NY Success Academy Charter Will Send 9,000 Students To Pro-Charter Rally. Close school for day.

Crossposted in General Discussion.

NYC Charter School Group Will Send 9,000 Students To Pro-Charter Rally


21,000 people attended a New York City pro-charter rally last year. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Andrew Burton / Getty Images

School will be closed tomorrow for 9,000 students at Success Academies, New York City’s most prominent charter school chain. Instead of class, the charter schools — which operate as government-funded public schools — will bus their students to Albany for a political rally that happens to coincide with the lobbying day of the school’s biggest foe, the United Federation of Teachers.

The move to shut down schools drew criticism last year, when Success first sent its students to an political rally that had been scheduled to clash with a rally a few blocks away held by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had opposed the expansion of Success. And like last year, attending the rally is essentially the only option for for students: the schools aren’t providing alternative childcare. (Success told Capital New York that teachers, who are also required to attend, will instruct students on the bus.)

“I still have a deep belief that no public school system should be closed for a political rally,” said Daniel Dromm, a New York City council member. “These students and parents don’t have a choice.”

....But its use of students in political protests has some questioning its approach. “They’re doing this to get a show of numbers,” said Councilman Dromm. “If we were to close New York City public schools, we could bus in a million people, but we have an educational philosophy that says we don’t do that.”

Eva Moskowitz and her Success Academies had a recent fundraiser that drew big money and big names.

NY's Success Academy charter has 7.75 million fundraiser. Erik Prince, Campbell Brown, Jeb Bush

Members of the mega rich and politically powerful gathered together last night at Cipriani to distort the truth, bash unions, shower each other with praise and raise $ 7.75 million for education entrepreneur Eva Moskowitz and her ever expanding Success Academy empire. Indeed, Moskowitz who for weeks busied herself acting the helpless victim of evil Bill de Blasio ( while at the same time benefiting from a five million dollar anti de Blasio PR blitzkrieg ) announced that she intends to extend her empire in several ways. “ As of August, Success will have 32 schools and 9,000 students. Four years from now, Success plans to have 55 schools with 21,400 students, which, Moskowitz said, would make it the equivalent of the fifth largest district in New York State and half the size of the Washington, D.C. school system. “

.....Displaying their limitless love for the children of the urban poor were many leading representatives of the occupation that was instrumental in bringing the world to the brink of economic collapse: hedge funders. Indeed, Dan Loeb, of the hedge fund group, Third Point LLC, who is also chairman of the Success Academy board, hosted the event. Jimmy Lee, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co.has this to say of Loeb: “Away from all the business press he gets, I think being chairman of his board and giving his time, not just his money, makes him a role model. You can tell he cares.” According to the report in Bloomberg, “ The event was filled with men and women in the hedge-fund industry, including Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital Management, Joel Greenblatt of Gotham Asset Management, Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital and John Paulson of Paulson & Co. “

.....The key note speaker was no less than former Florida Governor and future presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who did an admirable job pretending not to understand de Blasio’s moral and ethical issues with charter schools — namely, evicting members of the most challenged student population in the city so Moskowtiz could again get what she wanted — along with his usual union bashing.

Nestled into a paragraph listing the holy hedge funders was this little line that sent a chill down my spine: “Also present: Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater USA and former Navy SEAL.”