The state's charter schools represent a mix of emphasis and approach. These schools illustrate the range of options: A school in Rochester offers innovative bilingual education, a school in Brooklyn relates the curriculum to its diverse cultures and communities, and a Bronx middle school focuses intensely on academics.

Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School
Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School is a small K-6 school in Rochester. The school was founded in 2000 by the Ibero-American Action League, a nonprofit organization based in the city that aims to foster growth and development within the Latino community. It was named after a 19th-century Latin American philosopher, sociologist, writer and reformer, who founded the first normal school in Puerto Rico.

The school uses a dual language model of bilingual education. Students at each grade level are placed in groups where they attend classes, which alternate on a daily basis between Spanish and English. The school follows the national Center on Education and the Economy's "America's Choice" school design, a standards-based curriculum that includes an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. school day and employs a workshop teaching method. Teachers begin each class with a mini-lesson followed by work in small groups and individualized instruction.

Miram Vasquez, the school's principal and one of the founding members notes, "Teachers have to plan carefully to make this work." As a result, she says, she has a core of teachers dedicated to the program but struggles with high teacher turnover, as teachers are lured by the higher salaries that other districts offer them.

Renaissance Charter School
Renaissance Charter School, a K-12 school in Brooklyn, is an alternative school with a curriculum that reflects the multi-ethnic communities surrounding it. The school was founded in 1993 by a group of teachers and officially became a charter school in 2000. The aim was to create a school run jointly by parents and teachers. As a result, a number of parents work at the school and others volunteer on a regular basis.

The school takes a thematic approach to its curriculum. Math, science, language arts and social studies are all studied in relation to the geography, history, economics, culture and people of New York. In addition to its curriculum, the layout of the classrooms is also non-traditional. Students use couches and tables rather than desks, and children of different ages often work together in the classroom.

KIPP Academy Charter School
The KIPP Academy Charter School proudly notes that it has repeatedly been the highest performing public middle school in the Bronx in reading and math scores and attendance.

The school offers an extended school year and a rigorous schedule that requires students and teachers to attend school from 7:25 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the week, for four hours on Saturdays, and for three weeks during the summer. The KIPP philosophy is based on "five pillars": high expectations, choice and commitment, more time, power to lead, and focus on results. During the KIPP school day, students attend classes in all major subject areas: reading, writing, social studies, science, math and thinking skills. All KIPP classes focus on developing students' basic skills along with their higher order critical thinking skills and literacy skills.

"The five pillars are living and breathing parts of our community," confirms Mandy Gauss, the director of development for KIPP Academy. The school is committed to teaching every child how to read music and play an instrument before they graduate, and KIPP's rhythm and string orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Gauss notes: "The attitude is that 'you will learn how to do it.' The classrooms are set up to make it engaging for kids with a wide range of music."

The same attitude permeates the culture of the school. Michelle Mason, the director of college placement at the school, adds, "We tell the students in fifth grade that they can go to college. Despite the harsh realities they face when they leave the school, we try to make them believe in that message." Mason continues: "Every single teacher and faculty are 110 percent committed to making the kids successful. It extends outside of the classroom. The teachers and the staff are really here for the kids."