Top News Stories

UFT charter schools serve their students well

Jun 26, 2008 4:47 PM

Students at the two UFT charter schools greatly outperformed their home district on the ELA and math tests this year, quieting critics who claim that teacher union contracts are obstacles to educational improvement.

At the UFT Elementary Charter School, 98 percent of 3rd-graders met math standards and 82 percent met reading standards in the first year they were old enough to take the state exams.

“Small class size, a low student-to-teacher ratio, parental engagement and collaboration among the educators gave these young students a running start,” UFT President Randi Weingarten said. “In addition, the charters built strong school communities characterized by academic excellence and a culture of respect.”

At the UFT Secondary School, two-thirds of 6th- and 7th-graders met math standards and more than 60 percent passed the ELA exam. These results were about four to 10 percentage points higher than the District 19 average in math and some 20 points above the district’s ELA results.

“While the measure of a school should not be reduced to a handful of metrics, these results strongly suggest that the union's approach to charter schools is working,” Weingarten said.