Citizens of the World Charter To Use Dead Souls To Bolster Enrollment in Effort to Stay Open

With the school threatened with closing due to low enrollment (as the so-called charter demand is once more exposed), Citizens of the World supporter Eric Grannis (the husband of Evil Moskowitz) is scouting local cemeteries for recruits.

State Ed Commissioner John King approved of the move. "The dead should not be excluded from the higher order skills gained from the Common Core."

The SUNY charter authorizing body also approved. "Once a charter we authorized has opened it assumes the properties of a black hole: public funds get sucked in but will never emerge due to the gravitational pull of the charter lobby."

James Merriman of the NY Charter School Center who has often said that if there's no demand for a charter, it will fail, said, "Until all the dead souls are given their right to choice the fat lady hasn't sung.  

Afterburn

For people not familiar with CWC they are LA-based. They came to NYC after being contacted by Eric Grannis, a long time charter supporter who is also married to Eva Moskwitz. Grannis has said he had been in contact with white, middle class parents in W'burg who had told him what they wanted in a school and that he then contacted CWC. The goal supposedly was to bring more diversity to charter schools, which many saw as a code word for bring more high achieving affluent kids to charters. Grannis supposedly has no official connection to CWC or the school.

James Merriman of the NY Charter School Ctr has often said that, if there's no demand for a charter, it will fail. Given there doesn't seem to be demand for this one, let's see if it's allowed to fail or if someone will pull a rabbit out of the hat.

Gail Robinson
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The reality is that charters are being rapidly expanded in NYC where DOE thinks they can find space for them into a public school building, NOT where there is real demand.

Yet another way in which the co-location policies of the DOE are completely off the mark and are driving bad policies.

This is why Eva has to spend millions on ads and promotional flyers, Democracy prep in Harlem had to send mailers to parents as far south as Lower Manhattan, Girls Prep offered cash rewards to people who recruited more students to the school, and COTW is now hugely under enrolled.
 
This is NOT parent choice at work, or even the free market -- but reflects the overriding preferences of those running the city and their wealthy cronies to maximize and facilitate the corporate takeover of our schools.

Leonie Haimson