N.Y. Charter Finds Hurdles in Seeking Disadvantaged Students

An aid charity’s Bronx charter school that is targeting the area’s most challenged students is having trouble attracting applications, according to The New York Times.

Set to open this fall, the Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School—the first full-fledged academic institution developed by the Children’s Aid Society—is offering priority admissions to children who come from homeless or low-income families, suffer from disabilities, or are learning English.

With two months to go until the lottery to determine charter placements, Children’s Aid officials said they are not receiving enough applications for the school, which was announced in September. They said use of the word “weighted” in describing the school’s special lottery turned parents off and has been replaced by “preferences.”

“Reaction in the community was not great,” said Drema Brown, the charity’s vice president for education. “The reality is we are trying to create greater equality.”