Success Academy Charter Schools

Success Academy Charter Schools
Location
95 Pine Street, New York, N.Y. 10005 (Main office)
Coordinates 40°42′16.3″N 74°00′22.5″W / 40.704528°N 74.006250°W / 40.704528; -74.006250Coordinates: 40°42′16.3″N 74°00′22.5″W / 40.704528°N 74.006250°W / 40.704528; -74.006250
Information
School type Public charter with public & private funds
Established 2006 (2006)
Founder Eva S. Moskowitz et al.
Status Open
Authorizer Charter Schools Institute, State University of New York
(most schools)
Chief Executive Officer Eva Moskowitz
Staff 2,300[1]
Grades K–12[2]
Gender Both
Enrollment 15,500[3]
Language English (U.S.)
Schedule Mid-August to mid-June
Campus type Urban
Color(s) Orange and blue (logo and uniforms)
Athletics Soccer, Track & Field, Cross Country, Basketball
Tuition Free
Communities served various New York City neighborhoods
Website www.successacademies.org

Success Academy Charter Schools, originally Harlem Success Academy, is a charter school operator in New York City. Eva Moskowitz, a former city council member for the Upper East Side, is its founder.[4][5] According to the New York Post, Success Academy had 17,000 applicants for 3,000 available seats, which resulted in a wait list of more than 10,000 families for the 2017-2018 school year. It has 46 schools in the New York area and 15,500 students.[6][7] Two documentary films, The Lottery and Waiting for "Superman", record the intense desire of parents to enroll their children in Success Academy and charter schools like Success Academy.[8]

History

Eva Moskowitz opened the first Success Academy charter, then Harlem Success Academy, in 2006 with 157 students chosen by lottery.[9] She subsequently opened more schools in Harlem, and then schools in other New York City neighborhoods. The charter schools are funded by taxpayers and philanthropic donations.[10]

In February 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio revoked a number of previously approved charter school co-locations, which are publicly funded but privately run, including those for three Success Academy schools.[11] The decision was reversed in April after New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo stepped into the controversy. The city ended up finding space for three Success Academy schools.[12]

Hedge fund managers Joel Greenblatt and John Petry were founders who helped to recruit Moskowitz as CEO.[13] John Paulson donated $8.5 million to Success Academy in July 2015 to help open middle schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan.[14] The Success Academy Education Institute was formed in Summer 2016, to distribute the network's curriculum and teacher training resources online to educators across the country.[15]

In 2014, New York City charter schools won the right to provide pre-kindergarten, and Success Academy opened its first pre-kindergarten in fall 2015.[16] In 2015, New York City issued a mandatory contract granting its Department of Education oversight over all pre-kindergarten providers.[17] Success Academy did not sign the contract, citing that the city does not have authority to regulate its charter schools. In June 2016, Success Academy canceled its pre-kindergarten program and filed a suit in the State Supreme Court.[18] The appeals court ruled in favor of Success Academy in June 2017, stating that the city could not regulate a charter school's pre-kindergarten programs, while also awarding $720K in back payments to Success.[19][20]

Academics

Success Academy gives four weeks of training to teachers in the summer and regular weekly training in the school year. Principals in the charter network spend most of their time coaching teachers.[21] The State University of New York's Board of Trustees has voted to approve regulations that allow Success Academy to certify its own teachers.[22]

Academics are measured by standardized test scores, and the mostly black and Hispanic students at Success Academy outscore contemporaries in both urban public schools and wealthy suburban schools in the New York City area.[23] According to The Education of Eva Moskowitz, "four times as many African American and Hispanic students pass tests at our schools as in city schools."[24] In New York City, 41% percent of public school students passed state reading tests, and 38% passed math tests. At Success schools, corresponding percentages were 84% and 95%.[25] These scores come from a student group made up of 95% children of color, with families having a median income of $32,000.[26] No new students above the fourth grade are accepted at Success.[23]

The schools emphasize testing, including giving prizes to students, and publicly ranking how well each student does on the practice tests.[23] As of October 2017, Stanford's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) found that Harlem Success Academy students received approximately 137 extra days of learning in reading and approximately 239 additional days of learning in math.[27][28][29]

Schools

Mother Cabrini High School was one of the facilities that the city arranged for Success Academy to move into, and now called Success Academy Washington Heights

Success has 46 schools with 15,500 students from kindergarten through high school, which would make it the seventh largest school district in New York if it were its own district.[30][9]

The Bronx[31]
  • Bronx 1
  • Bronx 2
  • Bronx 3 Lower
  • Bronx 3 Upper
  • Bronx 4
  • Bronx 1 Middle School
  • Bronx 2 Middle School
  • High School of the Liberal Arts—Bronx
Brooklyn[31]
  • Bed-Stuy 1
  • Bed-Stuy 2
  • Bed-Stuy 3
  • Bensonhurst
  • Bergen Beach
  • Bushwick
  • Cobble Hill
  • Crown Heights
  • Ditmas Park Middle School
  • Flatbush
  • Forte Greene
  • Myrtle Middle School
  • Prospect Heights
  • Williamsburg
  • Bed-Stuy Middle School
Manhattan[31]
  • Harlem 1
  • Harlem 2
  • Harlem 3
  • Harlem 4
  • Harlem 5
  • Harlem 6
  • Hell's Kitchen
  • Hudson Yards
  • Hudson Yards Middle School
  • Union Square
  • Upper West
  • Washington Heights
  • Harlem Central
  • Harlem East
  • Harlem North Central
  • Harlem North West
  • Harlem West
  • Midtown West
  • High School of the Liberal Arts--Manhattan
Queens[31]
  • Far Rockaway
  • Rosedale
  • South Jamaica
  • Springfield Gardens

Reception

In 2014, an assistant teacher made a video recording of a colleague publicly scolding a student who failed to answer a question correctly, and tearing up the student's paper. Education experts stated that the teacher's behavior was inappropriate and discouraged learning.[32][33] A 2015 article in The New York Times reported that discipline, social pressure, positive reinforcement, and suspension are applied to students, as teachers are rewarded for better behavior and performance. Former teachers claimed that they quit because they disagreed with Success' punitive approach to students.[23]

Some parents of special-needs students at Success Academy schools have complained of overly strict disciplinary policies which have resulted in high rates of suspension and attempts to pressure the parents to transfer their special-needs children out of the schools. State records and interviews with two dozen parents indicate that the schools failed at times to adhere to federal and state laws in disciplining special-education students.[34]

Statistics gathered by the New York State Education Department show much higher rates of suspension at most Success Academy schools than at neighborhood public schools. School spokesmen have denied improper treatment of any student, and founder Eva Moskowitz has defended school practices as promoting "order and civility in the classroom".[34]

The selection method for admission has come under fire for an "abdication of responsibility" to educate all children within a geographic area. Moskowitz responds by noting that traditional neighborhood schools can "institutionalize housing segregation, making a child’s zip code his educational destiny" while charter schools are tools for "social justice" by allowing parents to choose schools beyond geographic constraints.[13]

Awards and recognition

In 2012, Harlem Success Academy Charter School 1 became the first city charter school to be awarded a National Blue Ribbon.[35] Harlem Success Academy Charter School 3 was awarded a National Blue Ribbon by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015.[36] In 2016, both Harlem Success Academy Charter School 4 and Bronx Success Academy Charter School 1 were awarded National Blue Ribbons.[37]

Success Academy received the 2017 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, an award recognizing the best academic outcomes in the nation for low-income students and students of color. A grant for $250K to support college-readiness programs was also awarded to Success Academy at the National Charter School Conference in Washington, D.C.[38][39] In September 2017, Success Academy was one of the recipients of the Department of Education's charter grants.[40]

References

  1. ↑ "Success Academy Careers". Success Academy. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts – Manhattan". Success Academy. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  3. ↑ "History". Success Academy. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ Kamenetz, Anya (January 30, 2013) "The Invasion of the Charter Schools" Village Voice
  5. ↑ Solomon, Serena (February 20, 2013) Success Academy aims to open 7 new schools Archived 2013-05-08 at the Wayback Machine. DNAinfo
  6. ↑ Perry, Mark J. (24 August 2017). "The amazing, 'eye-popping' success of Success Academy Charter Schools". AEI. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Algar, Selim (6 April 2017). "Success Academy calls for big expansion as wait lists swell". New York Post. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Almond, Kyle (13 October 2010). "Documentaries spark education debate". CNN. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  9. 1 2 Fertig, Beth (September 28, 2016). "Success at 10: Longtime Students Look Back". wNYC. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  10. ↑ "What New York City's Biggest School Reformer Sees in Donald Trump".
  11. ↑ Baker, Al; Hernández, Javier C. (March 5, 2014). "De Blasio and Moskowitz do battle". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Brown, Stephen Rex (April 26, 2014) "City secures spaces for three Success Academy charter schools" New York Daily News
  13. 1 2 Elizabeth Green. "The Charter-School Crusader". The Atlantic (January/February 2018).
  14. ↑ "Hedge Fund Billionaire John Paulson Gives $8.5 Million To Open New Success Academy Schools".
  15. ↑ "Success Academy Charter Schools Plans to Share Curriculum Online".
  16. ↑ "New York Consolidated Laws, Education Law - EDN § 3602-ee. Statewide universal full-day pre-kindergarten program".
  17. ↑ Shapiro, Eliza (16 October 2015). "Pre-K contract sparks new fight between Success Academy and City Hall". Politico. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  18. ↑ Taylor, Kate (1 June 2016). "Success Academy Network Cancels Pre-K Program Amid Contract Dispute". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  19. ↑ Italiano, Laura (9 June 2017). "Success Academy awarded $720K in back payments from city". New York Post. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Taylor, Kate (9 June 2017). "Success Academy Wins Round in Fight Over Preschool Oversight". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  21. ↑ "From Harlem to Capitol Hill, a lesson in producing better teachers".
  22. ↑ Taylor, Kate (October 11, 2017). "Some Charter Schools Can Certify Their Own Teachers, Board Says". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Kate (April 6, 2015). "At Success Academy Charter Schools, High Scores and Polarizing Tactics". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  24. ↑ Moskowitz, Eva (12 September 2017). The Education of Eva Moskowitz: A Memoir. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062449788.
  25. ↑ "Success Academy Students Outscore Every District in New York State on Annual English and Math Exams".
  26. ↑ "Success Academy Wins Award for Closing Achievement Gaps (And Scores Two Victories in One Week)".
  27. ↑ "Charter School Performance in New York City" (PDF). Center for Research on Educational Outcomes. October 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  28. ↑ Brody, Leslie (October 4, 2017). "Study Finds Test-Score Growth at NYC Charter Schools Outpaces District Schools". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  29. ↑ Prothero, Arianna (October 4, 2017). "Charter Networks Show Big Gains Over Other New York City Schools". Education Week. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  30. ↑ "New York Attacks Success".
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Schools". Success. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  32. ↑ Taylor, Kate (February 13, 2016) "At Success Academy School, a Stumble in Math and a Teacher’s Anger on Video" The New York Times
  33. ↑ Haag, Matthew and Zerba, Amy (February 13, 2016) "Experts Discuss the Success Academy Video" The New York Times. The newspaper contacted eight experts with backgrounds in teaching and research to comment on a video of a Success Academy teacher responding to a student because of her math mistake.
  34. 1 2 Gonzalez, Juan (August 28, 2013). "Success Academy school chain comes under fire as parents fight 'zero tolerance' disciplinary policy". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Five city schools earn 'Blue Ribbon' honors for their test scores".
  36. ↑ Disare, Monica (September 29, 2015). "Seven New York City schools earn Blue Ribbon award". Chalkbeat New York. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  37. ↑ "10 NYC Schools Selected as 2016 National Blue Ribbon Winners".
  38. ↑ Chapman, Ben (12 June 2017). "Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy wins $250G Broad Prize, will use money to support college-readiness programs". New York Daily News. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  39. ↑ "The Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools".
  40. ↑ "Education Department Awards More Than $250 Million in Charter Grants; Winners Include Success, IDEA".
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