The South Bronx charter school at the center of a heated debate opened its doors for the first time Tuesday despite a legal battle alleging the school improperly violates the city’s cap on the number of charter schools allowed to operate.
Strive Charter School will operate year-round from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is billed as an answer to the needs of working-class families, providing not only a high-quality education but additional, optional hours of “device-free enrichment.”
Eric Grannis, executive director of Strive Charter School, said that the elementary school’s unique model was designed intentionally to provide additional opportunities and support for families that can’t necessarily afford sometimes costly extracurricular activities.
“Public schools have traditionally operated on schedules that bear very little relationship to the lives of working families,” said Grannis. “We want to prove that a school can provide excellent academics while also being there for children and parents during the many hours when conventional schools are closed.”
But the New York State United Teachers union and the United Federation of Teachers challenged the State University of New York’s (SUNY) decision to allow the state’s largest network of charter schools, Success Academy, to transfer the charter of one of its locations in the Bronx to Strive Charter School.
Eric Grannis is founder and executive director of Strive Charter School, which has opened in the South Bronx.Photo courtesy Strive Charter School
The teachers’ union filed the suit in June, alleging that by allowing the transfer, SUNY effectively authorized the formation of an entirely new school in the city, which has already reached the number of charter schools that can legally operate.
Grannis is also married to Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz, the charter network formerly operating the Bronx elementary school. He told amNewYork that the court will consider a motion to dismiss the lawsuit later this year.
“Everybody knows this lawsuit is a joke and that there is no way a judge is going to throw these kids out on the street,” Grannis said in an email exchange with amNewYork.
Strive and Success Academy have argued that the charter transfer does not amount to the creation of a new charter school, but rather the revitalization of a preexisting charter school.
The State University of New York, which has authority to authorize charter schools, agreed and approved the transfer in January. But the state Department of Education, however, raised objections and recommended against approving the transfer, calling it a “circumvention of the cap.”
The legal dispute focused on how Strive came into existence, but school leaders say the controversy has not changed their focus on the school’s mission to support families with an alternative to traditional school schedules. Strive said its extended hours are intended to give students opportunities to learn and socialize in an environment that is not centered on academics or screens.
The school’s approach comes as parents and educators continue to debate the place of technology in education with NYC Public School chancellor Kamar Samuels announcing a moratorium on AI in the classroom for younger students just last week.
Strive Charter School said that there’s a market for its specific approach, especially considering the amount of screen time young New Yorkers get. The new school said that it will emphasize time away from tablets, television, video games and social media during its extended, optional hours with activities such as Legos, chess, art, games and sports.
“We don’t think the answer is simply more schoolwork,” Grannis said. “Children need serious academics, but they also need a childhood. They need books, games, sports, projects, conversation, friendship and time to discover what they enjoy. We want to give families a compelling alternative to spending those hours on screens.”