Mr. Klein Goes to Albany

City schools Chancellor Joel Klein will spend today in the legislative school of hard knocks lobbying to increase educational opportunities for New York City schoolchildren. He certainly deserves an “A” for effort and he’s showing improvement on vision. The question now is, will the Legislature make the grade?If they want top marks, our representatives in Albany will have to hand in a bill that expands charter-school initiatives throughout the state. When they first allowed these schools – publicly funded institutions that function under special organizing charters free from the administrative confines of the regular public school system – Albany wasn’t quite willing to open the floodgates on much-needed innovation (and competition) in education. So the Legislature allowed only 100 of these schools to organize statewide.Even under those limits, charter schools are already making a difference. New York City currently is home to 32 of them, with another 14 authorized to open but still in the planning stage. All of them are, or will be, situated in what the chancellor’s office describes as “high-needs areas.” And 70% of those charter schools are outperforming their neighboring public-school districts by boasting a higher proportion of students who meet state achievement requirements.Charter schools make these educational gains by allowing both innovation and specialization. One such school slated to open in the fall will feature longer school days and time on Saturdays, and aims to serve 700 students eventually. Another will be geared toward the needs of autistic students and will have a capacity of 28.Despite such tantalizing evidence of progress, charter schools are not universally popular. Manhattan Democrat Steven Sanders, chairman of the Assembly’s education committee, is on record opposing lifting the 100-school cap. An aide to Mr. Sanders tells us that the assemblyman won’t comment on the substance of Mr. Klein’s Albany trip until Mr. Klein or one of the chancellor’s allies actually presents a bill for consideration.While we understand that the Legislature can’t legislate until it has some draft legislation, more enthusiasm is needed in the Capitol. Skeptics are correct that the jury is still out on charter-school performance. A lot of these schools are still relatively new, and measuring educational achievement is a notoriously ticklish business to begin with. But compare that with many of the area’s inner-city public schools, which are demonstrably bad. If the choice is a school whose record is at worst mixed and a school whose record is at best mediocre, city schoolchildren and their parents deserve the right to opt for the former.Mr. Klein’s main concern today will be lifting the charter cap for the city. And if he ultimately succeeds, it will be a major victory for the mayor, education reformers, and, most importantly, students. But that would only be “B-” work for the Legislature. If our representatives want an “A” in education reform, they could do the chancellor one better and lift the arbitrary cap statewide. For an “A” on vision, they’ll need to go for real parental choice through a system of vouchers.

Mr. Klein Goes to Albany

Mr. Klein Goes to Albany

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