» Charter School Expansion Leads to UWS Battle

Charter School Expansion Leads to UWS Battle

Sunday, October 31st, 2010

charter-school-protest NY1 reports that a planned expansion of a charter school network to the Upper West Side is leaving many in the neighborhood fuming. The Harlem Success Academies, run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, got the approval on Wednesday to build two more schools on the Upper West Side, but the planned expansion is proving to be a major local controversy. While Moskowitz argues that the new schools will provide more options for parents, especially above 96th Street, but many public school parents and teachers contend that the addition of the charter schools limits space for other kids (especially since one of the schools, Upper West Success, wants to share a building on 101st Street currently occupied by PS 145), and the charter schools don’t offer services for students with special needs. Whether or not those currently fighting the charter school expansion get on board, the schools are proving to be extremely popular, with over 50 families already having applied to the new schools, according to the network, and record-breaking numbers of applicants to existing charter schools in the network. Check out a video of the full story of the brewing charter school controversy or read the full article at NY1. Thanks to tipster @tovahgo for the tip.