While candidates in the mayoral race argue over the value of charter schools, educators from both charters and district schools are working to share best practices and help each other.
In a post on GothamSchools, Morty Ballen, the Founder & CEO of Explore Charter Schools in Brooklyn and Stacy Goldstein, the Principal of School of the Future High School in Manhattan, discuss how they collaborate with leaders from district schools:
There are fundamental and meaningful differences between district-run schools and charter schools, which can include curricular choices, autonomy and level of union involvement. But the political fights focusing on the differences draw attention away from another important conversation that needs to be taking place, about what we have in common.
The goal of providing the best education possible is a shared goal, and teachers in both kinds of schools tend to check politics at the door and focus on educating students. The debate over real estate does little to recognize what’s happening in schools every day: the very difficult challenges educators confront and the hard work they’re doing to improve education for all students, no matter what kind of school they attend.
