By Aisha Cook, 1st VP New Rochelle NAACP and 4th Grade Teacher CSDNR

Well folks, Capital Prep New Rochelle Charter, has submitted its application to SUNY for approval. They plan to open in September of 2025 with 150 students. On the surface, it seems like a small number of students out of our school district of thousands. However, our tax dollars will be diverted from our traditional public schools and sent to this charter. If they reach the numbers they aim to serve, it will take nearly $3,000,000 away from the City School District of New Rochelle  in year 1. By year 5, nearly $11,000,000.

Removing students from our traditional public schools does not reduce operating costs. We still need the same amount of staff to maintain optimal class size, professional development, curricular resources and supplies, award-winning programming, sports and activities.

Our public school system isn’t perfect. We have areas of growth we must focus on. These areas are addressed publicly. With a publicly elected Board of Education, with a superintendent and cabinet committed to addressing disproportionality and achievement gaps, in the open, with community input. Charters have no such public oversight.

New Rochelle has been through great turmoil in the past eight years. We finally have a superintendent and school board committed to equity and hyper-focused on the success of students of color.

The administrators have undergone intensive implicit bias training, and the staff will be trained next. It is the superintendent’s vision that all district employees become aware of their biases and have tools to correct them. We have highly trained teachers and staff who receive ongoing professional development.

The decision to approve or reject a charter in New Rochelle will be made by the fall by the SUNY Charter Institute, on behalf of the SUNY Board of Trustees.

The Capital Prep network itself is shrouded in controversy, high staff turnover rates and funding issues. Also, questionable partnerships, such as the one between P. Diddy and Capital Prep Harlem, can potentially bring scandal and disrepute to New Rochelle. The public has a right to know which businesses and non-profits are involved to ensure the children of New Rochelle are not exploited by outside interests.  Our school community has been hit hard over the past few years with its own scandals and is just now getting on solid footing.

Please go to the New Rochelle school district website: nred.org to see the statements from CSDNR Superintendent, Dr. Corey Reynolds, and other school district leaders.  There, you can also send an email to SUNY, expressing your concern and opposition to opening a charter school in our city.