Two New York City Council Members and dozens of parents and youth were arrested for blocking traffic in lower Manhattan following a rally outside Department of Education (DOE) headquarters. Council Members Jumaane Williams and Charles Barron were among those arrested when hundreds of parents and students gathered to demand the City “fix schools, not just close them” as the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) prepares to vote this week on whether or not to close 26 schools. Read more and see video coverage at EdVox.
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CEJ Wins Tutoring Services for 48,000 Students
Last July, parents and education advocates were alarmed when state test scores revealed that 239,000 NYC students are not on track for success in college. The NYC Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ) spearheaded a “Save Our Schools” campaign with elected officials and leading advocacy organizations to secure immediate intervention services for these students. That effort saw a major victory on January 19th in Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement of a $10 million initiative to support 532 schools in providing additional tutoring services to the most struggling students, including small group and individual instruction during the school day, afterschool and on weekends, and supplemental instructional materials. CEJ parent leader Zakiyah Ansari spoke as part of the announcement today at the Department of Education headquarters in Manhattan.
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The release of the 2010 New York State reading and math test scores was a sobering moment for our city. The depth and breadth of the crisis is staggering. As a result of NYS recalibrating the test scores to align with college-ready standards, citywide reading scores declined by 27 points, math scores went down 28 points, and the racial and income-based achievement gaps have grown. Only 13% of students with disabilities and 14% of English Language Learners scored proficient in English Language Arts (ELA). Tens of thousands of additional students are NOT on the road to college and career success. Compared to 2009:
TweetSave Our Schools Campaign Launches!
Hundreds of CEJ parents joined more than a dozen New York City elected officials and New York’s leading education advocacy organizations on the steps of the Department of Education on Thursday to declare an education emergency in City schools, and to launch “Save our Schools”—an effort to secure immediate intervention services for more than 200,000 students who are unprepared for college.
The campaign demanded that the Department of Education (DOE) take the immediate action necessary to get all students on track for college and careers, by providing academic intervention services for students testing below standards, comprehensive supports for struggling schools, and the suspension of DOE policies and decisions based on the flawed current system of testing and monitoring.
Click here to view the press release.
TweetThe 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education
This report reveals that the overall 2007/8 graduation rate for Black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent. New York City only graduates 28 percent of its Black male students with Regents diplomas on time. This is more disturbing evidence that an education system that can help students meet the challenges of the 21st Century is as urgent as ever!