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How Valuable are Charter Schools? Stanford University Study Reports on School Performance

Chris Bolt/ WAER News

A recent Stanford study shows how charter schools across the nation compare to public schools.  Syracuse has two, the Syracuse Academy of Scienceand the Southside Academy Charter School.

Charter schools can offer students the opportunity to learn in a smaller and more inclusive setting.  Syracuse Academy of Science Director Tolga Hayali says his school gives students the chance to study for longer periods of time and have personalized learning plans.  While Hayali is proud of the school’s ninety-eight percent graduation rate, he stresses that the goal of charter schools should not be to “beat” other districts but rather to celebrate every student’s success.

"The most important thing is when we graduate all the students, we are going to look at them and wish the best, so that they will come back and give back to the community.  And once we can see that chain reaction, we can say 'wow' this is working, this is really working."

Some of Hayali’s goals include adding more college classes to the Academy’s curriculum and lengthening the school year. 

Tolga.mp3
Syracuse Academy of Science Director Tolga Hayali reacts to Stanford Study on Charter Schools.

The Stanford studyshows charter schools have been making progress in both reading and math since the last study in 2009.  Researcher Maggie Raymond says Upstate New York has good charter schools, but some are also missing the mark.

"It is the case that there are some high-performing schools in Upstate New York.  What I would encourage parents in your communities to do is to make sure they kick the tires of the schools they're considering sending their child to." 

Raymond says academics should be high on a parent’s list of priorities when choosing a school.  Hayali, with the Academy of Science, admits change won’t happen overnight, but it starts with every charter school doing its absolute best to teach the students it serves.

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.