Mike Bloomberg, the media mogul and former New York City mayor, has given Johns Hopkins University for most its current and future medical students, the school and announced on July 8, 2024. The gift will also expand financial aid for students studying several other fields at Bloomberg鈥檚 alma mater. He .

A recently announced $100 million donation to Success Academy charter schools by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will allow the network to move ahead with building a massive K-12 school in the South Bronx, but staffing shortages could prove a major hurdle.

The gift, which roughly matches the entire of the Poughkeepsie City School District, will fund a 300,000-square-foot campus, making it the in New York City history. The facility will create an additional 2,400 seats for Success Academy students and will become one of only a few schools to span all grades from kindergarten through high school in the city. The network does not expect the school to begin enrolling until the 2025-26 academic year, said spokesperson Ann Powell, and will only accept K-4 students unless they are transferring from another Success Academy school.

Success Academy already owns the land, previously a warehouse holding storage units, where they plan to build the new facility. The designs are pending approval from the city鈥檚 Board of Standards and Appeals before the network can break ground. Success Academy, whose 47 schools educate roughly 20,000 students, already has a charter for the new school so it will not run into an issue with the existing state-mandated cap that limits charter expansion in NYC. 

But finding 鈥� and keeping 鈥� teachers to staff the new school may be the bigger deterrent.

A current and a former Success Academy teacher in the Bronx both said that staffing shortages and poor retention had reached dire levels.

Shannon Russo said that at his former Bronx school it sometimes took weeks to replace departed teachers, especially in science and math. While positions were empty, students would sometimes have study hall rather than their regularly scheduled lessons, he said.

鈥淭he biggest problem is just how unstable it was as a result,鈥� Russo told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淜ids couldn’t reliably believe, 鈥業’m always gonna go to science class.鈥欌��

He himself left in February after being moved from associate teacher into a lead teaching role that he felt unprepared to fill. With the school鈥檚 operations staff seemingly moving in and out through a revolving door, he said he felt unsupported in the classroom and in over his head.

His campus has lost 16 of its 58 faculty members since the fall, the network told 蜜桃影视.

Another Bronx teacher, who asked that her name not be used for fear of repercussions at work, said her students regularly come up to her and ask, 鈥楢re you going to stay with us or are you leaving?鈥� 

The teacher, who does plan to depart in June along with several colleagues, called the Bloomberg donation 鈥渢one deaf,鈥� saying it should be used to help already-struggling Bronx schools, not to build a new one. 

The charter network says the new campus will deliver sorely needed learning opportunities to the borough with the lowest high school graduation rate and highest poverty rate in the city. Success Academy schools in the Bronx receive roughly eight applications for every available seat, according to the network.

鈥淲e believe now and have always believed that it was our moral obligation to open more schools given the many children assigned to failing schools in New York City. It might be easier and more convenient for us just to focus on our existing schools, but we don’t believe in that,鈥� Powell wrote in an email to 蜜桃影视. 

The $100 million gift to Success Academy, paired with a donation of the same amount to the Harlem Children鈥檚 Zone, represents some of Bloomberg鈥檚 first contributions toward a $750 million initiative to grow the charter sector nationwide announced in 2021. In mid-April, the billionaire pledged $50 million to NYC charter schools to create their own summer learning programs, which he said was separate from the $750 million.

鈥淥ver the past two years of school closures and remote instruction, the crisis in public education has grown even worse, especially for low-income students who were already falling behind. Expanding access to high-quality charter schools has never been more important,鈥� Bloomberg said in a announcing the gifts to Success Academy and Harlem Children鈥檚 Zone.

Bronx families seeking a Success Academy education frequently are forced to enroll their children in schools in other boroughs, spelling long, tiresome commutes. Koomson Kyere, who lives in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx, said that until his daughter got a seat in a nearby school, his wife used to get on the train with their little girl before 6 a.m. to budget time for the trip to her Manhattan school.

Should the network open a Bronx K-12 campus, its first high school option in the borough, Kyere has no doubts about whether to send his children there, he told 蜜桃影视.

鈥淚f I have the chance I will enroll them 100%,鈥� he said, explaining that the family would be grateful to eliminate the otherwise inevitable commute into Manhattan. 

Their experience with the charter network has been 鈥渆xcellent鈥� he said. His younger daughter is a kindergartener and his elder, now in fifth grade, is at the top of her class and has joined the chess club. Citywide, Success Academy scholars their public school peers on state tests.

The father did note, however, that multiple teachers with whom his older daughter started the year have not stuck around, though said the network has been quick to find replacements.

Staffing woes have plagued schools across the country, with some states mobilizing the National Guard to fill gaps. Schools serving high shares of low-income learners, like the Success Academy campuses in the Bronx, have faced disproportionate challenges.

To remedy the situation, other New York City charter networks, such as Achievement First, are offering a retention bonus for educators who continue through the 2022-23 year. Success Academy has no similar incentive in place for its staff. It does, however, compensate employees who refer job candidates who are hired and stay at least 30 days.

The charter network acknowledged the staffing struggles, but said that the Bloomberg donation is slated specifically for the purpose of opening a K-12 Bronx campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not that we don鈥檛 care about retention,鈥� said Powell. 鈥淏ut it wasn鈥檛 that the gift was for that.鈥�

Andr茅s Anderson spent his early years in the Bronx and now works as a biology teacher at a Success Academy campus in Harlem. His school has seen several employees leave this year, he said, but resources have not been scarce. His classes recently have been dissecting frogs, and he鈥檚 grateful the network allows for the expense. To him, the Bloomberg gift and the new Bronx campus are welcome news.

鈥淭hese kids need a school,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 try to at least get one of our nice and shiny and amazing schools into the Bronx.鈥�

Charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run, for years have been a matter of fierce debate nationwide and in the country鈥檚 largest district. Bloomberg oversaw an explosion of charter school enrollment as mayor, and the sector now serves 143,000 youth, compared to 938,000 in NYC district schools. Charter enrollment rose in the 2021-22 academic year while district enrollment fell, and charter schools serve a higher share of Black, Hispanic and low-income students than NYC Department of Education schools.

Proponents cheer the trend as evidence that families long underserved by their traditional public schools are voting with their feet. Opponents fear that pulling enrollment away from district schools, where the majority of students still attend, drains much-needed resources from the system, which funds campuses on a per-pupil basis.

Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center Law Professor David Bloomfield said the former mayor鈥檚 tactics are the wrong remedy.

Bloomberg’s gift “privileges” an already prosperous charter school network, he said, while lowering his taxes through donations to a nonprofit organization. 鈥淭his is the former mayor of the city of New York who seems to have abandoned the public schools.鈥�

Mayor Eric Adams, Bloomfield predicts, will continue to 鈥渉ave it both ways鈥� by keeping support for charters 鈥渙n a low boil鈥� while also seeking to improve district schools 鈥� though 鈥渋t’s not clear how [long] he can keep that game going.鈥�

To Bronx parent Selena Carrion, there appears to be a concerning pro-charter consensus emerging among the school system鈥檚 key power players. A longtime special educator in the borough, she has watched numerous families switch to charter schools, including Success, only to be disappointed, she said, with a lack of services and what they perceived to be a 鈥渕ilitaristic鈥� culture of behavior and discipline.

鈥淚t worries me that Bloomberg as well as the current mayor and chancellor all seem to be on board with charter school expansion,鈥� Carrion told 蜜桃影视.

Disclosure: Campbell Brown sits on Success Academy鈥檚 board of directors. Brown co-founded 蜜桃影视 and sits on its board of directors.

The effort, called 鈥�,鈥� is meant to help students bounce back from the pandemic鈥檚 lasting impacts, Bloomberg explained in a joint City Hall address with Mayor Eric Adams.

Stalled academic progress through the pandemic is like 鈥渢he educational equivalent of long COVID,鈥� said Bloomberg. 鈥淭he good news is we know how to treat it: extra help and intensive instruction. We’ve got to provide it, and we’re going to start right now.鈥�

The investment bolsters an already ambitious plan for summer learning in New York City. Adams previously announced he is working to expand the city鈥檚 existing summer school initiative, 鈥淪ummer Rising,鈥� from 98,000 children last year to this July 鈥� the largest in the city鈥檚 history. The mayor also plans to for older students from 75,000 to 100,000.

The city鈥檚 Summer Rising program is open to all K-8 students, including those who attend publicly funded charters and private schools, but Bloomberg indicated that charter sector leaders are interested in running their own independent programs.

鈥淭he charter schools wanted to take a chance, take the opportunity to try what they’ve been doing during the school year for the summer schools, which they didn’t have before,鈥� said Bloomberg.

Mayor Adams鈥檚 endorsement of the program from Bloomberg, who announced in 2021 that he plans to spend $750 million to expand charter schools nationwide, represents a break from his predecessor Bill de Blasio, a stark opponent of charter school growth. The announcement marked Bloomberg鈥檚 return to City Hall for the first time in eight years.

鈥淚 am not going to be caught up in the conversation of separating children based on the names of the schools they are in,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淓very young person, whether they are in district schools or charter schools, they deserve to have a quality education.鈥�

The privately funded $50 million sum will cover seats for 25,000 youth at up to $2,000 per student, with grant applications open now through May 4. There are roughly 938,000 students enrolled in traditional NYC public schools and 143,000 attending charters.

鈥淓very school will be eligible and hopefully every school will apply,鈥� explained Howard Wolfson of Bloomberg Philanthropies. 鈥淥ur expectation is that the vast bulk of the applications will be approved.鈥�

Ben Samuels-Kalow, founder and head of school at Creo College Preparatory Charter School in the Bronx, which currently serves fifth through seventh graders and will scale to eighth grade next year, was thrilled by the Monday announcement and said he plans to apply for a grant in the coming days. His school ran a math-intensive summer program last August, a model that he said provided an 鈥渙n-ramp鈥� to the school year, rather than the typical July programming, which can be more on an 鈥渙ff-ramp.鈥�

Should his school receive funds through the Summer Boost grant this year, it will allow Samuels-Kalow to provide additional pay to staff who may be struggling with burnout and fatigue, he said.

鈥淭eachers have had the hardest possible last two years of their professional lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淸This grant] is giving schools the material ability to compensate teachers for their time.鈥�

Having a critical mass of educators on site for summer learning opportunities, the former added, 鈥渋s hugely beneficial for kids and for schools.鈥�

Schools may plan programs that serve up to a third of their total enrollment, with a focus on reaching those who have fallen furthest behind during the pandemic, and can request to expand further if funds are left over after the first round of grants are awarded, according to the initiative鈥檚 .

Summer Boost will offer free professional development and English and math curricula from Lavinia Group, owned by the for-profit teacher education company Learners Edge, to participating schools, though they may use their own curricula if they prefer.

Grantees must test students at the start and end of their programs, which are required to run at least 20 days, said Wolfson. Bloomberg Philanthropies is contributing about two-thirds of the initiative鈥檚 budget and private donors, including the Carson Family Charitable Trust and the Gray Foundation, are covering the rest.

Representatives from the KIPP charter network, which operates 18 public charter schools in the city, declined to comment on whether their campuses intend to take advantage of the Summer Boost program.

School leaders interested in learning more about the program can join one of several offered late April through early May.

Citing the pandemic鈥檚 disproportionate impact on Black, Latino and low-income students 鈥� and reports that charters were quicker than traditional schools to provide virtual instruction during school shutdowns 鈥� Bloomberg鈥檚 statement said, 鈥淐harter schools can help spread opportunity more equitably to students of all backgrounds nationwide.鈥�

With plans to add 150,000 new seats for students, Bloomberg Philanthropies will award grants to new and existing nonprofit, non-virtual charter schools in 20 metro areas, provide funding to launch new models, and support efforts to create more racial diversity among charter teachers and leaders. Grants can also be used to build and upgrade facilities. 

Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which published on the charter sector鈥檚 response during the early months of the pandemic, called the news encouraging and 鈥減otentially transformative.鈥�

鈥淭he evidence base continues to build showing that urban charter schools are highly effective, and that their growth has positive impacts on students in nearby traditional public schools as well,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the closest thing we have in education to a win-win proposition. Thank you, Mayor Mike.鈥�

As New York mayor from 2002 to 2013, Bloomberg supported exponential growth in the city鈥檚 charter sector, opening more than 150 charter schools. The foundation鈥檚 announcement follows recent data showing that during the pandemic, the charter sector has seen its highest period of growth since 2015. Charter schools, however, continue to face criticism from Democrats, who argue they drain resources 鈥� and students 鈥� from district schools. The Biden administration recommended no increase in funding for the $440 million federal Charter School Program for fiscal year 2022, while the House proposed a $40 million cut from the budget for charters. The Senate has not yet acted on the budget. Some states, such as California, have also taken steps to limit charter growth in recent years. 

Aside from the New York City region, the foundation is not yet confirming the other sites slated to receive grants. But according to the announcement, the cities chosen 鈥渙ffer a strong opportunity for serving the most in-need children coupled with conditions that could facilitate charter growth.鈥� 

James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, which supports new and existing schools, said Bloomberg鈥檚 policies, such as allowing charters to co-locate in public school buildings, allowed the sector to flourish. 

鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to see that their focus will be on high quality,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about having more great schools 鈥� not just having charters for the sake of charters.鈥�

In cities such as Los Angeles, however, co-location arrangements have and are among the reasons teachers unions have lobbied against charter growth.

In his , which ran Wednesday, Bloomberg took shots at teachers unions, recalling United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz鈥檚 that 鈥渒ids didn鈥檛 lose anything鈥� because of remote learning. 

鈥淲hat nonsense. How about reading, writing and arithmetic, the critical skills we are funding schools to teach?鈥� Bloomberg wrote, adding that because charter schools generally don鈥檛 have union contracts, they have more flexibility and can 鈥渃reate a culture of accountability for student progress week to week that many traditional public schools are missing.鈥�

Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education and a leading critic of charters, countered Bloomberg鈥檚 praise of the charter sector, noting that Success Academy, New York鈥檚 largest charter network, last school year. Her two grandchildren, she said, were able to return to in-person learning in district schools.

鈥淚 am deeply disappointed that Mr. Bloomberg would take the tragedy of COVID and use it as an excuse to undermine public schools,鈥� she said.

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew added his concerns that charter schools 鈥減ick and choose their students, rather than … take the responsibility to educate children.” He that few students who enrolled in Success Academy in 2007 as first graders remained at the school to be part of its first graduating class.

While the announcement doesn鈥檛 mention charter authorizers, it does mention partnering with local and national organizations. Karega Rausch, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, said there鈥檚 room for improvement in the way authorizers evaluate new applications so the process isn鈥檛 so “burdensome and bureaucratic鈥� but also ensures a school has a 鈥渉igh chance of doing great things.鈥�

Nina Rees, president and CEO for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said Bloomberg鈥檚 announcement is timely, not only because of increasing parent demand, but also due to efforts in many states to limit growth and the federal government鈥檚 flat funding of the charter program for the past five years.

But Merriman said whether the federal government is supportive of charters is less important than the climate at state and local levels. 

When former President Barack Obama was in office, and John King and Arne Duncan were education secretaries, that 鈥渄idn鈥檛 make a difference to Democrats in statehouses,鈥� he said. 

鈥淐harter policy has always been at the state and local level. That鈥檚 what has mattered.鈥�

After multiple rounds of vote tabulation triggered by New York’s new ranked-choice voting system, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was declared the winner of the Democratic primary on Tuesday. With all other candidates eliminated, Adams edged past former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia by a margin of roughly one percent. He is now seen as a heavy favorite in the November election against Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

With early voting already underway in the New York City mayoral primary, a question hangs over the nation鈥檚 largest school district: How will the next administration help schools get back to business after multiple academic years have been profoundly jolted by COVID-19?

Whoever emerges as the party鈥檚 nominee will face a multifaceted challenge in leading New York鈥檚 school system. After a lengthy period of serving as mayor-presumptive (Democrats massively outnumber Republicans across the city, making November鈥檚 general election a likely rout) he or she will need to complete the transition back to in-person schooling, carefully steward billions of dollars of federal relief money, and help students recover from nearly two years of learning interrupted by the pandemic.

And there鈥檚 a further plot twist: Charter schools, perhaps the most controversial force in citywide education politics, have won the backing of most of the field鈥檚 leading candidates. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and former city sanitation chief Kathryn Garcia have all signalled for the public schools of choice, which have seen their allies dwindle both in City Hall and Albany over the past few years. At the same time, one of the most strident charter critics, Comptroller Scott Stringer, struggled to build momentum even before his campaign was rocked by of sexual harassment.

It鈥檚 a situation that upends the political logic of much of the last decade, when Democrats across the country have increasingly broadcast their skepticism of the sector, even to the point of proposing full-on moratoriums on new charters. Now, in a city almost synonymous with liberal politics, most of the party鈥檚 top mayoral contenders appear to be taking the opposite tack. The causes for the shift are multiple, including the relative popularity of charters among minority voters, a traffic jam in the primary鈥檚 progressive lane, and families鈥� dissatisfaction with the district throughout the travails of the pandemic.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said in an interview that charter schools and their allies are exploiting a hectic post-COVID environment in which K-12 education has taken a backseat to issues of public safety and economic hardship.

“Crime is on the rise, we’re coming out of the pandemic, homelessness is exploding,鈥� Mulgrew argued. 鈥淭here are so many other issues that are facing people. If this election was last year, when education was at the forefront…this phenomenon would not have happened.鈥�

But according to Richard Buery 鈥� a former deputy to incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio who served briefly as the CEO of the Achievement First charter network before that he would leave to head the Robin Hood Foundation 鈥� it鈥檚 entirely unsurprising to see Democrats talking openly about supporting and expanding charters.

鈥淐harter schools are incredibly popular among the Democratic electorate,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he distinction between a charter school and a district school does not fundamentally matter to most people. What people are interested in is whether they have access to quality schools for their children.鈥�

De Blasio backlash

The 2013 election of Bill de Blasio marked a turning point on school choice in New York. After years of enthusiastic support from Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, both Republicans at the time they were elected, charter schools faced a Democratic mayor who openly vented his frustrations with them.

It began in de Blasio鈥檚 first few months in office, when he three schools in the high-performing Success Academy network from co-locating in district-owned facilities. He was outmaneuvered by the schools鈥� allies in Albany, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, guaranteeing charters the right to use space in public buildings. But the new mayor鈥檚 position was clear, and he has largely stuck to it throughout the remainder of his two terms in office 鈥� including at the National Education Association鈥檚 annual assembly that his fellow Democrats needed to be held accountable for being 鈥渃ozy with the charter schools.鈥�

It was a stance that caught on throughout the party and only gained steam after President Donald Trump appointed longtime school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education. Though he had previously served in the Obama White House during a rapid surge in charter growth, then-candidate Joe Biden had about charters while winning the Democratic presidential nomination last year.

All of which makes the current configuration of mayoral candidates somewhat surprising, at least from the perspective of K-12 schools. Yang, who polled in first place during earlier portions of the race before fading somewhat 鈥� has to a charter organization in the past. While he reportedly favors unionizing charters, Adams also that he would support the duplication of successful charter models. And Garcia has even on charters in New York, currently set at 290, dismissing the debate around them as a 鈥減olitical football.鈥�

Those positions haven鈥檛 gone unnoticed. Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, said she was 鈥渋ncredibly disappointed鈥� with Garcia鈥檚 proposal. And Scott Stringer, who has sought to during his time as city comptroller and of the UFT in April, has several charter-friendly financiers for making huge donations to political action committees that support Yang and Adams.

But the criticism hasn鈥檛 paid off so far. A familiar face in New York politics who many when the race began, Stringer has failed to gain much altitude. Of the field鈥檚 top tier, only Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney who worked in the de Blasio administration, seems to be generally running to the left on K-12 issues; even she is focused more on racial segregation and lowering class sizes than school choice.

No single candidacy of the progressive anti-charter movement than that of Dianne Morales. The experienced nonprofit executive had long before pivoting leftward during the primary; her includes proposals to end co-locations and prevent charters from accessing student recruitment data. But just as her campaign was gaining attention, amid allegations of mismanagement and discrimination. And as the primary is in its last gasp, Adams, Garcia, and Yang make up three of the top four candidates.

The UFT鈥檚 Mulgrew said plainly that he believed the turn on charters was the product of campaign contributions. A persistent critic of former Mayor Bloomberg, who worked energetically to spread more school options throughout the five boroughs, he argued that Wall Street donors who played an outsized role in charter expansion a decade ago were now hoping to control the debate again.

Bloomberg 鈥渉ad partners who financed so much of this, and we see these same people emerging again and being part of our political process right now in the mayor’s race through various IEs [independent expenditures] and different relationships,鈥� Mulgrew said. 鈥淲e feel very strongly that a small number of people who have a lot of money should not be influencing us.”

鈥楢 huge disrespect to parents鈥�

But support for charters doesn鈥檛 merely come from the financial and philanthropic realms. showed that a strong majority of New York City Democrats approved of lifting the charter cap. And while it was commissioned by StudentsFirstNY, a pro-charter advocacy group, its findings are mostly consistent with existing survey evidence demonstrating the popularity of schools of choice, particularly among who will play a role in choosing the Democrats鈥� nominee.

Families have already during the COVID era, with public data showing that charter school enrollment grew by roughly 10,000 students 鈥� about 7 percent 鈥� over the 2020-21 school year. While charter and traditional schools both spent long periods closed to in-person learning while the pandemic raged, the reopening process led by the district left many with its performance and the quality of virtual learning. In May, against both the mayor and Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter to try to force an immediate full-time return to physical classrooms.

Dan Weisberg, CEO of the reform-oriented nonprofit TNTP and a Bloomberg-era executive at the New York City Department of Education, called the unpredictable pace of reopenings 鈥渁 huge black mark on Mayor de Blasio鈥檚 record.鈥�

“One of the guiding principles should have been respect for parents and students and families,鈥� Weisberg said. 鈥淚f that’s one of the guiding principles, then you don’t repeatedly change schedules and plans the night before, or with 24 hours notice. …And that was done again and again and again, and there is still significant anger about that, as there should be. It’s a huge disrespect to parents.”

Yiatin Chu is a New York parent and co-president of the group , which advocates in favor of strengthening gifted education programs and has recently co-endorsed both Adams and Yang. Much of her work focuses on fighting back the increasingly controversial admissions test to the city鈥檚 specialized high schools, but she has said that many of her fellow parent advocates also look favorably on the alternatives offered by well-regarded charter networks like Success Academy. After an 鈥渆ye-opening鈥� year of closures and remote instruction, she added, the respective stances of Adams, Garcia, and Yang held great appeal.

鈥淲hile they’re not saying, ‘I believe in the single test,’ or ‘I believe in charters,’ you don’t get the sense that they’ll expend their political capital or energy to take down these schools,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’ll see where things land, but at least in the campaign season, they’re saying things I think many parents want to hear.鈥�

But according to Joseph Vitoritti, a professor of public policy at Hunter College and an experienced chronicler of the city鈥檚 education politics, if charter backers are aiming to resurrect the Bloomberg-era disposition toward big, high-performing networks, they鈥檒l have to do more than win a mayor鈥檚 race.

“I would think they’re encouraged by the fact that three out of the four top candidates are pro-charter 鈥� I mean, that’s a start,鈥� Vitoriti said. 鈥淏ut the bottom line is that the decisions are going to be made in Albany, not City Hall鈥�.And I think that’s going to be a tough sell 鈥� tougher than ever.鈥�

An end to the charter school cap can only come at the state level, where mayoral influence has often proved weak. The New York Senate, which was formerly held by a complex coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats, flipped in 2018, and its newly liberal majorities haven鈥檛 shown a willingness to greenlight further expansions of school choice. Even more important, Andrew Cuomo, one of the charter sector鈥檚 most steadfast friends during the de Blasio mayoralty, could be in danger of in the next few months; even if he survives, it鈥檚 an open question whether he will seek a fourth term next year.

Robin Hood鈥檚 Buery said that, regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination next Tuesday, the place of charters in New York is now too firmly entrenched for either city or state leaders to dislodge. A combination of factors 鈥� more representative leadership at the school level, successful lobbying from political allies, and the consistent support of African American and Latino voters 鈥� have created a 鈥渇undamentally different world鈥� for charters, he observed.

鈥淭here’ll still be debates about how the sector should grow, and I don’t want to discount the challenges involved. I just think it’s a different kind of debate; we’re past the point of people asking, ‘Should there be charters?’鈥�

When New York Mayor Bill de Blasio last month said he鈥檚 requiring all city students, teachers, and staff to show up to school this fall in-person, no exceptions, he stunned longtime observers of the nation鈥檚 largest public school system.

鈥淵ou would think that online learning was some new frontier for the New York City Department of Education that had never been tried before,鈥� said Tom Liam Lynch, a former teacher who is editor-in-chief of the parent-focused city website .

The reality, he and others say, is that the city has spent millions of dollars and much of the last decade leading the way on innovations in the realm of remote, blended, and personalized learning. For de Blasio to push for 100 percent in-person schooling, Lynch and others say, is a significant turnaround.

At the moment, more than six in 10 New York City students are still learning from home, but de Blasio on May 23 said that will soon come to an end, telling MSNBC鈥檚 , 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back, sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again.鈥�

The change will affect about 1 million students.

For Lynch, who also directs education policy for the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, the announcement seemed to ignore educators鈥� efforts to strengthen the city鈥檚 distance learning capabilities 鈥� work that could have given students a leg up during the worst of the pandemic.

In 2010, under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools Chancellor Joel Klein, the city鈥檚 Innovation Zone, or iZone, debuted with a ton of fanfare. At its heart was an experimental effort called iLearn, a blended learning system that sought to personalize instruction by allowing students in selected schools to learn remotely in many cases 鈥� schools used the system for everything from 鈥渙ccasional online credit recovery to full-blown blended learning and flipped-classroom models,鈥� .

It debuted with 81 schools, a number that soon doubled.

iZone also gave 50 middle- and high-school leaders an opportunity to redesign their schools. And it incubated a middle-school math program, known as School of One (now called Teach to One), that allowed students to work independently online from within their school. A digital display, reminiscent of an airport 鈥渁rriving flights鈥� screen, directed students to individualized lessons from dozens of providers.

Among School of One鈥檚 most significant innovations was a back-end data system that gave teachers real-time reports for each student, guiding upcoming assignments and directing them to small groups for help. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a model that seems certain to make us question assumptions about how we organize classrooms and schools,鈥� the journal noted in 2011.

iZone鈥檚 high-tech appeal was 鈥渢he easiest to grasp 鈥� and 鈥榠Zone鈥� had 鈥榠鈥� in front of the name,鈥� said Steven Hodas, who led the program until 2014. 鈥淏ut that was really just part of a theory of action that was about fundamentally rethinking time, space, and place.鈥�

Sea change under de Blasio

iZone was expected to grow to 400 schools, but the program underwent what can only be described as a meltdown in 2014, after federal innovation grants dried up and de Blasio, a Democrat, became mayor. New Chancellor Carmen Fari帽a disbanded the office that oversaw the program, and soon several directors and staffers, including Hodas, resigned.

Simultaneously, Fari帽a worked with the city鈥檚 teachers union, United Federation of Teachers, to bring in its own 鈥渋nnovation program,鈥� dubbed Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence, or PROSE.

The result: iZone鈥檚 budget shrank from $47 million in 2013 to $3.2 million in 2017, reported. It went from a staff of 65 to just 14.

Today, clicking on iZone鈥檚 URL delivers a saying it doesn鈥檛 exist.

Research on remote schooling is mixed. A 2019 by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder鈥檚 National Education Policy Center found that graduation rates at virtual and blended-learning schools were far lower than the national 85 percent average for public schools.

While have said iZone and similar ideas are promising for big-city systems, no large-scale evaluations of iZone have emerged since 2014. One small 2017 study by a graduate student at New York鈥檚 St. John鈥檚 University found that students in iLearn 鈥渂lended learning鈥� programs statistically significant greater mean scores in Algebra I Regents exams than their peers in traditional schools.

A few of the efforts, such as the personalized system under School of One, are still operating in a handful of schools, but observers say the effort has diminished in importance in the face of de Blasio鈥檚 new priorities, such as community schools and universal pre-K.

As for PROSE, a by the advocacy group StudentsFirstNY found that schools in the program displayed 鈥渓imited innovation,鈥� as well as 鈥渓ackluster improvement,鈥� producing lower reading and math scores than others in the city. It also said the program suffered from poor transparency, noting that the city took 14 months to respond 鈥� incompletely, as it turns out 鈥� to a public records request.

For Lynch, a parent of a city middle-schooler, the shift that took place around 2014 helps explain why New York, like other districts, has struggled to meet kids鈥� needs over the past year.

鈥淭his is not just a story of another big school district [that] just scrambled and tried to figure out online learning as best they could,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was a system that had actually, infrastructurally been set up for online learning 鈥� and to scale it. …Who made the call to essentially disempower and, if not defund that work, to really just relegate it to the periphery? Because that makes what happened last March even more inexcusable. And it makes this announcement even more unacceptable.鈥�

Sarah Cohodes, an economics and education professor at Columbia University鈥檚 Teachers College, said what鈥檚 most striking about de Blasio鈥檚 announcement is that it follows the city鈥檚 鈥渉uge investment鈥� in getting devices and Internet access into students鈥� hands over the past year, even announcing a virtual end to snow days. 鈥淚n my imagination, that was happening in the context of having some sort of remote infrastructure that could be turned on or off for more or fewer kids depending on the circumstances. So I’m not sure exactly what they are expecting those days to be like,鈥� she said.

Longtime education researcher said losing remote learning will take a toll: 鈥淭he great thing about New York has been that many different things have been available 鈥� alternative schools and alternative pathways to graduation. And some of those have actually been helped along by the development of pretty good online materials.鈥�

Asked whether any schools would be allowed to operate remotely in the fall, city schools officials referred to the city鈥檚 reopening announcement. In it, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew says the union welcomes 鈥渢he return to in-person instruction for all students in September.鈥� But even Mulgrew has pleaded for a remote option, last month that the city should create 鈥渁 small but efficient remote alternative for parents who still feel they need it.鈥�

De Blasio isn鈥檛 the only leader cutting off remote learning this fall. Across the Hudson River, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on May 17 that the state鈥檚 public schools would similarly return to in-person instruction. In Connecticut, officials have said they 鈥� the need to mandate鈥� remote learning in the fall.

鈥業 think it鈥檚 crazy鈥�

Meanwhile, at least six states have created iZones of their own, according to .

鈥淎round the country I鈥檓 hearing about more states, and more districts, that are really integrating innovation into their core strategy,鈥� said Joel Rose, who founded and led School of One in its heyday. 鈥淭hey’re saying, 鈥楲ook, remote learning didn鈥檛 work for everyone, but it did work for some kids.鈥� And the question is, 鈥榃hat can we learn from those experiences for when kids come back?鈥欌��

He noted that so-called , modeled after iZone principles, have taken root in Texas and are 鈥済rowing quite a bit in popularity.鈥�

Rose, who now runs , a nonprofit that is working to expand the School of One model nationwide, said the organization has seen 鈥渁 significant uptick in demand for what we do鈥� since the pandemic began.

Hill, who founded the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) at the University of Washington-Bothell, said many students have realized during the pandemic that school 鈥渋s a pretty tough place for them to be. And to kind of ignore all that, I think, is going to further weaken the support base of public education.鈥�

After his Morning Joe announcement, de Blasio told a news briefing, 鈥淚t鈥檚 time for everyone to come back, it鈥檚 time for us all to be together, time to do things the way they were meant to be done.鈥� But iZone鈥檚 Hodas, now a senior fellow at CRPE, took issue with the idea that online learning is somehow inferior.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 crazy that it鈥檚 being positioned as purely a negative space,鈥� he said. In New York as elsewhere, many students aren鈥檛 thrilled with the prospect of 鈥渟chlepping back to these shitty, oppressive environments five days a week to do pretend life.鈥�

Older students, he said, could be working or helping out with family duties. 鈥淭hey could be progressing at their own pace at different subjects, and they can do something that鈥檚 much more competency-based. And it鈥檚 just nuts that de Blasio is acting as if, again, for high school kids, being back in school is like the Holy Grail. It鈥檚 not, for a lot of people.鈥�