National Charter Schools Week, May 7-13, will commence the annual celebration of charter schools and our community of educators, parents, students, and leaders.
In conjunction with Teacher Appreciation Week, this year’s celebration will focus on the contribution of charter school teachers and honor seven exceptional teachers with the annual Changemaker awards, recognizing these leaders for using their ideas, talents, and platforms to advance educational opportunity for all. For the entire week, the National Alliance will highlight and celebrate the impactful and life-changing work teachers do for students and communities every day.
National and Statewide Updates
As of this morning, we still do not have a final state budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Yesterday, Gov. Hochul announced a budget extender through April 24 and so negotiations continue. We will keep you abreast of updates as they arise.
Now, more than ever, it is important to send a strong message to our leaders that public charter school students and families matter. We cannot let the needs of 170,000 students fall to the wayside during budget negotiations. Let’s make sure our elected officials hear us! Please sign and share this new letter, available on the NYCSA website. We also ask that you please share it broadly with your school community. The Association values and needs your continued support to advocate on behalf of the charter community!
NYC COVID State of Emergency Extended into May
On April 20, Mayor Adams extended the COVID state of emergency order in New York City by another month. This extension allows NYC schools the option to continue operating under the remote participation rules for public meetings. This includes the allowance for board meetings and public enrollment lotteries to be conducted virtually. The current order extends for 30 days into May and a copy of the order can be found here. As always, other parts of the state, where no local state of emergency has been declared, must abide by the full provisions of the current Open Meetings Law (OML) as explained here. Once the new budget passes, we will share any updates to the OML that may come out of this year’s legislative session.
25th Anniversary Celebration
The Association is excited to invite all of our charter school allies and stakeholders to our 25th Anniversary Celebration of the passage of the New York State Charter Schools Act. In addition to marking this important milestone, we are thrilled to be showcasing the achievements of our state’s charter schools. During the event, we will be honoring former Governor George Pataki along with other elected charter champions. In addition, guests will be treated to a special performance by the talented students from Democracy Prep.
The celebration will take place on May 18, 2023, beginning at 6 p.m. at Inside Park at St. Bart’s (325 Park Ave, New York, NY). You can learn more about the event, as well as how to purchase tickets, by visiting our Anniversary Celebration Eventbrite page. Tickets are selling fast and must be purchased in advance. We encourage you to secure your spot soon for this exciting celebration! Member schools should have received a separate email with a discount code, but you can also email membership at membership@nycharters.net.