March 9, 2026

Dear Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani,

As advocates and leaders of public charter schools serving more than 150,000 children across New York City, we are writing to address an issue critical to you both: access to early childhood education.

We know you highly value universal childcare and early education—as do we. As you also know and are thoughtfully and urgently working to address, there are gross inequities in our current system that are preventing more of our youngest learners from accessing quality Pre-k and 3-k.

This is evident in charter schools (as well as for our fellow community-based organizations), where Pre-k students currently receive a fraction of the funding provided to their peers in district-run schools - with a disparity of a staggering $20,000 less per child. This is a direct divestment in the 1-in-6 public school families who rely on publicly funded options like charter schools. All public school children are entitled to equal treatment and funding, regardless of what public school they attend.

At the same time, charter schools account for 50% of the top performing public schools in the city - proving daily that zip codes need not, and should not, determine academic destiny. Fully enabling charter schools to provide 3-k and Pre-k programs gives more children that access from day one. No child should be impeded from accessing excellence.

This is especially important considering that our schools overwhelmingly serve some of New York City’s most vulnerable. In fact, over 80% of NYC’s charter school students come from economically disadvantaged families and over 90% are children of color. Charter schools are built on the premise that a student's background must never be a barrier to the quality of learning they receive.

We are grateful your administrations have prioritized early childhood education in your governing agendas. Our hope is to partner with you in this effort. To do this, charter school Pre-K and 3-k programs must be equally funded and accessible to all children. Charters have the results, the expertise, and the trust of our communities. Charters just need the ability to give our youngest the start they deserve.

We invite you to meet with us to discuss how we can help deliver universal childcare to the children that need it most.

Together, we can help make quality, early education a reality for all New York’s families.

Sincerely,

Bishop Dr. Raymond Rivera, Family Life Academy Charter Schools

Bishop Calvin Rice, Rochdale Early Advantage

Christina Yi-Perry, Kwenda Collegiate Girls Charter School

Dr. Debra Stern, Amani Public Charter School

Dr. Elaine Ruiz Lopez, International Leadership Charter High School

Dr. Raymon Akrum, Riverhead Charter School

Dr. Sandra J DuPree, Hyde Leadership Charter School-Brooklyn

Eduardo LaGuerre, Charter School of Educational Excellence

Emily Kim, Zeta Charter Schools

Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy Charter Schools

Graham Browne, Forte Preparatory Academy

Lester Long, Classical Charter Schools

Rafiq R. Kalam Id-Din II, Ember Charter School for Mindful Education

Rev. Al Cockfield, Jr., Lamad Academy Charter Schools