NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein told charter school parents Saturday he was happy to have them in battle-mode in the fight for better public school choices for kids. "I'm thrilled that you are willing to take this fight on," Klein said during a session on "Parents As A Force For Change."

Klein's remarks, at the NYCSA's Sixth Annual Charter Schools Conference, came days after scores of city PTA-types boarded the United Federation of Teacher's buses and lobbied Albany against giving parents more power over which public schools their kids can attend. (See previous post on this here; see it from the UFT's vantagepoint here.)

"We stand together for the kids," Klein told the crowd Saturday. "Frankly, if it is not about that, I'd ask you to leave the room." (The Daily News coverage of Klein's speech is here.)

Klein emphasized that lifting the cap on charter schools was an important part of the city's overall strategy to create as many good choices for parents as possible.

"There's no good reason for a cap on our kids future," Klein said. "We, as a people, have got to lift that cap."

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NYCSA President Bill Phillips, in his "State of the Movement" remarks on Saturday afternoon, also urged charter school supporters to action. "We're very naive about the concept of power," Phillips said, noting that some charter school supporters don't always understand why there is so much resistance from opponents. "To the degree that we're expanding charter schools, we are eating away at their power," Phillips said.

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Paula Gavin, of the NYC Center for Charter School Excellence, outlined five key points for parents to push with legislators:

1. Charter schools are public schools.
2. The academics work.
3. Charter schools are serving the children with the greatest needs in the poorest communities.
4. Charter schools have both autonomy and accountability.
5. Charter schools are part of larger public school reform efforts.