New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced on March, 24, 2021 that, come September, all public school students would be back in the classroom, five days a week, in front of live teachers. A remote learning option would no longer be available, and medical accomodations for teachers would be severely curtailed. Here is what the… Continue reading NYC Mayor Promises Full Return To In-Person School, No Remote Option: Parents Respond
My Brooklyn colleague, Marina Kolmanovsky, wrote this about the prospect of requiring Pre-K teachers to get vaccines before returning to work: While my view on the Covid vaccine might be an unpopular one, it is nevertheless my opinion, and I have no desire to get it. My site has been reopened since June 4, 2020… Continue reading Two Pre-K Teachers’ Views on Mandatory COVID Vaccines
During his speech to joint sessions of Congress on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, President Joe Bident promised “universal free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as two years of free community college for young adults.” Neither proposal is new to New York City. Just as neither proposal is exactly free. Governor Cuomo introduced… Continue reading Who Will Pay For NYC’s “Free” College and “Free” Pre-K?
The recent “3K For All” expansion has once again been hailed as an altruistic “achievement” of the DeBlasio administration, and, of course, it is anything but. “Chloe, how can you say that? Isn’t it a good thing that more children can go to school?” Absolutely! I think we all can agree on that. However, I… Continue reading Who Is Really Paying For NYC to Have “Free” Pre-K for 3 Year Olds?
When Richard Carranza was the School Chancellor of New York City (April 2, 2018 – March 15, 2021), his repeatedly stated goal was to provide the exact same education to every single public school student in grades Pre-K through 12. That’s equity, his key professed value. He championed Computer Science… For All! (Despite not understanding… Continue reading How Carranza Could End Up Helping the Students of NYC After All!
Every school in New York City should become a community school, because it is the right thing to do, and because it’s better for students. Community Schools, which I’ve described in depth here, are essentially schools which offer services beyond those of a typical school in order to meet a wider range of students’ needs.… Continue reading Why Every School Should Be a Community School
Last week, we asked parents to weigh in on how New York City schools should spend the federal relief money coming our way. On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, President Joe Biden urged districts to use the funds to open all schools. However, according to the White House’s parameters, “all” schools are already “open.” The federal… Continue reading How Will NYC Schools Deal With Learning Loss…. Amidst Claims None Happened?
Community Schools are a small step in the right direction for New York City and for education as a whole. They have the potential to empower communities to support their own children using their own resources in their own ways. To understand why this is, though, requires understanding what Community Schools are right now, which… Continue reading Understanding NYC’s Community School, Renewal, Rise Programs
Last week, Chalkbeat reported: New York City public schools are projected to receive $4.5 billion in federal coronavirus relief, bringing a significant financial boost as education officials plan for the fall… (B)ig questions remain, including how state and city officials will use this new infusion of cash — roughly $4,500 more per student — to… Continue reading Parents Weigh In On How NYC Schools Should Spend Our Federal Relief Money
In June 2018, in a post entitled, What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda, I wrote: Unlike the SHSAT schools, the Mayor doesn’t need a vote in Albany to change admissions to Screened Schools. He could implement his 7 percent plan with the stroke of a… Continue reading NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students
