#Success Academy shows how school leaders behave when kids come first

Once again, the leaders of the Success Academy charter network are showing what it means to truly put children and their education first.

Every year, SA schools start classes weeks earlier than the regular public schools. With the coronavirus still likely an issue this fall, the network planned to do a “blended” opening, with some kids in classrooms and others doing online work on any given day.

But the city pulled the rug out from under them by announcing that it won’t allow any school buildings to open before mid-September — indeed, it won’t even decide until Labor Day if any doors at all will open.

The issues seem to be twofold: The United Federation of Teachers is dragging its feet on letting any members take any risks, and Chancellor Richard Carranza’s Department of Education seems unable to do any significant planning that doesn’t involve his racial-consciousness-raising agenda.

But Success refuses to just delay its own reopening: It announced this week that it will simply start the year with online-only classes. High-school seniors will still start Aug. 4, and younger students a couple of weeks later.

Unlike the regular public schools, SA put major effort into making remote learning work. So its 20,000 students — mostly low-income, mostly black and Latino — really will make academic progress.

Meanwhile, the UFT and the DOE continue to focus on just about everything but making sure the kids learn.