Educational equity is a goal for many of us but in short supply. Parents, students, and teachers continue to search for improvements in a system that limits access to high-performing public schools, both charter and traditional, and disproportionately disciplines children of color.
New York City’s mayoral primary is on September 12th, six months from now, and it’s looking excessively likely that incumbent Bill de Blasio will win the primary and then win a second term in November. Given the odds, here’s a few suggestions from an admittedly edu-centric bystander on what the Mayor can do to improve… Continue reading A Few Suggestions for Mayor de Blasio’s Second Term Education Agenda
(Damian Gaillard is the parent of a fifth-grader who attends public school in Harlem, N.Y. This piece was originally posted at The 74.) I think we all remember what it was like to be in school and wanting to be with the “cool kids.” It used to be that meant wearing the latest sneakers or… Continue reading Harlem Dad: Parents Who “Opt-Out” Their Kids Let The System Off the Hook
On April 3, 2017, The New York Post broke the story of how Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, with the help of Chancellor Carmen Fariña, pulled strings to get his son into Park Slope’s top middle school. This is a blatant violation of rules that all families, connected or not, are expected to follow. And here… Continue reading Giving All NYC Families the Same School Choice That The Deputy Mayor Has
In addition to being a middle and high school English teacher, I’m also a certified literacy specialist. In my eyes, reading and writing are the cornerstone to every aspect of education and to life. Literacy is especially important for Black and Brown children who often lag behind their White counterparts in reading and writing. According… Continue reading The Community That Reads Together Succeeds Together!
With 1.1 million New York City public school students desperately needing help with their science education, we are fortunate that, on January 11, 2017, The American Museum of Natural History unveiled its upcoming Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation. Projected to open in 2020, the 235,000 square-foot Gilder Center will include six Family… Continue reading It’s Not Rocket Science: How To Improve Science Teaching in NYC Schools
Angelica Infante-Green on Creating the Nation’s First Dual Language Program for Children With Autism
(This is a guest post from Michael Vaughn, Director of Communications for Education Post.) As a deputy commissioner for the New York State Education Department, Angelica Infante-Green is making a difference in the critical areas of special education and bilingual education for students all across the state. And as a parent, she helped create the… Continue reading Angelica Infante-Green on Creating the Nation’s First Dual Language Program for Children With Autism
It is clear that students throughout the city are getting varying degrees of quality education, with children of color getting the shorter end of the stick. At times, students may even get varying degrees of quality education within the same building (i.e., tracking or school practices that put less experienced teachers with more difficult kids).… Continue reading Is a Fair and Equitable Education Possible in New York City?
A new report out from the Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG) evaluates the level of New York City’s “inequalities” in six sectors: economy, health, housing, justices, services, and — most importantly for our purposes — education. This analysis is ISLG’s second annual iteration and Founding Director Michael Jacobson notes that while last year’s… Continue reading New Report: NYC Public School System Characterized by “Vast Inequalities”
Less than two weeks after I criticized the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) plan to add racial diversity to Specialized High-Schools by offering intensive test prep to high-achieving, underserved students as too-little, too-late, the Panel for Educational Policy has voted to make a major change to the test itself. But I don’t think… Continue reading As A NYC Parent, I Don’t Think the DOE’s Change to Specialized Schools Admissions Test Will Create Diversity
Hunter College Elementary School just released applications for spots in its 2017 kindergarten class. Popular perceptions to the contrary, Hunter is not a public school but, rather, a “publically- funded” school. While the K-12 Upper East Side lab school is tuition-free, it is not under the auspices of the New York City Department of Education… Continue reading A NYC Mom asks, “Why aren’t unzoned schools held to the same standards as charter schools?”
