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Mayor Bloomberg Announces Charter School Agenda at Sisulu-Walker Charter School's 10th Anniversary Celebration

Mayor Bloomberg was one of the many prominent speakers at the Sisulu-Walker 10-year anniversary celebration on Wednesday, September 30. The Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem is New York's first charter school and was named after Walter Sisulu, the father of the South African anti-apartheid movement and Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, world-renowned for his work as an advocate for human and civil rights. Held at the historic Canaan Baptist Church, the special occasion highlighted Sisulu-Walker's success over the past decade and praised New York City's charter school movement.

The Sisulu-Walker charter school serves 272 elementary-aged children from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The school's student body consists of 92% African Americans and 87% of the students receive free or reduced price lunch. Six percent of the student population receives special education services.

Mayor Bloomberg acknowledged and congratulated Sisulu-Walker on its accomplishments. The school has outscored the local district, New York City and state average in both English Language Arts and math for five consecutive years. On the 2009 state exam, 84.5% of Sisulu-Walker's third and fifth grade students scored proficient in English Language Arts and 98% of the third and fifth graders scored proficient in math. The mayor also took the opportunity to announce his charter school platform. His initiatives focus on bolstering the number and quality of charter schools in a fiscally sound manner. His main objectives are to:

• Reform laws that hold back charter school growth
• Help create, expand and assist charter schools
• Provide parents with more information about charter schools

The anniversary celebration also marks a turning point in education reform. Charter schools have proven that they are no longer an "experiment." Ten years of successful experience shows that charter schools work and can help make our public school system great.

For a complete description of Mayor Bloomberg's charter school agenda, click here.

THE NEW YORK CITY CHARTER SCHOOLS EVALUATION PROJECT

The highly anticipated Hoxby report on New York City's charter schools has arrived. The New York City Charter Schools Evaluation Project is the second part of economist Caroline Hoxby's multi-year study on charter schools. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, this study reports the positive effect of NYC public charter schools on student achievement rates.

The study methodology and scope involves capturing data on absolute test scores, value added performance, lottery-in vs. lottery-out data and social demographics. It explores how city charter school students' achievement compares to that of students who were equally interested in attending a charter school, but who were either not picked through a randomized lottery or chose to enroll in a district school. Data analyzed for this study ranges from academic years 2000-2001 through 2007-2008.

The study concludes that students who were lotteried-in showed remarkable academic progress overall; students who were lotteried-out made commensurately less progress than their lotteried-in counterparts but made notable progress compared to their traditional public school peers. To demonstrate the impact that NYC charter schools have on student achievement levels, Hoxby's report shows that, on average, students who attended a charter school from kindergarten through eighth grade closed the “Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap” by 86 percent in math and by 66 percent in English. The “Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap” is a term used to compare achievement levels of students from one of the most affluent New York suburbs, Scarsdale, with those of students in Harlem. The study also finds that lotteried-in students who attended a charter high school scored three points higher on their Regents exam for each year they were matriculated in a charter school prior to taking the exam than their lotteried-out peers. For example, a charter high school student taking a Regents exam three years after being in a charter school would score nine points higher.

In evaluating the progress made by charter school students who were lotteried-in versus students who were lotteried-out, the Hoxby report cites potential policies that may have affected such progress:

• Long school year
• Great amount of time devoted to English every day
• Disciplinary policies that offer small rewards/small penalties for student behavior
• Teacher pay based on performance rather than solely based on seniority/tenure
• Mission statement that underscores academic performance over other goals

For more information about this study and to read The New York City Charter Schools Evaluation Project, click here.

MAYORAL CONTROL OVER NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS APPROVED

On August 12, 2009, Governor Paterson signed into law the bill put forth by the Senate to extend mayoral control over the city's 1.1 million-student public school system. In an overwhelming feat, the bill passed in the state Senate unanimously with 47 in favor and only 8 opposed.

Since mayoral control was approved in 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein joined forces to turn around New York City's public schools. Some of the most promising and impactful changes resulting from their efforts include the closure of failing schools, empowering principals, allowing charter schools to flourish, cutting crime in half, paving a clear path for increased test scores and graduation rates, and terminating social promotion. Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein also took great measures in working with the United Teachers Foundation (UFT) to negotiate an agreement by which teachers are evaluated and compensated on a merit-based system.

Evidence of their efforts can be measured by higher scores in standardized tests and increased graduation rates across the city. Governor Paterson affirmed Mayor Bloomberg's success, saying, “The agreement continues the progress made under Mayor Bloomberg over the last several years… Since 2002, students have been performing at higher levels across the board.”

By legislation, mayoral control will continue through June 30, 2015.

MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF NYC PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS PROFICIENT IN MATH

RESULTS SHOW CHARTERS CLOSING RACIAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP

New York City public charter school students outpaced their peers in the city's conventional public schools on the 2008-09 state math exam, scoring 8.9 percentage points higher than students citywide. When compared to students throughout New York State, city charter school students outpaced their peers by 4.3 percentage points.

Most notably, public charter school students in New York City collectively achieved proficiency rates nearly equivalent to white students statewide -- with 90.7 percent of New York City charter school students scoring proficient or better, compared to 92.2 percent of white students statewide scoring proficient or better. Roughly 92 percent of all public charter school students are African-American and Hispanic; about 80 percent are eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch.

Click to view news release and individual charter school results by school and grades.

“The results of this year's math test are a testament to the hard work of teachers, principals, and most of all, students in public schools across the city, and this is particularly true in our charter schools,” said Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. “Charter schools have not only closed the longstanding achievement gap between New York City and the rest of the state, they have also essentially closed the achievement gap that exists between poor, African-American and Hispanic students and their white peers.”

“Taken in conjunction with public charter school students' performance on this year's state English Language Arts exam, it's crystal clear that charters are closing the gaps in achievement and providing some of our most underserved students with the education they deserve,” said James Merriman, CEO of New York City Charter School Center.

STATES'S HIGHEST COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS ON COMPTROLLER V. CHARTER SCHOOLS

The state Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, heard oral arguments in the lawsuit by 15 charter co-plaintiffs against the Office of the State Comptroller to stop the excessive and unnecessary auditing of public charter schools. The New York City Charter School Center and New York Charter Schools Association also are co-plaintiffs and representatives from both organizations attended the Court hearing in Albany.

Our case is grounded on the limitations placed on the Comptroller's auditing power by Article V of the New York State Constitution, as such limits do not encompass charter schools since they are not political subdivisions of the state. Furthermore, we argue that the financial oversight of charter schools by the Board of Regents and the charter authorizer (which themselves can be audited by the OSC), is sufficient. The state is making the case that charter schools are public schools and receive public money and therefore should be audited. The constitutional restrictions are largely ignored in the state's defense of the Comptroller's expansive auditing reach.

Arguing on behalf of the charter school plaintiffs was Joseph F. Wayland of the law firm of Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett, who also argued on behalf of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case before the Court of Appeals. John J. Henry of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna serves as our co-counsel.

Charter schools won the at the trial court level, which was decided last year. This ruling was reversed by the Appellate Division last January.

The outcome of this case is impossible to know and we'll avoid speculation. We are confident in our arguments and very pleased with the hearing today and the work of our co-counsels. The seven-member court is expected to decide the case before the end of the summer – a ruling that will be final.

Please contact the New York Charter Schools Association or the Charter Center if you wish to discuss the case or have any questions. Click here to view legal briefs filed on behalf of Petitioners, Charter schools, State Comptroller and the New York State United Teachers.

CHANGES IN THE CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT THAT AFFECT EXISTING CHARTER SCHOOLS

In addition to the creation of 100 additional charter schools statewide, at least 50 of which must be located in New York City, The Charter Schools Act contains "significant new restrictions and requirements related to the issuance, revision, and renewal of charters."

• Click here for an Official Announcement from the Charter Schools Institute, SUNY
• Click here for a Summary of the Amendments to the Charter Law from the Charter Center