“After positive experience with charter school, mother supports expanding their presence in NYC.”

When Luz Agüero, mother of two, found out that charter schools existed, she did not hesitate for a second to enroll both of her children in KIIP Elementary School in Harlem.

“I remember when he entered this school, the teacher showed me the study plan and told me how long, she thought, he would know how to read. And when she told me six months, I told her ‘no, it’s not possible’,” Luz said.

So when it was time for her little Wilmary Quezada to go to school, she brought her here. And at six years old, she reads very well and knows a lot about history thanks to her teachers, according to her mother.

“A ‘speech’ that one day, a boy and a girl like me, were going to get together to play,” said the girl Wilmary.

“In other words, for me it is something surprising, I knew that I wanted her to come to this school because of the things they had done with my son, and my daughter, thank God, entered from the beginning, the first school she entered was this one” Light added.

For this mother, it was a relief to know that she had finally found a school of her choice and that it would align with the education she wanted for her little ones.

“In addition to the fact that the classes are not very crowded, each child has their space and their time so that the teacher can identify what exactly they need to learn better,” said Luz.

But she, like other parents and advocates who strongly support charter schools, are calling for the state legislature to support Gov. Hochul’s plan to lift the regional cap on school openings. This could give the city about 85 licenses that have not been used in other parts of the state.

“Our schools are part of the fabric of our communities, and we remain focused on continuing to provide the highest quality education possible for our students,” said Jane Martinez Dowling, head of external affairs, KIPP. “At KIPP NYC we already have nearly 30 years in communities that serve our communities of color.

Charter schools currently serve more than 14% of the city’s public school students at 275 centers and have grown during the pandemic.

In New York City, 41% of charter students are Latino and 49% African American, so New York families continue to fight for more high-quality school options in their communities.