NY1 VIDEO: At the beginning of the school year in 2005, charter schools were booming. In just two years, the number of privately-run public schools in the city had nearly doubled, helped by a pro-charter schools mayor and school's chancellor. NY1's Education reporter Jennifer Rainville went to one of those charter schools for their first day to report on the trend on September 9, 2005.

NY1 FOLLOW-UP: In the years since this report was filed, the popularity of charter schools has only increased, and so has criticism of the trend. Some say the number of charter schools should be limited, that they drain resources from non-chartered schools, and are not evaluated well. But many parents, educators and Mayor Michael Bloomberg feel charter schools work well for students. Currently, there are 159 charter schools in New York City.