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On Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered an olive branch to the charter-school movement. If he wants to quickly show he really means it, he should back the effort to let charters offer pre-K.

Nothing could show acceptance better than welcoming these alternative public schools into his signature effort. And nothing would better improve his pre-K initiative.

State law now excludes charters from publicly funded pre-K programs, but the issue is one of many now on the table in budget talks in Albany.

In January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s education-reform task force called for letting charters offer pre-K. De Blasio said he was open to the idea, but his current pre-K implementation plan excludes charters.

That’s puzzling, when the plan would let hundreds of community-based organizations — churches, yeshivas, YMCAs, community centers — offer pre-K services. (About 60 percent of publicly funded pre-K seats in the city now are in centers run by community groups; 40 percent are in public schools.) Essentially, the only nonprofits in the city not permitted to offer pre-K are charter schools.

The city’s existing pre-K programs are all over the map in terms of quality; many community-group centers have been cited for safety concerns. Charters, on the other hand, typically outperform district schools and are subject to scrupulous oversight.

When Mayor de Blasio testified in Albany about his pre-K plans, state Sen. Ruben Diaz quizzed him on the exclusion of charters. De Blasio noted that a couple of charter operators — Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone and the PAVE charter school in Red Hook — have set up separate nonprofits that contract with the city Education Department to offer pre-K.

While this is true, it’s disingenuous to assert that charters can easily offer pre-K. Setting up a separate nonprofit — with its legally required separate board, staff and finances — is difficult and time-consuming. (Plus, the IRS has a two-year backlog for reviewing nonprofit applications.)

State Sen. John DeFrancisco also challenged the mayor on the exclusion. De Blasio dodged, “Until we have a law change . . . I don’t want to speculate.” But the state’s charter-school law was amended in 2007 and 2010 and 2012; it would be very easy to adjust it again.

Charter leaders recognize the importance of early-childhood education. Success Academy, the city’s largest and most successful charter network, has a particularly broad, content-rich early-childhood curriculum that is very well aligned with the Common Core. It’s also very successful: 83 percent of Success third-graders were proficient in state tests in math last year, 61 percent in English.

Another charter network, Public Prep, is launching the Joan Ganz Cooney Early Learning Program, named after the pioneering co-founder of “Sesame Street.” Public Prep hopes to be able to offer this innovative full-day pre-K this fall to exclusively serve low-income 4-year-olds living in South Bronx public-housing projects — a population in desperate need of great, tuition-free education options.

But, as Public Prep’s CEO Ian Rowe notes, “It has been incredibly difficult. Public charter schools should be part of an all-hands-on-deck approach to increase access to high-quality pre-K, particularly for families in low-income communities. Why wouldn’t we be?”

A good question, the answer to which surely has a lot to do with the fact that teachers at most charters aren’t part of the union.

The Senate budget proposal would right this wrong and allow charters to offer pre-K services. Indeed, it’s just common sense to include charters — some of the highest-performing schools in the city’s neediest communities — in the mission to expand pre-K.

But common sense doesn’t always survive the sausage-making in Albany. That’s why Mayor de Blasio can send a truly meaningful pro-charter signal by embracing this reform.

As the parent of three school-age children, I have been witness to how rare a good school with dedicated, caring teachers is for children in many of New York’s neighborhoods.

Indeed, most of our cities are filled with failing schools, and too many futures have been stolen from New York’s children.

That’s why I’ll be traveling to Albany this Wednesday to stand with thousands of others in the state Capitol to make the biggest, boldest push yet for an end to this state’s failing-schools crisis.

Every parent has a reason to stand with us on Wednesday. Here’s mine.

I used to live in Yonkers. Three years ago, when my daughter Carisma was ready for kindergarten, I enrolled her in the local district school. A few months later, I moved to The Bronx, but I kept Carisma in the Yonkers school because I heard that schools there were better than schools in The Bronx.

At first, everything seemed fine. But when my daughter was in first grade, her teacher wrote me that Carisma was going to be held back because she was performing below standards.

I tried to set up appointments with the teacher, but it was difficult to find time when she could talk. When we did manage to sit down, the teacher would only tell me that Carisma was shy and didn’t speak up in class.

She couldn’t tell me why or what they could do for her. They couldn’t help her, even though she wasn’t doing well.

I wish every parent could experience what happened to me next.

I applied to Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School, but Carisma was wait-listed. Fortunately, last year, my daughter Leilany got into kindergarten at Girls Prep, and thanks to sibling preference, Carisma was accepted as well.

I saw the difference instantly. Three weeks after Carisma started second grade at Girls Prep, I could see a more confident, educated child who suddenly had a sense for what was possible in her future.

Carisma is now in third grade and doing phenomenally well. She’s one of the top girls in her class, and her teacher can’t even believe she’s only been at Girls Prep for one year.
Her teacher doesn’t know what it’s like to be a child in a failing district school.

Girls Prep is the sort of school every child should have the chance to attend. I’m fortunate that my two girls and my son, Lucian, who is in Public Prep’s pre-K program, found seats in such great schools.

Yes, my children are in a good place. But what about other kids?

That’s why I’m going to stand with thousands of people in Albany at Wednesday’s rally to demand an end to this failing-schools crisis.

All children need good schools. As parents, it’s our job to do everything we can to make sure great options are available for everyone’s kids.

We can’t leave our children in failing district schools — we have to expand the number of charters to give New York’s students a chance.

In The Bronx alone, 65,000 children are stuck in failing schools. Citywide, 800,000 children in grades 3-8 are unable to meet grade standards.

Every one of those kids deserves a good education across the board, just as mine do. It’s unfair that some children can’t go to a good school just because of the neighborhood or the ZIP code they live in.

It will be cold on Wednesday, but the thousands of parents, students and educators will be there to send a clear message to the governor and Legislature: New York’s failing-schools crisis ends now.

@Berkeley College @PublicPrep #STEM


Amber wants to be a veterinarian. The 9-year-old lights up when she sees a microscope and talks excitedly about her four pets. But young girls today face a looming STEM gender gap. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Amber’s school, Girls Prep Lower East Side, is doing something to support her dream. In March, Girls Prep on the Lower East Side and in the Bronx will host the Ultimate Pi Day 5K, a fundraiser to support the school’s STEM programs and encourage its students to pursue these areas of study. Berkeley College joined Girls Prep in its mission on February 20, when it invited the elementary and middle school students for a college tour and training session with its New York Cross-Country team. “When I was younger, I could run a 100-yard dash, but these girls are planning to run three miles,” said Adam Rosen, PsyD, Berkeley College Cross-Country Coach, New York. “Community involvement is very important for Berkeley College as well as for our Cross-Country team, so when we heard about the Pi Day race, we knew right away that we wanted to get involved.” The Berkeley College team also gave the girls a lesson in motivation, showing a video about Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old athlete who swam from Cuba to Florida in 2013. “Whether it’s running or doing well in school, you need to be determined to be successful,” Dr. Rosen told the girls. Saranjeet Bhamra, a Berkeley College runner, was excited to share her story with the students. “I felt running changed my life,” said Ms. Bhamra, who was recently named to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National All-Academic team for both her academic and athletic achievements. “It takes hard work, but if you have a goal, then you have a clear path to your future.” Louisa Frick, a Development Associate with Girls Prep, said she was thankful for the opportunity to visit Berkeley because it helped to demystify the college experience for the young students. “From an early age, we focus on college readiness,” Ms. Frick said. “But by coming to a college campus and meeting the people here, it shows our students this is something they can do. They can picture themselves here.” Dallas Reed, PhD, Berkeley College Vice President, Student Development and Campus Life, agreed. “Providing young, vibrant minds with the opportunity to experience a college setting plants seeds of endless possibilities,” she said. About the Girls Prep Ultimate Pi Day 5K The Girls Prep Ultimate Pi Day 5K is an opportunity to run 3.14 miles on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 am (celebrating the first 10 digits of Pi). The 5K will be followed by a Kids Run at 10:30 am, against the stunning views offered on Roosevelt Island. Fundraising will help Girls Prep public elementary and middle schools to develop the next generation of female mathematicians, technologists, engineers, and scientists. Click here for more information. About Berkeley College A leader in providing career-focused education since 1931, Berkeley College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and enrolls approximately 8,000 students – including more than 900 international students – in its Baccalaureate and Associate degree and Certificate programs. The College has three New York locations – Midtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and White Plains. In New Jersey there are six locations – Woodland Park, Paramus, Woodbridge, Newark, Clifton and Dover. Berkeley College Online® serves a global population. Programs are offered in more than 20 career fields in the Larry L. Luing School of Business, the School of Professional Studies, the School of Health Studies, and the School of Liberal Arts. The website address is www.BerkeleyCollege.edu. Photo Caption A: Amber, a third-grade student at Girls Prep Lower East Side, stretches with the Berkeley College New York Cross-Country team in preparation for the Ultimate Pi Day 5K to support women in STEM. Photo Caption B: Berkeley College runner Saranjeet Bhamra (far left) takes a selfie with the visitors from Girls Prep.

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