Charter Schools’ Impressive Track Record Ignored by Mamdani

NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani sidesteps charter school leaders’ meeting request

Has New York City’s incoming mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, just given a cold shoulder to the folks educating over 150,000 kids in charter schools?

Despite a formal plea from 19 charter school leaders to sit down and hash out ways to support needy students and tackle affordability, Mamdani has yet to even acknowledge their request, leaving these educators in limbo as they seek collaboration with his administration, as the New York Post reports.

On Dec. 1, these leaders sent a written invitation proposing a meeting on Dec. 12 at Ember Charter School for Mindful Education. So far, it’s been crickets from the mayor-elect’s camp.

Let’s lay out the numbers: over 150,000 students attend 285 charter schools across the five boroughs, making up one in six publicly funded students in the city.

In the 2024-25 school year, charter students outperformed their traditional public school peers on state exams, with 67.5% proficient in English Language Arts and 68.6% in math, compared to 56.3% and 56.9%, respectively. In The Bronx, schools like Success Academy and Zeta posted pass rates up to 25 points higher than nearby district schools.

Success Academy also nabbed second place in ELA with 92%, just a hair behind a wealthy suburban district. Yet, despite these achievements, Mamdani didn’t include a single charter sector voice on his transition Committee on Youth & Education, one of 17 teams with 400 members.

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