Testifying before Congress on Tuesday, the witness deplored “inequality,” championed “disadvantaged” kids and lamented that black males are twice as likely to be out of work as whites.
Who was this radical left-winger? Hint: It wasn’t Mayor de Blasio or inequality author Thomas Piketty.
It was Eva Moskowitz, founder of arguably the city’s most successful charter-school network. And she’s on to something. (Excerpts of her testimony appear on the preceding page.)
“For the majority of African American public-school children,” she says, “the odds for success are daunting. Without the skills and training to become employable, they remain stuck in poverty, unable to support themselves and their families, unable to expect a different future for their children.”
Moskowitz cites compelling evidence to debunk the “myth” that “poverty and race” impede learning:
While 94 percent of the students at her charter public schools are minorities and 75 percent are poor, they consistently rank among the state’s top achievers — outpacing poor minorities in traditional public schools by wide margins.
Charters aren’t magical. Some fail and must be closed. But they are one of the few lifelines for children trapped in failing public schools.
Moms and dads know this. Which is why New York City has 50,000 kids on the charter waitlist, just part of a national waitlist a million long.
Pols like Bill de Blasio say they want to address inequality. How about learning from people like Moskowitz, whose schools prove black and Latino children can achieve in the right environment?