Success! Hope! April 19, 2024 SUCCESS! Long time readers know I’m a big fan of Success Academy charter schools. I laid the case out here, for example. Success accepts students from tough New York City neighborhoods — by lottery. No aptitude tests or interviews required. They demand serious commitment from parents — most parents welcome the chance to help their kids succeed — and they produce phenomenal results, matching or exceeding those of the wealthiest school districts in the state. The first Success Academy started with 165 students. Today, there are 53 throughout the city with more than 20,000 students. This quick video gives you a sense of what’s possible. I love teachers and I love unions; but the teachers union has fought Success every step of the way . . . just as, during COVID, they put teachers’ interests ahead of students’. There are ways to find win-win solutions; but without a “children’s union” to balance the power of the teachers’ union, those solutions are too infrequently found. Many Democrats are proponents of education reform. (Success Academy was founded by and is run by Democrats.) But our support should be less timid. On the other hand, when it comes to fighting child poverty, supporting families, and providing health care, Democrats lead the way. Not to mention women’s rights, climate, gun safety, voting rights, tax fairness, consumer protection, and — crucially this year — democracy itself. So we urgently need a giant blue wave in November (click here), and on that score there’s reason to: HOPE! Are you subscribed to The Hopium Chronicles? We’re gonna win. Have a great weekend.