NYC Issues Defective Metrocards to Success Academy Students, Throwing Wednesday’s School Day Into Chaos

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 4, 2018**

Contact: Ann Powell, 646-894-6407 Ann.Powell@successacademies.org

Brian Whitley, 510-495-5542 Brian.Whitley@successacademies.org

NYC ISSUES DEFECTIVE METROCARDS TO SUCCESS ACADEMY STUDENTS, THROWING WEDNESDAY’S SCHOOL DAY INTO CHAOS  

City Department of Education Reveals Routine Lack of Care to the Needs of Thousands of Public Charter School Students

NEW YORK, NY — The New York City Department of Education today informed Success Academy Charter Schools that an unknown number of MetroCards issued to students across the 47-school network are defective. As of late afternoon, the DOE could not determine the exact number of schools and students affected, but least 10 schools and hundreds of scholars were known to be impacted.

In a typical display of lack of care and diligence, the DOE informed a few Success Academy schools late this afternoon that unknown number of scholars wouldn’t be able to use the cards to travel to school in the morning. It was only after Success Academy’s network offices made further inquiries that the problem was found to extend across multiple schools. The cards, which were distributed to students on Friday, had an expiration date of 8/31. When Success staff questioned the validity of the cards, the DOE gave assurance that the MTA had programmed the cards to extend beyond the 8/31 expiration date.

Today’s last-minute notice will disrupt the routines of potentially thousands of New Yorkers -- many of whom are low-income parents and children who rely on the subsidized MetroCards for transportation to school -- in the 17,000-student school network.

Founded in 2006, Success Academy Charter Schools are free public K-12 schools open to all children in the state through a random lottery. With 47 schools across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, in August, Success Academy enrolls 17,000 students, primarily low-income children of color in disadvantaged neighborhoods: 74% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 94% are children of color, 16% are children with disabilities, and 8% are English language learners. Ranked in the top 0.3% in math and the top 1.4% in English on 2017 state proficiency tests, Success Academy schools received more than 17,700 applications for 3,288 open seats this year.