‘Rally Attendance is Mandatory.’ Staff Say Charter Schools Are Forcing Advocacy Ahead of Mayoral Election
At Success Academy, the largest charter network in New York City, staff say their principals are telling them to show up at a pro-charter rally this week. Participation has been described to employees as “mandatory.”
The “Rally and March for Excellence” is scheduled for Thursday, and is expected to bring together students, staff and families from more than 200 charters.
The event will start at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn and conclude with a march across the Brooklyn Bridge.
On its surface, the rally is framed as a nonpartisan show of support for charter schools. But interviews with more than a dozen current and former Success Academy and Zeta Charter Schools staff — along with internal emails, meeting recordings, and other documents reviewed by Labor New York — suggest a coordinated effort to pressure employees into participating in what they see as targeted advocacy.
The rally comes just weeks before a mayoral election. Queens State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — currently leading in the polls by more than 20 points — is the only candidate in the race who has publicly opposed charter expansion. Current and former Success Academy staff say the rally is aimed at Mamdani, even if he isn’t named directly.
Neither the CEO nor a spokesperson for Success Academy responded to multiple requests for comment by email and phone.
At a July 28 training event for more than 500 new teachers, CEO and founder Eva Moskowitz — a former City Council member — brought up Mamdani’s “anti-charter” stance in her opening speech, as well as the upcoming rally, according to multiple sources who were in attendance.
“He was the only person that she mentioned by name,” said Mackenzie Alderson, a former Success Academy elementary school teacher who attended the event.
On Aug. 8, Moskowitz addressed staff again in a network-wide Zoom meeting. “We will have a new mayor potentially, and we’ve got to make sure that [the] new mayor understands that, you know, ZIP code is not destiny,” she was heard saying in a recording reviewed by Labor New York. She added, “We are going to be working all angles, from the media to the politicians.”
Most recently, in an email sent to “Team Success” this week, Moskowitz wrote, “This is not an electoral event. We are holding our city and state leaders accountable.”
“Of course [the rally] is about Mamdani,” said Alison, a former digital marketing specialist, who worked in the corporate office from 2021 to 2023 and who asked only to be identified by her first name. “They’re very careful about how they frame things and write things.”
Success Academy — the largest charter school network in New York City, with 57 schools and over 22,000 students — has a long history of organizing pro-charter advocacy rallies.
“I think everybody involved in this can see who the primary target of this is,” said Liz Baker, a former spokesperson from 2019 to 2020. Baker was the media liaison for a 2019 rally in Queens, which she described as part of a “pressure campaign” against then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio blocked the expansion and co-location of charter schools with public schools. Mamdani has ranked de Blasio as the best New York City mayor in his lifetime.
Frank Marino, a Success Academy teacher from 2013 to 2015, recalled a similar rally in 2014 “in response to de Blasio not being pro-charter.” At that Albany rally, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — now a candidate for mayor — vowed to save charters. Marino said he and a couple of colleagues refused to go.
“Eva personally called my coworker to try to scare her into attending and scare us into attending,” he said.
Despite employees’ discomfort with Thursday’s rally, many feel they can’t refuse to attend. “My principal has said it’s mandatory numerous times,” said a middle-school teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Another teacher at an elementary school described a similar experience.
Over the last few weeks, Success Academy has also sent numerous messages to staff asking them to reach out to elected officials in support of charter schools.
“I’ve had to send emails to Mayor Adams as ‘deliverables,’” said a non-instructional Success employee in a private message, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. The emails were pre-scripted with language like “Don’t accept failure! Protect NYC children from underperforming schools!”
Documents reviewed by Labor New York from multiple sources showed that staff were asked to submit screenshots of these emails to their managers to confirm they had sent them.
When asked about the consequences of not complying, the non-instructional employee said, “I couldn’t even fathom opting out,” adding, “I’m too scared of my manager and senior leader.”
Zeta Charter Schools — a network of 11 schools with about 4,000 students — will also have a presence at the rally. Emails addressed to “Team Zeta” and “Zeta Families” said, “Powerful decision-makers are considering actions that could jeopardize our students’ futures.”
An internal document sent to staff at Zeta Charter Schools included phrases like “rally attendance is mandatory” and “100% attendance [is] expected from all Zeta families, students, and staff.”
The network was founded in 2017 by Emily Kim, former executive vice president of policy and legal affairs at Success Academy.
While Kim did not respond to multiple requests for comment, a spokesperson for Zeta said in an email that the event is a “powerful opportunity” for students to put into practice lessons about civic engagement, advocacy and community, “in solidarity with thousands of families, educators, and students across NYC.”
“Families ultimately make their own decisions about participation, and the vast majority of our families will rally together with us,” the spokesperson added.
Besides staff, students and families, the rally will also include the rapper Common, according to an email to Success Academy staff sent earlier this week.
It’s not unusual for Success Academy to invite celebrity guests to their rallies. Common made an appearance at a 2016 rally as well, and in 2015, a rally in Albany included an appearance from the singer Ashanti.
For the rally on Sept. 18, charters will be sending buses from across the city, including a Success Academy school in Far Rockaway.
“The advocacy team always has a big budget,” said a former member of that team. “It has to cost thousands and thousands of dollars.”
