Support Our District Schools
For the past six months, Upper West Side residents have been subjected to a barrage of advertisements and promotional materials, as well as press coverage, editorials and Department of Education pronouncements, telling us about a great new school which will add to our community and our neighborhood. We also have been told that parents and the community desperately need this school, as we have so very few good elementary and middle schools in District 3. Lastly, we have been told of the overwhelming community support for this added “choice” as witnessed by petitions and applications. Read more
Lift the Cap And Help Our Public Schools
How to educate our children is an incredibly complex and controversial issue. One of the few things that almost everyone agrees on is that the more choice parents have, the more likely there will be a better educational outcome for their child.
In the more affluent neighborhoods of Manhattan, there are numerous very good schools, both public and private. Unlike some suburban areas and rural parts of America, where the local public school is the only choice, in Manhattan parents get to research and choose from a wide variety of educational settings to match the needs of their child. Read more
Let’s Talk About Sex
Is your child getting sex education at school? The subject, often taught in health classes in middle and high school, may not be as prevalent as most parents think.
The health curriculum set up by the New York City Department of Education, which includes comprehensive sex education, is only recommended. The only health curriculum city public schools are required to teach is set by the state, which emphasizes a strong understanding of healthy choices, but says nothing specifically about sexual health. Read more
Parents in Public Schools
It is the middle of July, and few New Yorkers are thinking about school these days—except, perhaps, up in Albany.
That’s where the recently un-deadlocked Senate is slated to take up the Assembly’s school governance bill, which passed June 17, leaving mayoral control of schools fairly intact.
Senate Dems have a few amendments they’re rumored to add, including a provision that would create some sort of parent training academy. At press time, though, it sounded like those tweaks would remain ideas only, as the Assembly is unlikely to reconvene and approve additional changes. Read more
COMPTROLLER BLASTS DOE ON PARENT INPUT
As the State Legislature negotiates renewing the bill that gives mayors power over New York’s school system, a recent report by the office of City Comptroller Bill Thompson charges that the Department of Education blocks input from public school parents.
The report, “Powerless Parents,” focuses on Community Education Councils (CECs), as well as parent-teacher-student associations. The comptroller’s staff interviewed 24 of the city’s 32 district parent councils. The report found that the department rarely consults with the parent councils on recommendations for capital plans, or to make decisions about school openings and closings—the subject of a lawsuit filed against the Department of Education and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein by the Upper East Side’s District 2 council.
“CEC officers we spoke with believe their influence has steadily diminished ever since the first group was elected in 2004, and that CECs have essentially become irrelevant,” said Thompson in a statement. “This has all occurred as a direct result of DOE decision making.”
Thompson, Bloomberg’s chief rival for mayor, lists recommendations to increase parental control, including amending state law so that parent councils receive 45 days’ notice before major changes are made to schools, and that the department releases a “semi-annual” report on parent council performance.
David Cantor, a press secretary for the department, said in a statement that Thompson’s plans would take the public school system back to an “old era” where there was no accountability.
“We have also worked closely with CECs and other parent leaders across the city to rezone school districts, open new schools and develop policies that will help students and schools to thrive,” Cantor added.
Thompson’s full report can be found on comptroller.nyc.gov.
