In this article published at The Daily Kos, the writer describes Bill de Blasio’s forceful demand for a moratorium on new charter “co-locations.”
As the author explains, “co-location” is a euphemism for a hostile appropriation of public space, which is given rent-free to private charter operators, some of which have billionaires on their board.
When a charter school is “co-located” with a public school, “Kids attending then ‘co-located’ neighborhood schools are kicked out of their classrooms and forced into yet more crowded classrooms. Charter schools don’t pay rent, often get the best facilities, and cherry pick the use of ‘shared space’. They often reject students who don’t fit in their managers’ model of the right sort of student.”
He writes:
The charter school movement was originally a progressive idea – let local parents try to build local alternate schools. Let a thousand classrooms bloom. Fair enough.
But this nice warm hippy concept has been hijacked and industrialized and capitalized and even securitized by the neo-cons. Bloomberg (not parents) led the push for charter schools here. His cronies at the Department of Education led the revolution from above. By last year there were 125 elementary and middle school charter schools in New York City. Charter schools now account for over 5% of NYC’ students. But parent demand didn’t create these schools; all were manufactured by administrative fiat. And almost none of these schools were built anew – the space was stolen from neighborhood schools.
And he adds:
Actually almost all parents would choose the same thing – a sound neighborhood school. And by subsidizing charter schools Bloomberg diverted billions of Dollars that could have made neighborhood schools stronger.
The promise of charter schools was that their existence as an alternative would give parents a choice. The theory was that management of existing system would make improvements to compete with the new schools. But in NYC parents aren’t really given a choice. Billions of dollars of real estate has been expropriated from neighborhood schools and given to Charter Schools. The neighborhood schools are robbed in a deliberate effort to make the Charter Schools seem more attractive. It’s only natural that when given the choice between a starved carcass of a neighborhood school or an a shiny new floor in a charter school, some parents choose the latter. Bloomberg has his thumb on the scale. He has sabotaged neighborhood schools, not strengthened them.
If de Blasio is elected and follows through on his promise to be a mayor for all the children–especially the neglected 95% who do not attend charter schools–he could become a national leader in the fight to restore sanity and common sense to education policy.
The writer says:
De Blasio could be New York City’s next Mayor. He can use the office to not only reverse Bloomberg’s failed educational policies but as a national podium. He can fight to end NCLB, to end the “Reign of Testing Terror”, to end the misuse of Charter Schools, and for reasonable universal pre-k.
DINOs like Rahm Emanuel and NY Governor Cuomo still think they should talk about closing failing schools. Neighborhood schools are being closed in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, etc. Maybe if New Yorkers elect de Blasio we can also send a message to Congress and Education Secretary Arne Duncan and President Obama.
