Thousands of charter school parents, kids to march over Brooklyn Bridge to promote ‘excellence’

Thousands of parents and students from more than 200 charter schools will march over the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday to promote educational choice and “excellence” for New York City families.

The participants include the largest charter school network, Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy, as well families from Ascend, Democracy Prep, Kipp Academy, Uncommon Schools, Zeta and schools that are part of the Black, Latinx, Asian Charter Collaborative.

“Students have a civil right to obtain a quality education. Students and parents should have a choice. They should have excellence,” said Bishop Raymond Rivera, founder of the Family Life Academy charter school network, which will also be at the march.

Thousands of charter school parents and students are set to march across the Brooklyn Bridge in a rally to promote school choice. Gregory P. Mango

“That’s what charter schools provide.”

There are now 286 charter schools serving more than 150,000 students or nearly 15 percent of the city’s publicly funded schools, according to the NYC Charter School Center.

Charter schools are publicly funded, but privately managed by not-for-profit entities. Many of them have non-union staff and have a longer school day and school year than traditional public schools.

Though not billed as a political event, the rally Thursday takes place during the final stretch of the campaign for mayor in which lefty Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani is an opponent of charter school expansion.

Organizers said mayoral candidates were not invited to speak at the event and were discouraged from attending — but Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa said he will show up in support.

Students in a classroom at a Harlem Success Academy — one of the many charter school systems that will be represented at the rally. Stephen Yang

“We need more charter schools,” Sliwa said.

Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent for mayor, approved pro-charter school laws when he was governor.

On the whole, students in charter schools typically outperform neighboring public schools on the state’s standardized English and math exams, particularly in poorer neighborhoods such as the South Bronx.

The Democratic-controlled state Legislature has resisted increasing the cap to open more charter schools in the city despite broad support from parents. Opponents, including the teachers’ union, complain they siphon taxpayer dollars and students from traditional public schools.

Charter school organizers and families held a similar rally in October, 2013, then to protest then mayoral front-runner Bill de Blasio’s doomed plan to make charter schools pay rent to use city school buildings.