Introduction

New York state was late to the charter school scene. The state law authorizing charter schools -- independent public schools that are publicly financed and accountable yet free of bureaucratic constraints -- passed in December 1998, making New York the 36th state with a charter school law.

Since that time, 50 public charter schools have opened statewide, including more than two-dozen in New York City. That is only a small fraction of the total number of schools in the city, but the school system has plans to open 50 more charter schools during the next five years.

Charter schools in the Big Apple deserve a close look not only because New York has more public schools than any city in the country, but also so that we can learn whether and how such a ground-breaking reform idea can have an impact in the largest school system in the country. This study reveals impressive early achievement results in charter schools across New York City and New York state. Moreover, charter schooling has led to the creation of schools that are able to capitalize on the rich community resources of New York City -- even while being held to higher accountability standards under the New York charter school law than other public schools.

Beyond improving student learning in individual schools, New York City charter schools act as "seeds of change" for the entire school system in a variety of ways, some planned by school system officials and some unexpected. Examples include an innovative new charter school labor agreement, and charter school accountability requirements that push schools to analyze student achievement data to expose weaknesses in instruction and governance. Both of these models are beginning to influence districtwide labor negotiations and accountability requirements for all schools.

The New York City charter school story also reveals a necessary ingredient for driving system-wide change: strong district and union leaders who recognize that charter schools are what they make of them. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein recognize the potential for charter schools to infuse the school system with entrepreneurial energy and ideas and bring a unique combination of flexibility and accountability to a highly bureaucratic system. Klein and Bloomberg have begun to tackle the funding inequities, facilities shortages, and other challenges that are barriers to successfully starting charter schools within the city and statewide. Equally important, and unusual, is the fact that New York City's teachers union did not oppose Klein's charter school initiative -- and the head of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Randi Weingarten, has expressed interest in starting a union charter school.

New York City's record shows how urban school district leaders can take a sophisticated and thoughtful approach to a reform tool instead of responding defensively or antagonistically, as some have in other cities. For urban school district leaders interested in using charter public schools as a strategy for improving student achievement, New York City's experience with charter schools makes it clear that it is not enough to simply solicit applications for new charter schools and then let them prove themselves. School districts and other charter school authorizing agencies must also:

• Reorient their central offices to fairly fund and effectively oversee independent public schools;
• Find ways to help create independent organizations to provide specialized facilities and technical assistance that school district central offices cannot or should not provide;
• Integrate charter schools into the overall school improvement strategy for the district by planning for how charter schools can replace or provide alternatives to failing schools;
• Be willing to close charter schools that do not meet the goals of their charters; and
• Make sure there are good alternative opportunities in other public schools for students displaced when a charter school closes.

The charter school movement in New York City also makes clear that urban districts cannot effectively use charter schools as a reform strategy without changes to state charter laws. Most state charter laws, including New York's, were not designed to support or promote systemwide chartering; they were crafted as compromises among interest groups primarily to get a number of charter schools up and running to demonstrate their potential. Now that the potential is clear, the next wave of state charter laws should:

• Ensure that state policies encourage the creation of new charter schools by allowing authorized agencies to charter enough schools to reach all students in need of alternatives to traditional district schools; and
• Increase the capacity for charter schools to be successful for the most challenging student populations by providing equitable funding for charter schools and expanding access and funding for facilities.

In the vast system of the more than 1,300 New York City public schools, charter schools are still just isolated examples of innovation and success. Successful integration and impact there and in urban districts around the country will depend on savvy, strategic district and state charter school policies that recognize that seeds of change cannot flourish without nourishment and cultivation.