As a large charter school network promotes its expansion to the Upper West Side, traditional neighborhood schools are working to remind parents of the preexisting options for families entering the system.
Increasing tension around charter schools suffused a District 3 Elementary School Fair on Saturday afternoon at P.S. 165 on 109th Street, where parents and teachers from public schools across the Upper West Side and Harlem spoke to parents searching for the right kindergarten for their children.
“To say we don’t have choices is absurd,” said Noah Gotbaum, president of the district’s Community Education Council, who estimated that at least 500 parents showed up at the fair. “We have a lot of really good schools here.”
The CEC has clashed recently with the Success Charter Network, which runs charters—publicly funded schools that are operated by private boards—throughout the city. The Network is currently expanding with the opening of the Upper West Success Academy in the fall, and its search for space in local school buildings has been contentious.
Proponents of the charter school system argue that they provide more options for families who can’t afford private schools, while some in the traditional system counter that the growth of charter schools is taking away resources and high-performing students from neighborhood public schools.
The fair on Saturday was an opportunity to make families aware of their options—an important outreach effort, organizers said, in light of Success Charter Network’s visible advertising campaign, which emphasizes a demand for more choice among local schools.
“We want to promote our district schools,” said Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, president of the District 3 Presidents’ Council. “This is a statement that we are thriving. … We are all tired of this idea that we need more choices.”
Brett Gallini, the principal for P.S. 165, said he has been extremely impressed with the quality of the teachers at his school, and the fair is a chance to show parents that these traditional schools can work.
“They have viable options in public school,” he said. “They don’t always have to turn to private schools or charters.”
Jenny Sedlis, director of external affairs for the Success Charter Network, said in response that there is a great need in the neighborhood.
“Parents across the Upper West Side have made clear that they want more school choices,” she said in an email on Sunday. “Upper West Success Academy has more than 600 applications.”
For some parents in attendance, the whole process simply seemed overwhelming.
“I feel like I’m trying to get my four-year-old into college,” said Diana Henry, whose son Justin will start kindergarten in the fall. “It seems like so many kids are applying to the same seats.”
Several international families in attendance said they were just trying to understand how to navigate the New York City school system.
Alessandra Dolcetti, a parent from Italy, said she wished the process wasn’t so stressful. “It’s too competitive starting too soon,” she said. “It’s frustrating you have to think a year in advance.”
“It’s too much pressure on the children,” Dolcetti added. “To me, it’s absurd.”
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