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Revision as of 16:06, 7 May 2010 by Nick Levinson (talk | contribs) (Updated links to a renamed article in Misplaced Pages.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) See also: Charter schools in New York

Harlem Success Academy Charter School (HSA) is the foundation of Success Charter Network, Inc. Its students, most of them starting with disadvantages, have been consistently achieving some of the highest test scores in the state. The Academy offers a tuition-free multidisciplinary college-focused education, primarily to upper Manhattan's young children. It is presenting a model to other schools of what is possible.

Growth of schools

The four Harlem Success Academies are a group of charter schools offering kindergarten through fourth-grade education, with plans to add a grade each year until it reaches eighth grade. All the schools are in New York, N.Y., with four schools in Harlem and El Barrio, one to open in the Bronx (tentatively as the Bronx Success Academy), and two or three more planned for 2010.

History and future

The Success Charter Network began in 2006 with Harlem Success Academy 1 and more schools have been opened since.

Future plans include opening 40 schools in total in 10–15 years.

Curriculum

Math and reading are taught via the Success for All methods, oriented to help disadvantaged students, and with reading based on phonics and more balanced reading for literacy in second grade and up.

Science is taught daily, one of the few schools in the nation doing so for the earliest grades. Kindergartners do 135 science experiments.

Teachers

Teachers come from a wider variety of higher-quality colleges than do teachers typically hired for low-income-student public schools and lead teachers must be certified.

Management

Dr. Eva Moskowitz is a founder and the Chief Executive Officer. She earned her Ph.D. in history, was a professor, was the director of the children's literacy program ReadNet, and taught civics at Prep for Prep for gifted children in New York.

She more recently was elected to the New York City Council and became chair of its Education Committee. She led hearings that drew public attention to a shortage of science education, teachers' contract problems, overpaying for purchases, and physical plant neglect. "'She could be looked at as a lightning rod or a zealous advocate,' said Assemblym . . . Keith L.T. Wright, a Democrat who represents Harlem."

In contrast to an earlier contentious public relationship with Mayor Michael Bloomberg when she was chairing the City Council's Education Committee and threatening to subpoena officials, the same Mayor in 2007 praised the Harlem Success Academy for bringing students from behind to ahead of their grades and the Mayor's appointed Chancellor running the public schools, Joel Klein, has appeared at an Academy fundraiser.

Among other leaders, a couple are in Misplaced Pages. Joel Greenblatt, a major donor to a public school who developed a model of school accountability to raise performance, with John Petry founded the Network. Gideon Stein chairs the board of Harlem Success Academy 5.

Each school has its own oversight management team and an operations manager to let the principal focus on academics. Dr. Moskowitz is also serving as the principal of HSA 1.

Friends of Gotham Charter School "provides support finances".

Admissions

Six applications were received for each opening in Spring 2008 and seven for each seat for the 2009–2010 year. The growth in applications even proportionate to a growing number of schools suggests growth in popularity and good reputation among parents.

Local preference favors upper Manhattan's Districts for admissions, which District being dependent on the school being applied to.

Sibling preference is also supported.

Finally, a random lottery is used to select from qualified applicants. A film about the admission lottery has been shown as The Lottery. It was inspired by a 2008 lottery. It is expected to be available on DVD.

Methods

At entry, students are tested so that teachers know from day 1 where to focus their teaching. Evaluation is every 8 weeks. Children are encouraged to be curious and to engage in higher-order thinking, with chess, art, social studies, music, and sports, and to think of themselves as future college graduates. Uniforms and a student contract are part of the expectations given the children.

Tutoring for students who are behind and a chance to study with students a year ahead when they have progressed far enough are offered, which lets teachers teach classes with students more often at similar ability levels. Kindergartners may be taught second-grade math. Tests twice a year begin in kindergarten.

The school day and year are longer, running about 8–9 hours a day and with the school year starting in August. Teachers may help students on Saturdays, if necessary.

Parents are required to read six books a week to their children. Some parents also provide political support countering public schools' opposition to charters. If students are repeatedly late, both the students and their parents must come to school on Saturdays.

"'We never blame children for not learning. If a 5-year-old doesn't do their homework, it's not the 5-year-old's fault. It's the adult's fault.'"

School sizes range from 249 to 530 students per school.

Results

For the end of the 2008–2009 school year, 95% of third-graders passed state English exams, whereas in nearby public schools only 56% of students passed, although a sixth of the public school students are non-English-speaking on arrival and percentage-wise a seventh more than HSA's are eligible for free school lunches, the latter indicating poverty or near-poverty, but whether those disparities are enough to explain the difference in scores is not stated.

In statewide tests of third-graders in 2009 on combined subjects, Harlem Success Academy ranked 32nd out of almost 3500 schools. No student tested beneath basic standards and nearly half the students achieved the highest score (4 on a scale of 1–4). In English alone, no pupil was below standard and nearly a quarter received the top score. In math, no student was substandard and seven in ten got the top score, no school in the state doing better, Harlem Success tying for no. 1. Harlem Success outdid its surrounding district in English by almost 25 percentage points.

One organization gives HSA its highest rating and says a small sample of parents do, too.

Criticism

Controversy is apparently the same as for most charter schools in the city.

Competition for space is controversial but is countered by performance comparisons favoring the charter schools moving in.

Additional funding from businesses and other private donors is not offered on a large scale to most public schools because in most public schools fiscal accountability is diluted, leading to waste or failure to buy. HSA receives less funding per student than zoned schools do.

No union contract is offered teachers; this is also true of most charter schools in the city. This lack is countered by above-scale pay for teachers, paid maternity leave, which is not offered by the union to its members although seven out of eight are women, and gains in flexibility in classroom preparation before students start school and reassignment of teachers according to academic need. However, in any event, being union or not may not be an issue. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union's own Renaissance Charter School in Queens, like the Harlem Success Academy, has achieved high educational results.

Staff turnover may have dropped. Asked about it, Eva Moskowitz said there's "ery lttle problem with turnover", stating that 100 percent of the teachers came back to Harlem Success Academy 2 and 97 percent to HSA 3, and that all of the pregnant teachers also came back. An earlier report suggested it may have been significant then. Whether turnover was higher than under other high-expectation employers was not said.

While some charter schools are said to cherry-pick the best students to begin with, Ms. Moskowitz says HSA does not skim and does serve high-needs students, including offering capabilities for special needs and non-English speakers. In HSA, 18 percent are special education students and 12 percent are English language learners (ELL) (it was unclear from the context whether the percentages referred to the school in which she was being interviewed or to all of the HSA schools) and she expects that the new school in the Bronx will host mostly ELL students. HSA has students who are living in domestic violence shelters, "'lots'" who are homeless, and children of parents who are incarcerated. Three fourths of the students qualify for low-cost or free lunch and breakfasts are provided.

These do not seem to be controversies unique to Harlem Success.

Contact information

Harlem Success Academy Charter School and Success Charter Network, Inc., have their offices at 34 West 118th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10026, with phone as 646 277-7170 and fax as 212 457-5659.

The school addresses, all in Manhattan:

  • HSA 1 (in District 3): 34 W. 118 St.
  • HSA 2 (in District 5): 301 W. 140 St.
  • HSA 3 (in District 4): 141 E. 111 St.
  • HSA 4 (in District 3): 240 W. 113 St.

Other locations are to be opened in Manhattan and the Bronx.

References

  1. ^ Lead teacher job description, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  2. ^ HSA website > Who We Are (scroll down), as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  3. HSA website > Welcome, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  4. ^ Charter School Chief Keeps a Hand in Politics, by Elissa Gootman N.Y. Times, Nov. 3 or 4, 2008, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  5. HSA's website > Donate (15 years), as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  6. ^ Summary of Findings and Recommendations: Application to Establish the Harlem Success Academy Charter Schools 6 and 7, by Charter Schools Institute, State University of N.Y., Sep. 9, 2009 (application recommendation), as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  7. ^ HSA's website > Academics, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  8. ^ HSA's website > At a Glance, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  9. ^ Charter Crusader: Eva Moskowitz, by Charlotte Eichna, exec. editor, in (East Side (Manhattan), New York, N.Y.) Our Town (vol. & no. not found), Apr. 1, 2010, pp. & 10–11 Q&A (title inside is Eva Moskowitz, Charter School Champion) (OurTownNY.com & ManhattanMedia.com).
  10. Visit to Harlem Success Academy Charter School, by Whitney Tilson, Sep. 7, 2007, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  11. ^ Harlem Success Charter Lives Up to its Name; 95% of Third-Graders Pass State English Exams, by Meredith Kolodner N.Y. Daily News, May 8, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  12. Taking on Unions, And Paying a Price, by Lizzy Ratner, in The N.Y. Observer, Dec. 7, 2003, as accessed Jan. 14, 2010.
  13. HSA website > News (scroll down), as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  14. How Is a Hedge Fund Like a School?, by Robert Kolker, in New York (magazine), Feb. 12, 2006, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  15. Former City Council Member Eva Moskowitz Makin' a Bundle at Nonprofit Schools, by Juan Gonzalez, Feb. 27, 2009, as accessed Feb. 28, 2010.
  16. ^ HSA FAQ, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  17. The Lottery Documentary Shows Education Is a Sure Bet ("The Lottery" in single quotation marks in original title of article) (Opinion), by Errol Louis, in N.Y. Daily News, Apr. 29, 2010, as accessed May 1, 2010.
  18. ^ Charter Kids Star: True Story of Lottery Hits Tribeca Fest, by Yoav Gonen (educ. rptr.) (add'l rptg. by Lachlan Cartwright), in N.Y. Post, Apr. 28, 2010, as accessed May 1, 2010.
  19. ^ Mastery at the Harlem Success Academy (with single quotation marks around "Mastery"), by Stephon Johnson, in N.Y. Amsterdam News (possibly vol. 100 & no. 25), Jun. 18–24, 2009, p. 29, Education Today, in ProQuest Ethnic NewsWatch (database) (Full Text - PDF), <http://proquest.umi.com>, as accessed Feb. 16, 2010.
  20. ^ Back to the Classroom, by Adam Dickter, in The N.Y. Jewish Week (Manhattan ed.), vol. 218, issue 35, Jan. 13, 2006, p. 40, in ProQuest Ethnic Newswatch (database) (Full Text), as accessed Feb. 16, 2010 (Document URL (alternative)).
  21. N.Y. State Test Scores, all tests, N.Y. Times, Nov. 10, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  22. N.Y. State Test Scores, for English, N.Y. Times, Nov. 18, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  23. N.Y. State Test Scores, for math, N.Y. Times, Nov. 13, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  24. GreatSchools.org, as accessed Jan., 2010, and Feb. 3, 2010.
  25. Charter Schools and the Opposition, by Maryam Abdul-Aleem, in N.Y. Amsterdam News (possibly vol. 100 & no. 41), Oct. 8–14, 2009, p. 32, Education Today, in ProQuest Ethnic NewsWatch (database) (Full Text - PDF), <http://proquest.umi.com>, as accessed Feb. 16, 2010.
  26. Students at PS 123 in Harlem are Pushed Aside For Charter School Expansion, by Juan Gonzalez N.Y. Daily News, Jun. 3, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  27. More Equal than Others, by Arthur Goldstein, in GothamSchools.org, Jul. 30, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  28. U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, Highest-Ranking African-American in Congress, Honored, by Zale Thompson, in N.Y. Amsterdam News (possibly vol. 100 & no. 14), Apr. 2–8, 2009, p. 17, in ProQuest Ethnic NewsWatch (database) (Full Text - PDF), <http://proquest.umi.com>, as accessed Feb. 16, 2010.
  29. Protests Continue For P.S. 123, by Maryam Abdul-Aleem, in N.Y. Amsterdam News (possibly vol. 100 & no. 28), Jul. 9–15, 2009, p. 32, Career Opportunities, in ProQuest Ethnic NewsWatch (database) (Full Text - PDF), <http://proquest.umi.com>, as accessed Feb. 16, 2010.
  30. The Magic Show, by Jim Callaghan, in New York Teacher, Dec. 11, 2008, on Official UFT website, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  31. Official TRCS website, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
  32. Harlem Success, Unionized Charter Score High as More Data Flows, by Elizabeth Green GothamSchools.org, May 8, 2009, as accessed Jan. 10, 2010.

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