They’re headed to Albany.
We’re talking about parents and kids who fear Mayor de Blasio will any day now lower the boom on the New York City’s public charter schools. They are set to march on the Capitol Tuesday to demand a rescue because they know that’s ultimately where the power is.
Good for them. The marchers are praying Gov. Cuomo will prove himself “the students’ lobbyist” he says he is.
They sure need one. Here in Gotham, the mayor’s already banned any future public charter from sharing space with a traditional public school. He says he will also charge some of the remaining ones rent. And rumor has it he will announce, possibly this week, a rollback of previously approved “co-locations” for a number of public charters — which would leave 5,600 kids in a lurch.
It’s a cruel thing to do to children, not to mention the moms and dads who see charters as escapes from the traditional public schools that are failing most of the city’s other schoolchildren. Which explains why 50,000 city kids were on charter waiting lists last year — and why applications for charters are already up 47 percent this year.
What do these parents see when they look at the New York City’s leadership? They see a schools chancellor who says charter kids aren’t her concern. They see a public advocate and City Council speaker who have put their names to a lawsuit to take from charters classroom space they’ve been promised. And they see a mayor who preaches equality for the disadvantaged, but has declared war on the public school model that can deliver it.
On Tuesday the governor and the legislators will see the faces of boys and girls whose lives and futures hang in the balance. They are desperate for a responsible adult to step in so they can remain in schools where they are learning.
They are counting on Andrew Cuomo to be this grown-up. So are we.