Fostering Innovation and Choice by Reforming Our Schools

• Read a Stanford University study about the achievement gains made by New York City charter school students (PDF)
• View a New York City Charter School Center issue brief about the need for additional charter schools in the City (PDF)
• Read about the Obama Administration's groundbreaking Race to the Top initiative

Home to more than 1.1 million students, the New York City public school system has become the center of the education reform movement in America. A key reform implemented by the Department of Education has been welcoming a new wave of charter schools into the school system. In turn, charter schools have become laboratories of innovation, allowing teachers and administrators to test and hone new approaches that are raising student achievement levels. A Stanford University study found that students who won lottery seats allowing them to enroll in Harlem charter schools made major gains in closing the achievement gap with students in Scarsdale, one of the nation's wealthiest districts.²

Burdensome state laws, however, still stand in the way of opening more charter schools in New York City. State caps on the number of charter schools that are allowed to operate in New York have stalled the expansion of charter schools to more neighborhoods across the City -- while leaving tens of thousands of New York City families stuck on waiting lists. Last year, more than 40,000 students applied for only 8,500 available seats in charter schools across the City.³ Even as the Obama administration's groundbreaking initiative -- Race to the Top -- encourages states to lift their caps on charter schools, Albany has been slow to respond. To secure the future of our public schools, New Yorkers must work with their legislature to lift the charter school cap and ensure that the next generation of New Yorkers can take full advantage of every opportunity for a world-class education.

1. New York City Charter School Center, "The Class Ceiling," November, 23, 2009, available here
2. Hoxby, Caroline M., Sonali Murarka, and Jenny Kang. "How New York City's Charter Schools Affect Achievement, August 2009 Report." Second report in series. Cambridge, MA: New York City Charter Schools Evaluation Project, September 2009.
3. New York City Charter School Center, "The Class Ceiling," November, 23, 2009, available here