An ordinary Thursday saw the Brooklyn Bridge overcrowded with purple and yellow shirts worn by thousands of New Yorkers marching united in pursuit of one common goal: their children’s right to a proper education.
On Sept. 18, over 15,000 families—concerned parents, students, and educators representing over 200 charter schools—marched from Cadman Plaza Park to the bridge with signs that read “Excellence zip code deserves excellence,” and “choice is power,” as they chanted in support of charter schools and their right to exist.
“The change is right here with you,” said celebrity rapper Common, who made a guest appearance at the charter school rally. “Excellence is a civil right.”
Although charter school rallies have occurred in consecutive years, this year’s rally is particularly significant as the upcoming New York mayoral election could impact the overall presence of charter schools in New York for years to come.
Democratic mayoral candidate Zorhan Mamdani has publicly condemned charter schools. According to both The New York Times and New York Post, Mamdani has expressed that he would like to cut charter school funding in efforts to prevent their expansion. Because charter schools are privately run but publicly funded, Mamdani’s proposed policies could directly reduce their programs, resources, and accessibility for students. Mamdani has also been endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers Union (UFT), reinforcing his serious commitment to defunding charter schools.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew told CBS News, “We have to make New York City safer and more affordable for working-and middle-class families. We have to make the jobs of educators more attractive with better pay and benefits, and retain those already doing the work.”
The UFT believes that Mamdani is the perfect candidate for restoring parents’ and educators’ faith in the city’s Department of Education (DOE) and is hopeful that Mamdani’s efforts as mayor will keep public school teachers from leaving the public school system.
With proposed reforms by all mayoral candidates, public school teachers struggle with the difficulty of trying to keep their students on track with the statewide English Language Arts and Math standards due to faulty DOE benchmarks. Public school teachers feel like some of the educational programs aren’t serving the best interests of their students.
“I teach 11th-grade math, and these kids don’t know how to do basic times tables,” said Kayla Fontaine, a 27-year-old 11th-grade math teacher at Channel View School for Research in Queens. “There are a lot of mandated curricula that don’t benefit the students. For example, for math, we have Illustrative Math, which was implemented two years ago. It was found that all the Regents grades went down while using it, and although it didn’t work, the city’s still using it because they put the money into it.”
Fontaine has been a public-school teacher for five years and has seen the persistent lack of effective ELA and math programming available to students. Although this lack of proficiency and programming disheartens Fontaine, she is still a firm believer in public education. Having attended Magnet Elementary School and Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School while being a part of the Talented and Gifted program all her life, Fontaine is hopeful with the right allocation of funds and resources that more students will have access to better public education in the future.
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa wants to strengthen public school education in a variety of ways. Sliwa plans to audit the DOE, cut administrative funds, and redirect funds towards classroom supplies, the gifted and talented program, and teacher retention.
With programs like NYC Reads and NYC Solves, New York City public schools make efforts to increase proficiency among their students, despite many students across the board still struggling with basic ELA and math skills. Charter schools have been many parents’ solutions for combating this lack of proficiency.
Public schools are often under-resourced and understaffed compared to charter schools, which affects students’ academic performance. The Economic Policy Institute reports that the nationwide teacher shortage stems from a mix of factors—from fewer credentialed teachers entering the field to high turnover and rising enrollment—and warns that the crisis is already harming students and the broader education system.
According to a 2022-2023 study led by The Education Trust–New York, only 48 percent of all New York students, grades 3 through 8, are considered proficient in ELA, and only 52 percent are proficient in math. While the typical New York student is under the national average, the data for minority students shows a greater disparity. The national average proficiency in ELA was 45 percent, whereas the proficiency for Black and Latinx third graders was only 29 percent.
According to a study conducted by the New York City Charter School Center, charter schools in NYC have achieved higher proficiency rates than traditional district and state counterparts in both math (66 percent proficient to 53 percent for district students) and in ELA (58 percent proficient to 49 percent for district students).
Some parents say these inequities make charter schools an attractive opportunity for minority families. Charter schools have been seen as a better educational model for minority students; they also provide essential educational resources and services that students can’t traditionally get in public schools.
“The difference between charter and DOE is that most charter schools supply students with supplies that they could use on a daily basis,” said Quinlynd Alleyne, a 29-year-old teacher at Urban Dove Charter School Queens. “[Charter schools] provide uniforms, writing utensils, books, and after-school programs that scholars and their parents obviously don’t have to pay for.”
Alleyne grew up moving between NYC public and catholic schools from K–12 and noticed that, while attending public school, there was a lack of resources that students like him didn’t receive compared to those in charter schools. Now, as a teacher looking back, Alleyne wishes he had more structural and recreational support when attending public school and hopes that every student receives enrichment, despite the type of school they attend.
Former Governor and mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo has been a supporter of charter schools. According to Chalkbeat New York, Cuomo plans on raising the state cap to promote the growth of charter schools. Despite being in favor of charter schools, Cuomo is a firm believer that for some students to excel academically, .
“You want to educate every child, but you want to make sure the children who can excel can excel,” he said in a town hall with the Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE). While politicians dictate which students deserve to succeed, educators recognize that not all students start from the same footing and are troubled by the idea of leaving certain students behind.
“It’s still going to be the haves and the have-nots,” said Norman Lewis, the Dean of Students at Uncommon Charter High School (UCHS) in Brooklyn. “The kids who go to [specialized schools like] Stuyvesant High School and Brooklyn Tech and [other] really good private schools are going to get a better education, and the kids who are self-motivated are going to succeed, and the ones who aren’t are going to fall through the cracks.”
Lewis has served as the Dean of Students at UCHS for 15 years and has praised the educational impact that charter schools have on students, especially from under-resourced communities, compared to other schools. But with the current educational stances of the mayoral candidates, Lewis is anxious about how his students will be affected.
Although Lewis acknowledges the gaps where charter schools fall short, he ultimately believes students should have access to a variety of school options to ensure equal opportunity.
“I feel like we need to have these different systems — private schools, public schools — so that everyone raises the ante,” he said. “Then, eventually, maybe it will all be on equal footing.”
Yet, despite the proven success of charter schools, their future may be at risk. Efforts to reform the DOE could reshape or even limit the role of charter schools after election day, leaving many teachers uncertain about whether the city’s education system can continue to support its deserving students.
