On Wednesday, a rally was conducted by New York City’s charter school in Albany in order to support expansion of charter schools. The rally was attended by thousands of students, some state leaders and a pop star. According to organizers, the event was organized to attract attention to schools, which are not operating properly.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, called for some educational reforms, together with one which would permit for an additional 100 charter schools, and another that could pave the way for charter organizations to take over regular public schools.

According to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), he wants to ensure that every child gets the same opportunity as his son and his grandchildren have got. And it’s all about getting opportunity, he added.

"We are talking about giving parents the ability to have school choice. Charter schools are no longer an experiment. Charter schools are the cure. The Assembly's Democratic majority opposes Cuomo, Senate Republicans and the independent conference, which partners with the GOP majority, on the issue”, said Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), leader of the Independent Democratic Conference.

Mr. Andrew Silver, a teacher at Public School 145 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, said that performance of students is not good due to problems in their communities. Mr. Silver teaches physical education and after-school programs.

There were also interruptions at the charter schools’ rally. According to organizers, initially, the singer Janelle Monáe was going to perform for the crowd but because of scheduling difficulties, the program was cancelled. However, another famous singer, Ashanti performed at the rally. No comment was made by Jeremiah Kittredge, the chief executive of Families for Excellent Schools, whether or not the singer was paid for the performance.