The view of of the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River from Manhattan on Apr. 20, 2013. © CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(New York, NY) – In a bid to express the plight of charter schools in New York City, more than 15,000 school kids marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. Organized by The Success Academy, the city’s leading charter network, it was billed as the “Rally and March for Excellence.”
The students all loaded into buses and headed toward Cadman Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn. And from there, around 9:00 AM, the group walked toward and over the Brooklyn Bridge. Billed as a non-political event, it also comes at a time when Zohran Mamdani — the leading candidate for mayor in most polls — has expressed opposition to charter schools.
The Success Academy canceled classes so students could participate. In an email sent to Eyewitness News, CEO Eva Moskowitz wrote: “Unfortunately, anti-charter forces are powerful and we have had to fight for everything we have achieved over the past 20 years. There are currently serious threats to the educational excellence your child deserves.”
In all, just under 240 schools participated. Mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, a noted supporter of charter schools, was there. Given the non-political nature, he did not deliver comments. But the Republican said: “I was proud to attend the ‘Rally and March for Excellence’ at the Brooklyn Bridge. Parents must be able to put their students in schools that will better help their child’s education. At a time where student outcomes are failing because of DOE’s failures, school choice matters more than ever.” He also vowed to end the charter school cap and expand high-performing charters, especially in underserved areas, support co-location of charters in underutilized public school buildings, promote transparency and accountability for all schools receiving public funding traditional or charter, and incentivize collaboration and sharing of best practices between district and charter schools.”
Earlier this week, Independent candidate for Mayor Andrew Cuomo said of charter schools: “There is tremendous support.. (from) tens of thousands of parents…and the logic is inarguable.”
For those in opposition to charter schools, the argument is they tack taxpayer dollars away from traditional public schools. Teachers unions have long been opposed to them, given they prefer hegemonic control over the education system. Still, around 15% of the city’s publicly-funded schools are charter schools — 286 in total — servicing over 150,000 students. Those numbers are per the NYC Charter School Center.
