You\u2019d expect Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, to want all kids to have access to high-quality schools that facilitate upward mobility.<\/p>\n
Yet he just dissed leaders from 19 city charter-school networks who offered to help provide just that access.<\/p>\n
Clearly, he\u2019d rather side with ideologues and special interests that oppose charters.<\/p>\n
In a Dec. 1 letter, as The Post\u2019s Carl Campanile reported<\/a>, the charter leaders invited Mamdani to meet them at an Ember Charter School on Dec. 12.<\/p>\n The incoming mayor should\u2019ve jumped at the chance. <\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPost Editorial Board<\/p>\n Alas, he never even bothered to respond.<\/p>\n Truth is, charters \u2014 which are free, privately run and publicly funded \u2014 can contribute enormously to Mamdani\u2019s goal of \u201caffordability.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n How? By giving kids from low-income families the same top-notch education that wealthy kids get at fancy private schools. That\u2019s the very definition of \u201caffordability.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet opinions and commentary from our columnists\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The charter leaders also note that \u201cwhen a family can count on an excellent public school near home, life gets less expensive: fewer hours on buses, fewer tutoring bills, fewer impossible choices between rent and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEquity and affordability,\u201d they argue, \u201care inseparable.\u201d Indeed.<\/p>\n They also pledged to help Mamdani deliver on his promise of universal child care. Why ignore them?<\/p>\n In fact, he shouldn\u2019t need new arguments about equity and affordability: Despite getting far less public funding than traditional public schools, they offer longer school days and years, and their students consistently score higher<\/a> on standardized tests.<\/p>\n Last year, 68% of the charters\u2019 third- through eighth-graders were deemed proficient in reading, vs. just 56% at traditional schools. In math, charters outpaced regular schools 69% to 57%.<\/p>\n Yet charters\u2019 staffs usually don\u2019t belong to a union, and Mamdani puts adults in the labor movement before kids.<\/p>\n