Here in New York, weāre all waitinź¦¬g to see what the incoming mayor and his schools chancellor will mean for charter schools. Whiš®le weāre waiting, it may be worth looking at New Jersey to see how another big city trying to reform its troubled schools is looking at charters.
The city is Newark, and its schools superintendent is Cami Anderson. Her position on charters is clear: She wants to expand them. And her new plan to give parents more optiošns includes making space for charters in district-owned buildings.
Certainly both the need and desire for more choice is there. Today, there are roughly 8,000 Newark students enrolled in charters ā about one out of every four students ā with aānother 10,000 on the waiting list. According to a poll by the Newark Charter School Fund, 71 percent of Newarkās residents wantā¤ more charter schools.
Of course, one thing New York and Newark do have in common is the resolute opposition of the teachers unions and štheir politicians. Anderson was heckled at a recent school-bšoard meeting, and one of the candidates for mayor, Councilman Ras Baraka, will be holding a protest rally Friday against the new plans for expansion.
Weāll be honest: We have doubts about some of the conditions the Newark charters have to accept under Andersonās deal ā primarily, ceding control over admissions to the city. In additāion, not all charters are eš²xcellent; some need to improve.
But it sure is interesting that just across the Hudson, a big-city schools superintendent and thouź¦sands of desperate parents recognize that any hope for improvement begins with healthy, thriving charters.