by Fernanda Santos, NY Times
The city announced on Tuesday that it had set aside $10 million to give extra help to tens of thousands of students who failed standardized exams last year after the state raised the standards for passing.
The money will be distributed among 532 schools and will benefit nearly 50,000 fourth through eighth graders.
The amount was less than state law requires, but the city did more than it had to. The law required school districts to offer extra help to all students who failed the tests in English and math, but the state waived the requirement this year because so many more students had failed at a time when districts were already cutting budgets.
The money will be disbursed in amounts ranging from $6,000 to $65,000, and it will be up to principals to decide how to use it, whether on small-group classes, on individual lessons or on books and Web-based programs.
City officials said they did not know yet where the money would come from. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg guaranteed it would be there and ready to be put to use by early next month, in time for the coming round of tests in the spring.
The new schools chancellor, Cathleen P. Black, who started the job this month, said, “This should not be taken as the signal that more money is the answer to all of our problems.” She acknowledged that, in this case, the money would help.
The schools were notified by e-mail Tuesday afternoon, catching school administrators by surprise, though it was nonetheless welcome news.
Karen Zuvic, the principal at Public School 86 in Jamaica, Queens, which is eligible to receive $50,400, was not yet sure how to use it, but said, “There’s always a need.”
Bently Warrington, the principal at Middle School 246 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, which has been allotted $33,800, had a plan: reinstate the after-school tutoring programs he had to end in October because of budget cuts.
“Despite the effort we’re making, it’s hard to meet the requirements, so the extra money will help,” Mr. Warrington said.
The most schools entitled to the money — 182 — are in the Bronx. The fewest, 13, are on Staten Island. Brooklyn had 179, Manhattan had 104 and Queens had 54, according to a tally by the Department of Education.
Across the state, far more students failed English or math tests last year than in 2009, and more than half of public school students in New York City failed their English exams. Two-thirds had passed in 2009.
The city had been providing help to students — an extra 37.5 minutes of instruction each day — who would have failed the tests under the older, easier standards. But the money will still not reach every student who failed a test in 2010.
Of the 239,000 city students who failed the English test, 108,000 would have passed under the previous standards, according to an analysis by the public advocate, Bill de Blasio. Of the 196,000 city students who failed the math test, 125,000 would have passed under the old standards, his office said.
The $10 million is reserved for schools where at least two-thirds of students failed one or both tests last year.
“I’m glad to see they’re taking the issue seriously,” Mr. de Blasio said. “But while those $10 million help, I doubt it’s everything we need to do. We have to figure out exactly what will give these kids the leg up that they deserve.”
Mr. de Blasio, several other city officials, labor leaders and community advocates had urged the city not to use the state’s waiver of the tutoring rule as an excuse to avoid providing help. On Tuesday, they said the money was an important first step.
Michael Mulgrew, the president of the teachers’ union, said, “A test isn’t everything, but it’s one of the things kids need to be successful at, so this will make a difference.”
Zakiyah Ansari, a parent leader at the Coalition for Educational Justice, said that to make it work, “we have to make sure this money goes exactly where it’s needed, not to more teaching to the test.”
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