It’s just about the end of this school year and, as I reflect upon what worked and what didn’t in preparation for next year, I am faced with the unfortunate truth that a lot of my students — my Black students, in particular – are being recommended or mandated to attend summer school. While I’m… Continue reading Black Students, Teachers, and Community Are In A Perpetual State of Emergency.
When she was in elementary school at PS 16 in Williamsburg, Jeanette Garzon Terreros started showing up late for school and missing homework assignments. As a way to set her straight, Gazon Terreros said her mom decided to enroll her in Uncommon Schools Williamsburg Collegiate, the charter school located in the same building, one floor… Continue reading Entire Graduating Class at Uncommon Charter High School in Bed-Stuy Is Heading Off to College!
Taylor Cook is a college counselor in Rochester, New York. She grew up in Rochester, New York, until the age of 8 before moving to Fairport—a suburb a few miles east of the city. After graduating high school, Taylor enrolled and graduated from Nazareth College with degrees in Spanish and international studies. “I can’t believe… Continue reading Most of My Students Didn’t Know Any College Graduates But That’s Not Stopping Them From Going to College!
Assemblywoman Latrice Walker worked the group of energetic children gathered Thursday in the Brownsville Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library like a master teacher. “Every time you hear a name, I want you to clap twice,” Walker told the students ranging from kindergartners to second graders as she read the book “Stevie,” by John Steptoe.… Continue reading No Sliding For These Brownsville Students This Summer!
We’ve all seen the infamous video by now: The Upper West Side mother objecting to a proposal to set aside 25 percent of seats in New York City’s District 3 middle schools for students who score either a 2 (below proficient) or a 1 (well below proficient) on their NY state standardized tests. The conceit… Continue reading How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step
Growing up in my home, education was pushed as the most important resource to obtain. My parents reminded me repeatedly that I was already born with two strikes against me — being a female and being Black. They prepared me for the harsh yet true reality that although I was smart and did exceptionally well… Continue reading This Is How We Damage Our Black Students’ Prospects
This post was written by Lamont Douglas, a father, advocate and blogger at Secondline. He resides in New Orleans, Louisiana where he has been a powerful voice for educational equity. For more NYST coverage of the integration uproar on the Upper West Side, see here, here, here, and here. Melba. Minnijean. Elizabeth. Ernest. Gloria. Carlotta. Thelma. Terrence.… Continue reading I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!
New York School Talk is eighteen months old and eager to expand our network of writers — parents, teachers, students, education leaders — who share our conviction that all New York City’s children, regardless of income and ethnicity, must have access to high-quality schools. Do you have opinions on or insights into aspects of New… Continue reading Do You Have Something to Say About NY Education?
Transfers, a play about two students from the Bronx, one Black, one Hispanic, who are competing for a scholarship at an elite, Massachusetts liberal arts university, was originally developed in the summer of 2016 at Vassar College. But it arrives in New York City in 2018, smack in the middle of a raging controversy about… Continue reading Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed
CNN recently reported about yet another culturally insensitive assignment given to students in an eighth-grade U.S. history class at a charter school in Texas. There, students were told to complete an assignment on the “positive aspects” and “negative aspects” of the life of slaves, giving a “balanced view.” This assignment wreaks of micro-aggressive and racist… Continue reading Schools Are Some of The Most Racist Places on Earth
