A Framework for Consensus: Shared Principles for Charter and District Schools

EDUCATIONAL QUALITY AND EQUITY

Premise: The conditions at all schools – both charter and district schools -- should
provide a quality education for all children.

1. All children deserve class sizes small enough for them to receive individual attention.

2. All children deserve qualified, experienced teachers.

3. Schools that share space should have comparable facilities, equipment, and programs. It is
damaging to children to experience glaring inequities within the same building.

4. There needs to be significant time allocated during the school day for art, music, science,
social studies, gym, lunch and recess, and all schools should meet the state standards for
these subjects.

5. Too many schools are overcrowded. Especially as enrollment is increasing, there needs to
be a much more aggressive capital plan for school construction to ensure that that all children
have access to smaller classes, preK, cluster rooms, intervention spaces, libraries, and gym,
necessary for a well-rounded education.

6. The stringent accountability system imposed by DOE has led to many schools becoming test
preparation factories, rather than places where real learning and discovery takes center place.
As schools strive to raise test scores at all costs, students are being unfairly pushed out from
both sets of schools. This should not be allowed to occur.

7. Special needs students are not receiving the placements, accommodations and services
they need and are entitled to under the law, at both sets of schools. There needs to be far
more oversight and enforcement by the state and the federal government in this critical area.

8. Shutting down schools should be the last step, only following major steps have been taken
by the city and/or the state to improve conditions and management, as this is disruptive to the
educational environment and leaves students and their parents in the lurch.

PARENT RIGHTS AND INPUT

Premise: Parents and communities have been shut out of decision-making at both sets
of schools: in charter schools, there are no school leadership teams; in district schools,
the SLT too often does not exist or is ignored. At the citywide level, policies are
decided and enacted with no input from parents, who are the most important
stakeholders in the system. This needs to change!

1. All schools should have independent parent associations and school leadership teams,
recognized and supported by their schools’ administrations. All schools that receive Title one
funds should have Parent Advisory Committees (PACs), to help decide the use of these funds.

2. There should be a universal parent and student bill of rights, and grievance procedures that
include expedited resolutions in case of imminent harm to children.

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 3. Charter school parents who are PA officers should be encouraged and allowed to join
Presidents’ Councils, and in every district where there are charter schools, one seat on its
Community Education Council (CEC) should be reserved for a charter school parent, to be
appointed by the Borough President.

4. CECs, parents and community members should have a real say into where all new schools are
sited, as well as all parents in existing facilities where schools are to be co-located.

5. Parents should be allowed in the classroom to observe on a regular basis and there should be
vehicles to encourage their involvement in the classroom.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Premise: There is insufficient financial and programmatic transparency at both sets of

schools. All NYC parents and taxpayers deserve full information about how federal, state,
and city education funds as well as contributions from private sources are being spent, and
other critical data about the schools which their taxes help fund.

1. Both sets of schools should be fully subject to audits by the state and city comptroller.

2. The DOE’s utilization formula should be revamped, since it often assumes space in school
buildings when there is none.

3. Charter lotteries should be independently monitored, and district school admissions policies
should be fully transparent.

4.The number and rate of special education, ELL, free lunch, black, Asian, Hispanic and white
students enrolled at all schools should be accurately reported and posted online, as well as their
class sizes, transfer, discharge and student and teacher attrition rates .

5. The complete charter of charter schools, as well as their by-laws, annual financial statements
and audits should be posted online and easily accessible, so parents can hold their schools and
boards accountable.

6. No schools should be run by a profit-making enterprise, and no individual or organization that

manages or operates schools should be allowed to use public funds for electoral or partisan
purposes.

If you agree with these principles as stated, please print your name and information here:

(Name, school, district, email)

Developed by Class Size Matters and NY Charter Parents Association, with the help of charter and
district parent leaders from throughout the city. To provide feedback on this working document, please
email Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters at leonie@att.net.