New York's charter school defenders downplay teacher inexperience amid strong performance

MICHAEL SCHWARTZ FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSEnlarge

MICHAEL SCHWARTZ/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSEnlarge

Luis Vargas and wife Millie with their daughter Isabel Solome, 10, a student at South Bronx Charter School, where 52% of classes are taught by teachers outside their certification.

Score one for environment over experience.

A Daily News analysis found that many charter schools have a significant number of teachers with little experience and a high concentration of classes taught by instructors who are working outside of their certified subject areas.

FIGHT FOR THEIR FUTURE: COMPLETE COVERAGE OF NYC'S SCHOOLS IN CRISIS

But these factors don’t appear to have an impact on student performance. Many charter schools with fewer teachers holding proper licenses and masters degrees still post higher scores on standardized tests than their district counterparts.

Teacher quality data from the 2012-13 school year shows charter schools outperformed district schools on the English language exam. Thirty-three percent of the charter school students were proficient versus 29% proficiency in district schools.

Nearly 7,000 students attended charter schools where more than 30% of their classes were taught by teachers improperly credentialed for the subject — math teachers in English classes, or history teachers in math classes, for example.

At the New York French-American Charter School, more than two-thirds of the classes are taught by teachers without the right credentials. Fifty-four percent of kids there met state reading standards in 2014 — above the city average.

The 129 charter schools included in The News analysis also had lower concentrations of teachers with master's degrees.

FIGHT FOR THEIR FUTURE: CUOMO PUSHES TO RID NYC SCHOOLS OF BAD APPLES

The news produced little more than shrugs from parents and charter school proponents content with their academic achievements.

"None of this is consequential to how good the school is," said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, an advocacy group. "Charter leaders are focused on both developing their teachers and getting them to stay longer."

It was a sentiment shared by parents of charter school kids.

Bronx dad Luis Vargas said he was more interested in performance than paperwork. His daughter, fifth-grader Isabel Salome, attends the South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and the Arts — where 52% of classes are taught by teachers outside of their certification.

FIGHT FOR THEIR FUTURE: 2-IN-3 NYC STUDENTS ARE NOT MEETING MATH STATE STANDARDS

"The quality of the school is so good it doesn't concern me," said Vargas. "If I see that my daughter is not learning, then it would affect me … To me, a piece of paper doesn’t mean anything."

With Erik Badia

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/charter-school-defenders-downplay-teacher-inexperience-article-1.2152568