Comment on Charter schools’ contribution to Rochester’s schoolchildren by Kent Gardner

Дата публикации: 01-07-2026 21:03:44

In reply to <a href="https://rochesterbeacon.com/2026/06/15/charter-schools-contribution-to-rochesters-schoolchildren/#comment-267640">Bill Howard</a>.
Thanks, Bill. Your points are well taken. I could have written a much longer piece that presents the strengths and weaknesses of charters and hope to do so. As noted, however, the model has largely worked as designed--the egregious charters have been closed. I hope that SUNY (and the Regents) close the schools still operating that are failing their students today.
The superintendent's assertions about the charter sector were completely baseless and could not go unanswered, however. I am disappointed that he has made no attempt to defend himself. You could write the defense and so could I. But he has not made the effort, either here or in other correspondence.

Основное содержимое страницы с новостью.

In April, the Rochester Beacon presented “A Conversation with Eric Rosser,” an online interview with the superintendent of the Rochester Central School District. We were disappointed to learn that Rosser is unaware of the tremendous contribution charter schools make to the educational achievement of New York and city of Rochester students.

Approved by the state Legislature, charter schools are public schools that are not under the authority of local boards of education. They may not charge tuition and must accept all applicants. If oversubscribed, existing spaces are allocated by lottery. In Rochester, charters can be authorized (and are supervised) by either the state Board of Regents or the State University Charter Schools Institute.

In the interview, Rosser acknowledged that “there are charters that are doing an outstanding job, as many of our schools and our district are doing an outstanding job of meeting the needs of children, and there are charters in our community that are not doing an outstanding job, as many of our schools struggle to do an outstanding job.”

SUNY-authorized charter schools

Rosser went on to single out SUNY-authorized charter schools, asserting that they “create the greatest challenges when it comes to student performance” and that “those who have been authorized by SUNY … are, in my opinion, the weakest.”

His opinion notwithstanding, here are the facts as reported by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute (based on statistics compiled and posted by the state Education Department):

■ Eighty-four percent of SUNY-authorized charter schools outperformed their local district in English, and 83 percent outperformed their local district in math. 

■ Seven SUNY-authorized public charter schools scored in the top 25 public schools statewide; 15 scored in the top 25 in mathematics.

Rochester’s charter schools

There are 14 charter schools in Rochester, six authorized by the Board of Regents and eight by SUNY. Total enrollment in charters was reported to be 7,851 in the 2024-25 school year, 28% of all public-school students residing in the Rochester City School District. Traditional public-school students totaled 19,768. (Three charter schools—Discovery, Young Women’s Prep and Renaissance Academy—are located in the Greece Central School District. Given their location, Greece students are given priority in the charter school lottery, although the schools draw many students from Rochester. These three schools enrolled 1,156 students in the 2024-25 school year. This post focuses on the Rochester-based schools, however.)

Rosser is apparently unaware that proficiency among Rochester charter school students was substantially higher than that shown by students attending traditional Rochester public schools. The 2025 grades 3-8 English language arts and math tests show that charter school students led the traditional-school RCSD average by 15 percentage points on the ELA and by 16 percentage points in math (our analysis of NYSED data). The statewide average was substantially higher than either—but this is to be expected as 87% of Rochester’s charter school students and 91% of students enrolled in traditional Rochester public schools are economically disadvantaged (versus 60% of all New York public school students). It has long been recognized that academic achievement is positively correlated with income.

Rosser’s conclusion that SUNY-authorized charters are the “weakest” is based on his belief that SUNY’s process of approving applications falls short of Board of Regents’ standards and that SUNY-authorized schools are not held accountable.

Neither belief fits the SUNY-authorized schools in Rosser’s own district. The SUNY-chartered schools in Rochester outperform both the traditional public schools under his administration and the Rochester charter schools authorized by the Board of Regents.

ELA scores for Rochester’s SUNY-authorized schools lead the Regents-authorized schools by 7 percentage points and the traditional public schools by 16. The performance gaps for math are 14 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

To be authorized as a SUNY charter, the schools agree to be held to high standards on community engagement, rigorous learning assessments, student leadership and success, and fiscal soundness. SUNY shut down five charter schools in Rochester where students have not performed adequately. Strong student achievement in Rochester’s SUNY-authorized charters is testimony to the power of accountability.

The same pattern applies to all charter schools statewide. Of the four charter authorizers in New York—the Board of Regents, SUNY, the New York City Board of Education and the Buffalo Board of Education—students in SUNY-authorized schools scored highest on the grade 3-8 ELA and math tests.

Charter schools’ Rochester contribution

The continued growth of charter school enrollment is surely related to the fact that of the 10 highest achieving public schools in Rochester (defined as the sum of ELA and math proficiency), eight are charters (six authorized by SUNY). Of the traditional public schools, School of the Arts ranks third; schools 23 and 15 rank seventh and ninth, respectively. (As two of the schools in the “top 10” were tied, 11 are included.)

In the Beacon interview, Rosser stated: “We should be actually looking at ways in which we can make greater investments in public education.”

We agree. We hope that an objective review of the facts will persuade Rosser to support expansion of the most effective public schools in his district and withdraw his suggestion that a moratorium be placed on new SUNY-authorized charters.

Joseph Klein is former CEO of Klein Steel Service, and a vocal education advocate. Throughout his career, Klein has been deeply committed to improving K-12 education, particularly in the Rochester City School District. He played a key role in the recruitment of Uncommon Schools-affiliated True North Rochester Preparatory Charter School, which welcomed its first students for the 2006-07 school year. Uncommon Schools currently enrolls over 3,000 students in seven schools.

While still running Klein Steel, Klein enrolled in the Harvard School of Education, graduating with an MA in education policy and management in 2011. In 2013, Klein helped establish E3 Rochester, which was committed to recruiting high-achieving charter management organizations to the city.

Kent Gardner served as chief economist at the Center for Governmental Research for more than 30 years, including a period as president. One of the founders of the Rochester Beacon, Gardner comments on matters of public policy and economics for the Beacon and coordinates opinion submissions to the Beacon. He earned a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Wisconsin in 1983.  

The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].

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