Chancellor Carmen Fariña sits down with charter school leaders about co-locations
For the first time, Chancellor Carmen Fariña had a meeting with charter school leaders about co-locations, which were approved under the Bloomberg administration and may be overturned by Mayor de Blasio.
By Annie Karni / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, February 22, 2014, 10:44 PM
Facing a looming deadline for Mayor de Blasio to decide the fate of 28 charter schools set to be co-located in September, Chancellor Carmen Fariña on Saturday sat down for the first time with about 100 charter school leaders.
But the educators steered clear of discussing policy matters, according to principals who attended the two-hour breakfast confab.
There was “purposeful avoidance of policy talk,” said Steve Zimmerman, founder of the Academy of the City Charter School in Woodside, Queens.
Fariña described the meeting as “an open dialogue to hear what they have on their mind, for them to know who I am."
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“It was a very productive meeting. We shared a lot of ideas and we’re going to continue the dialogue,” Fariña told a group of reporters who gathered outside the New York City Charter Center.
De Blasio has promised big changes from the Bloomberg years in how he runs the city’s public schools. He campaigned on a plan to charge charter schools rent for space in city buildings
The city has to decide by around March 1 whether to allow the more than two dozen charter school co-locations that were initially approved by the outgoing Bloomberg administration.
James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, said if de Blasio overturns the co-locations, he will leave thousands of charter school students with an inferior education.
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“Can he look every parent in the eye who expects to send their child to these schools in the fall and say to them, ‘The school that I will now force you to go to is going to be better than the school I am taking away from you?” Merriman asked.
Some charter leaders left the meeting scratching their heads about the mayor’s plans.
“They claim to be taking public input,” Eva Moskowitz, CEO of Success Academy, said in a statement after the meeting.
“However, they haven’t consulted anyone from the charter school community including the parents of charter school students and applicants. We’re totally in the dark as to what they’re even considering.”
akarni@nydailynews.com
Fariña Meets With Charter School Leaders
“This was an open dialogue to hear what they have on their mind, for them to know who I am, a lot of friends in the room,” Ms. Fariña said following the meeting during a brief chat with reporters on a Lower Manhattan sidewalk. “It was a very productive meeting. We shared a lot of ideas and we’re going to continue to dialogue.”
Ms. Fariña — and some of the charter officials who attended the meeting — said there was no policy discussed.
“There were no decisions made today, no statements of policy, but a lot of good will generated, and a really good feeling that there is a lot of things that we are going to find common ground in,” the chancellor said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has come under fire from many supporters of charter schools who say Mr. de Blasio’s administration isn’t supportive of charters. The mayor has discussed charging rent to some charter schools that can afford to pay, and he has voiced concern about charters that are co-located with traditional public schools.
James Merriman, chief executive officer of the New York City Charter School Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping charter schools flourish, described the meeting as “productive.” The meeting was closed to members of the media.
More than two dozen space-sharing arrangements for charter schools – known as co-locations – were approved by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration last year, and the de Blasio administration has yet to say publicly whether it will move forward with them.
Mr. Merriman said he had a direct question for the mayor: “Can he look every parent in the eye who expects to send their child to these schools in the fall and say to them, ‘The school that I will now force you to go to is going to be better than the school I am taking away from you and that is your choice?’”
Mr. Merriman said “not a single” co-location should be rolled back. “It is now time to let those schools open their doors,” he said.
Mr. Merriman declined to say whether he articulated that message directly to the chancellor. He said he didn’t know how the administration would rule on the pending co-locations. He said he believed the mayor, not the chancellor, would make the final decision on this issue.
As charter officials exited the meeting, one after another described the meeting as positive and productive. One official said there was a purposeful avoidance of policy talk.
In an email, Eva Moskowitz, CEO of Success Academy, said she hoped the chancellor will, moving forward, convince the mayor not to “evict” thousands of children from their schools.
“There is a lack of transparency in their decision-making regarding reconsidering charter school co-location,” she said. “They claim to be taking public input. However, they haven’t consulted anyone from the charter school community including the parents of charter school students and applicants. We’re totally in the dark as to what they’re even considering.”
Ms. Moskowitz’s critical comment was a stark departure from the remarks of the chancellor and the other officials who attended the meeting.
Ms. Fariña told reporters the meeting was “about how do we work together, how do we lessen the rhetoric around the stuff that’s happening now and moving forward it’s a new day.”
Asked what her message is to members of the public who are skeptical of whether the de Blasio administration is supportive of charters, Ms. Fariña said, “My message to the public is that all New York City children are our children and whatever we do to work together makes life better for everybody.”
Eva Moskowitz is especially worried about her Success Academy City Hall*:
"Demand for great schools far outpaces supply; there are waiting lists at schools across Lower Manhattan and many of the strong schools are overcrowded. In recent years, one elementary school building on the east side of Lower Manhattan has been operating at more than 200 children over capacity. Not every building, however, lacks space. The Murry Bergtraum facility on Pearl Street — where Success Academy City Hall* will open in August 2014 — has hundreds of seats opening up during the coming years. A desirable new school at this site will attract families from the overcrowded zones, alleviating the incredible burden on those school communities.
Gifted and Talented programs are a wonderful option but can be out of reach, and many families cannot afford to move out of the city or pay private school tuitions. Parents in Lower Manhattan deserve as many affordable options as possible.
Success Academy City Hall* is opening to meet parent demand and provide families with one more excellent school option."
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| Eva Moskowitz |
Eva Moskowitz is especially worried about her Success Academy City Hall*:
"Demand for great schools far outpaces supply; there are waiting lists at schools across Lower Manhattan and many of the strong schools are overcrowded. In recent years, one elementary school building on the east side of Lower Manhattan has been operating at more than 200 children over capacity. Not every building, however, lacks space. The Murry Bergtraum facility on Pearl Street — where Success Academy City Hall* will open in August 2014 — has hundreds of seats opening up during the coming years. A desirable new school at this site will attract families from the overcrowded zones, alleviating the incredible burden on those school communities.
Gifted and Talented programs are a wonderful option but can be out of reach, and many families cannot afford to move out of the city or pay private school tuitions. Parents in Lower Manhattan deserve as many affordable options as possible.
Success Academy City Hall* is opening to meet parent demand and provide families with one more excellent school option."
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