NYC public schools see drop in enrollment
Vertex Partnership Academies CEO Ian Rowe discusses the transition to charter schools as parents seek high-quality education.
New York City charter school enrollment is booming while public school attendance is tanking, Vertex Partnership Academies CEO Ian Rowe told "Fox & Friends First" on Friday.
Rowe told host Joey Jones that in 2019, there were 81,000 applications for charter school seats, but only 33,000 available spots.
"So nearly 50,000 families who were desperate for high-quality education. Then on top of that, what transpired during the pandemic. You had charter schools spring into action," he said.
Rowe said that charter schools set up Wi-Fi hotspots in housing projects to ensure that children had access to remote instruction in New York City.
REPUBLICANS' CONFIDENCE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS PLUNGED OVER PAST TWO YEARS ACCORDING TO NEW POLL
"We had high-quality instruction, as well as many charter schools, had in-person instruction, obsessed with ensuring that these kids, who are some of the most vulnerable, actually had access to the highest quality education."
New York public schools enrolled fewer students for the 2021-2022 school year, according to Chalkbeat. According to the NYC Independent Budget Office, public school enrollment dropped more than 8% from 2020-2022 while the charter school population grew by nearly 7% in the same period.
Recently, a Gallup poll shows Republican voters’ confidence in public schools has declined significantly over the past two years.
Students and other advocates of charter schools rally in Olympia, Wash., in November. A group of Republican governors is urging the Biden administration to scrap a proposed rule that would make it harder for charter schools to obtain federal funding. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)
"The percentage of Republicans having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in public schools fell from 34% in 2020 to 20% in 2021 and 14% today," a new Gallup poll found.
It also found that independents' confidence has declined nine percentage points to 29% since 2020 and Democrats' have slightly dropped from 48% in 2020 to today's 43%. Gallup’s poll results show an overall decline from 1973 to today.
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Rowe explained that charter schools are public schools, but, they are "run independently" by private entities. He said New York City residents are "voting with their feet" by expressing demand for charter schools over the public school system.
"There are all these incredible entrepreneurs that want to run great schools in low-income communities serving Black and Hispanic kids. Again, our high school will serve almost exclusively low-income kids with a world-class education that you typically only find in private schools."
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