![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/last-night-three-masts-broken-104811388.jpg\")
Thousands of charter school parents and students are set to march across the Brooklyn Bridge in a rally to promote school choice. Gregory P. Mango<\/p>\nThousands of parents and students from more than 200 charter schools will march over the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday to promote educational choice and \u201cexcellence\u201d for New York City families.<\/p>\n
The participants include the largest charter school network, Eva Moskowitz\u2019s Success Academy, as well families from Ascend, Democracy Prep, Kipp Academy, Uncommon Schools, Zeta and schools that are part of the Black, Latinx, Asian Charter Collaborative.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents have a civil right to obtain a quality education. Students and parents should have a choice. They should have excellence,\u201d said Bishop Raymond Rivera, founder of the Family Life Academy charter school network, which will also be at the march.<\/p>\n
Thousands of charter school parents and students are set to march across the Brooklyn Bridge in a rally to promote school choice. Gregory P. Mango<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what charter schools provide.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are now 286 charter schools serving more than 150,000 students or nearly 15 percent of the city\u2019s publicly funded schools, according to the NYC Charter School Center.<\/p>\n
Charter schools <\/a>are publicly funded, but privately managed by not-for-profit entities. Many of them have non-union staff and have a longer school day and school year than traditional public schools.<\/p>\n Though not billed as a political event, the rally Thursday takes place during the final stretch of the campaign for mayor in which lefty Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani is an opponent of charter school expansion.<\/a><\/p>\n Organizers said mayoral candidates were not invited to speak at the event and were discouraged from attending \u2014 but Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa said he will show up in support.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more charter schools,\u201d Sliwa said.<\/p>\n Andrew Cuomo<\/a>, running as an independent for mayor, approved pro-charter school laws when he was governor.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n On the whole, students in charter schools typically outperform neighboring public schools on the state\u2019s standardized English and math exams, particularly in poorer neighborhoods such as the South Bronx<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Democratic-controlled state Legislature has resisted increasing the cap to open more charter schools in the city despite broad support from parents. Opponents, including the teachers\u2019 union, complain they siphon taxpayer dollars and students from traditional public schools.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/science-class-success-academy-harlem-6836495.jpg\")
Students in a classroom at a Harlem Success Academy \u2014 one of the many charter school systems that will be represented at the rally. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n