Ed Czar visits charter school

Touring the Allen Christian School in Jamaica, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling and Rev. Floyd Flake stood in between the desks of third-graders Angelika Thomas and Javhon Spencer Newell, looking over the children’s shoulders as they read compositions and backed up assertions with facts from their stories.
To proponents of charter schools, the Allen Christian School, which Flake helped found in 1982, represents one way to offer parents a choice in their children’s education. In addition, as the issue of school choice heats up in Albany — with next year’s budget on the Governor’s desk — advocates for charter schools and education tax credits hope that the Education Czar’s visit to Queens will help tip the scales.
In a speech to 100 community members at the Greater Allen Cathedral last week, Spelling called for the New York State legislature to eliminate the “arbitrary” maximum of 100 charter schools in the state. Currently there are 47 charter schools in the State and 3,600 nationwide.
“When schools don’t live up to their responsibilities, we’ve empowered millions of parents with options such as transferring their children to higher-performing public or charter schools or enrolling them in free tutoring,” Spelling said.
Although Spelling did not say whether she approved of education tax credits, she did advocate more choices for parents like Queens resident Diane Payne, who sued for money to send two of her five children to private schools.
Payne, a single parent and former correctional officer who adopted five children, had to re-enroll two of her children in public schools because of financial reasons. In February, the State Supreme Court blocked her motion to join a lawsuit.