Non presidential year elections tend to result in low voter turn-out in New York City. Which is a shame, because, as I wrote exactly one year ago: I have been offering open-to-the-public Getting Into NYC Kindergarten and Getting Into NYC High School workshops for about 15 years now. But it was only four years ago… Continue reading When It Comes to NYC Schools, Why You Should #VoteLocal
Earlier this week, we printed a post from New York City public school parents willing to go on strike to demand a remote learning options for their children, and from those who insisted it wasn’t necessary and would only make the upcoming year worse. One incensed parent wrote me: TM: Parents are afraid of unvaccinated… Continue reading Parents Stand Up For Teachers In Possible NYC School Covid Strike
Despite last week’s City Council hearing on the September 13, 2021 return to school plans, where Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and a cohort of parents advocated for a remote education option, Mayor Bill de Blasio and School Chancellor Meisha Porter insisted that, save for listed medical exceptions*, all students, vaccinated or not, would be… Continue reading Will NYC Parents Strike On the First Day Of School – And Beyond?
Part #1 Part #2 For decades, Community Based Organization preschools in NYC have been the main source of “PreK For All” seats for the city’s children, and are now single-handedly making the “3K” expansion that the mayor brags about a reality. Most of the children and families served in CBOs are the most underprivileged in… Continue reading NYC Teacher Speaks Out: Equity For ALL? (Part 3 of 3)
Part One Most Community Based Organization preschool staff, like myself, worked in person, throughout the past year, when many in the NYC education field “went remote.” I am the leader of a CBO pre-k in the Bronx that has served the community for over 70 years. Recently, the mayor and city council didn’t think school… Continue reading NYC Teacher Speaks Out: “Essential” Workers? (Part 2 of 3)
“NO 3K Without Equal Pay!” This is a slogan that was written several years back on a sign that has been gathering dust in an office closet at the Bronx Community Based Organization (CBO) preschool in a NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) development where I work. Guess it may be time to take it out again,… Continue reading NYC Teacher Speaks out: City Still Falls Short on CBO Pre-K Pay Parity Promises (Part 1 of 3)
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?
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
Dear Mr. Secretary, Congratulations on your promotion. You have a lot of work ahead of you. During your time in office, there are a few things that I ask you to do: Firstly, and most importantly, always listen to students. Every aspect of education should be student-centered and student-directed. In any educational question, the needs… Continue reading No Retakes, No Extensions: A Student’s Open Letter To Incoming Education Secretary Miguel Cardona
As we shared last week, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio unexpectedly held a press conference the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend to announce the school re-opening plan he’d promised the previous Wednesday but then said would be coming sometime in early December. (Got that?) Hizzoner proclaimed that while middle and high schools would remain… Continue reading The Needs Of the Many Outweigh the Needs Of the Few: NYC Schools Edition
