Your independent guide to NYC public schools

With a snow day to start the week, our poll asking about outdoor play in bitter weather yielded a split response: A plurality of parents said "outside optional" made the most sense, nearly as many said that indoor play or watching a movie was better on winter days. A bunch of hardy souls think kids should play outside, weather notwithstanding, while very, very few -- less than 3 percent -- said schools should skip recess in lieu of more learning.

This week, we're curious about charter schools. With a new wave of charters set to open in the fall, wide community concern about the charters' effect on conventional schools, and a Mayor, Chancellor, and US Education Secretary who have all strongly supported charter schools, what do you think? Let us know.