Charter school CEO says 'system failing' as nearly half of New York 3-8 graders not proficient in English
The CEO of a charter school network based in New York City, Success Academy, argued that the system was failing students shortly after New York released its report card for grades 3–8.
"The children are fine. It is the system that is failing to deliver with incredible consequences," Eva Moscowitz said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Moscowitz, a Democrat, called education a bipartisan issue. Her comments came after New York State Education Department’s newly released test score data for grades 3–8, stating that the assessment results showed "meaningful signs of improvement."
The state’s report card shows that 57% of 3-8 graders were deemed proficient in math. Regarding English (or language arts), 53% were deemed proficient.
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When asked what she meant by saying "the system is failing," Moskowitz told Fox News Digital that it’s "complex," involving "politicians, unions and bureaucracies."
"These failing schools go on year after year after year, and the way it works in most urban areas or rural areas, for that matter, people are zoned for schools. And if you live on this side of the tracks, you are zoned for one set of schools, and if you live somewhere else, you have access to better schools," Moscowitz said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New York State Education Department for comment.
Most states restrict parents to schools within their zip code or the school district that presides over their residential area, but charter schools allow parents the option to send their kids to a different school.
Moscowitz, the lead architect of a network of charter schools, previously faced pushback for seeking co-locations of the schools from the United Federation of Teachers as they sought to expand their services to more students. When charter schools are located near public schools, they compete for per-pupil funding as parents are allowed to opt out of sending their children to the neighborhood public school.
Concerns include that the money taken away from traditional public schools could be used to boost teachers' salaries, invest in public school facilities and recruit more teachers.
"We all know that parents move–real estate is very connected to the quality of schools. And so parents who can afford to often move to affluent suburbs in order to escape the bad schools. But people without resources can't do that, and that's why the charter movement is so important, because it finally gives what affluent parents already have: it gives parents a choice, which is so powerful," Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.
Success Academy on Wednesday touted being ranked number one in the state in math for grades 3–8 in recent state test scores, with 96% of students passing. The K-12 charter network also ranked number two in English Language Arts with a 92% pass rate, trailing only a point behind Scarsdale Union Free School District.
Moscowitz told Fox News Digital that they looked at the results of all the schools and compared them to other districts.
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Founded in 2006, Success Academy is the fourth-largest school district in the Empire State. Although Success Academy is a network of charter schools, they consider themselves a "school district" because they serve over 20,000 students and provide district level services.
The charter school network serves an enrollment of 22,000 students that are primarily low-income Black and Hispanic.