NAACP Head Causes Stir At Charter School Meeting
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A battle over shared school space in Harlem got heated last night when the head of New York's chapter of the NAACP showed up at a meeting to discuss the plan.
Hazel Dukes got an earful from parents.
They're angry the organization has teamed up with the teacher's union in a lawsuit to keep charter schools from sharing space with existing public schools.
The showdown took place during a hearing on a revised plan to increase Harlem Success Academy's presence in PS 149.
"It is our right as a civil rights organization, to guarantee every child --every child; even charter children- that they have quality education," Dukes said.
"When you have some parents who have no clue -- if this lawsuit goes through -- where they're placing their kids in September. As a parent, that's a scary thing," said Charter school parent Khadijah Pickel.
The national president of the NAACP, Ben Jealous, flew in from Baltimore to make a surprise appearance at the meeting to lend his support for the lawsuit.
The organization says charter schools that share space with public schools create a separate and unequal educational system.
They also say students receive more resources at the expense of public school students.