When an electrical problem forced the Washington Irving school building to shut down last week, all but one of the schools that share the site relocated. The exception was a Success Academy charter school whose well-known leader, Eva Moskowitz, was not satisfied with the options given her.
"The D.O.E. has offered us one site that has seven rooms, and we have 21 rooms," she said. She also said her school's technology needs wouldn't be met in the alternate locations. City officials said they tried to work with her but to no avail. As a result, her students did not go to school for three days.
The episode was just the latest tussle between the biggest charter school network in New York City and Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration. Moskowitz is a relentless advocate for her cause who in the last decade has opened more than 30 schools serving 11,000 students. It's only recently that she has suffered setbacks that may put her approach, and her ability to adapt to a new landscape, to the test.
The previous occupant of City Hall, Michael Bloomberg, supported the expansion of charter schools, in part by giving them free space in city school buildings. When de Blasio was elected, he halted plans approved by his predecessor for three Success Academy schools to share space in city schools and he threatened to make charters pay rent. The fight was on.
Moskowitz organized a massive rally in Albany, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to her defense. The legislature swiftly passed a law requiring the city to pay rent for all charters in private spaces if they're not sited in public schools, dealing an embarrassing political blow to the new mayor.
Compare that to her latest campaign which fell flat. Moskowitz recently tried to rally supporters when she refused to sign a pre-kindergarten contract with the city that she found too restrictive.
"Every other charter school organization we've worked with has signed a contract. All the religious schools have signed a contract," the mayor said in a rare public rebuke. "Because they all understand it is commitment to uphold the standards that we've put forth on behalf of the people."
The new state education commissioner sided with the city in the contract dispute, dealing a blow to Moskowitz that left her vowing an appeal.
And then there is the bad press. The New York Times has run a series of unflattering stories about the disciplinary practices in Success Academy schools. It found a Brooklyn principal who kept a "got to go" list of difficult children. More recently, the paper obtained a video clip of a teacher berating a first grader for getting the wrong answer to a math problem, which set off a maelstrom of social media chatter.
Moskowitz argued both cases were anomalies and that disciplinary measures were taken. Her tone was tough as she defended her schools as joyful and rigorous, surrounded by staff and families. The mother of the student in the video ultimately pulled her child out of the charter school. She said the teacher apologized to her but not to her daughter — and only after the Times article was published.
Moskowitz got more bad news when some Success parents filed a lawsuit accusing the network of discriminating against children with disabilities - a claim Moskowitz strongly denied.
Lately, she's been calling on the Department of Education and the Times to "shine a spotlight" on abuse in the city's public schools, such as the arrest of a Harlem teacher. The group Families for Excellent Schools, which is closely aligned with Moskowitz, is running television ads citing statistics on violent and disruptive incidents in the city's public schools that the Department of Education disputes.
When asked if she was trying to divert attention from her own problems with this strategy, Moskowitz told WNYC nothing about her approach has changed.
"I have been just utterly consistent," she said, adding that in her view the city does not offer an excellent education for every child and "I will not rest until that changes."
A few fellow charter leaders told WNYC they considered some of her tactics divisive but most declined to talk on the record about someone they see as very powerful.
Moskowitz also has her firm supporters, including many families.
Wilburn Ebanks kept his son home from school for three days after the Success Academy at Washington Irving was closed. He trusted Moskowitz's decision to wait until the building reopened, rather than using a temporary site.
"The Department of Education and Mayor de Blasio, they have this thing where they're against charter schools," he said. "Especially Success Academy."
Besides, he said, his son loves his school.
