NY Chancellor Says NYC Charter School Movement Built on Accountability

Chancellor Joel Klein, New York Public Schools, addressed attendees of the National Charter School Conference on the second day of the conference. Klein noted early in his remarks that he’s a board member of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Klein said they built the charter school movement in New York on accountability for performance. Charter schools are compared to other public schools serving the same cohort of students. Further, every school gets a letter grade and a report card that parents can understand.

Klein noted that next year the city will have 100 charter schools after having previously been stymied by a cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in New York. Moreover, eleven charter management organizations now operate schools in NY. Harlem has 25 charter schools. Klein proudly said that they gave charter schools public school space because they’re “all our kids.” He went on to say, “If you do great work, we’ll make space for you.”