organized internal emergency meetings, 11 community forums and a series of protests and rallies in an attempt to show that Cuomo's proposals would hurt teachers.
Now, the pro-charter sector, which has been increasingly focused on failing schools and accountability over the last six months, is debuting a series of its own advocacy efforts, all of which are intended to mobilize parents, rather than teachers, in support of Cuomo's "opportunity agenda."
Families for Excellent Schools, a group that has collaborated with StudentsFirstNY on rallies in the past, also held a rally in support of Cuomo's proposals on Wednesday afternoon. F.E.S. recently held a rally in support of state takeover of failing schools. The Success Academy charter network is planning a large rally in support of Cuomo's plans, on March 4 in Albany, that will almost certainly be attended by representatives from both StudentsFirstNY and F.E.S. The U.F.T.'s annual Albany lobbying day is also scheduled for March 4.
StudentsFirstNY has been a reliable supporter of charters and stronger accountability measures in general, and of Cuomo in particular.
Representatives for the group testified in favor of Cuomo's education agenda before the State Joint Committee on Education earlier this month, and praised his "bold blueprint" for education reform after the State of the State address. StudentsFirstNY also launched a six-figure television ad buy in January that featured excerpts from Cuomo's previous education-related addresses.
The fight over Cuomo's education agenda will resume Thursday morning with a rally attended by Mulgrew, other union advocates and elected officials who will call on the state to fulfill its Campaign for Fiscal Equity obligations. Pro-charter group rallies for Cuomo plan | Capital New York:
