What do

I like about food stamps? I like that they get the service directly to the person who needs it.

What is the difference, policy-wise, between a food stamp and an education stamp? And I concluded that I couldn't morally...

Simply say, well, an affluent person, if they don't like the school district, they move to the suburbs.

A less affluent person might, you know, scrounge up the money to send their kid to a parochial school.

But the poorest of the poor are just stuck.

In schools that are going on a half a century of failure, that did not seem to me like the ethical position.

What's going on? Yeah, what's going on with this?

What type, how long is your school day? What is the workload like?

Well, a regular school day is often 8:30 to 2:30.

We go t- from 7:45 to about 4:30.

So it's a longer day, it's a longer school year.

Our kids, by the time they graduate from high school, have three additional years of education.

I should also say, Brian, that we're quite classical in our orientation.

Kids are learning four years of world history in middle school.

So d- do you believe that there should be more Success Academies across the country? Is that your goal? And how are you able to function with- while gi- giving these kids free tuition?

Talk to us about the findings.

Well, Tom, it's just so tragic that 43% of New York City schools, which, by the way, are spending more money than any place around the world.

We are spending in New York City $36,000 per kid.

And yet 43% of the schools are grossly failing children, which is about 400,000 children.

And I wrote this report because it doesn't have to be this way.

It is 180 degrees from government-run schools What do you do that makes such a big difference in the results and the outcomes?

First, we teach phonics.

We believe in the science of reading.

Why did you choose to open a school here? And what is your aspiration for this campus?

Well, as you mentioned, I've been doing this for 20 years.

I started with 165 kindergartners and first graders, and I've educated kids for 20 years in whatever facility I was given.

And it was really important to me to not use the facility as an excuse.

You often co-locate with public schools.

55 of the 59 schools are co-located, and all of the five schools in South Florida that I'm opening in 2728 are co-located.

So it's not about the facility.

Why is fixing failing public schools so difficult?

So I was wondering if you could reflect a little bit on what are the barriers that could be put up? I mean, listeners may be wondering, if you have someone in the mayor's office who is not a supporter of charter schools, what are the roadblocks that can be put up using the mayor's power?

Yeah.

It's a really good question, and you've come to the right person because (laughs) I spent eight years...

You know, there are the public rhetorical opposition.

The mayor can go to Albany and propose anti-charter bills.

But then there's the death by 1,000 cuts, the daily sort of weaponizing of schools that can happen.

So during the eight years of Mayor de Blasio, he denied us permits to administer the SAT.

What is your response to that criticism of the charter campaign?