Important! Follow-up on class size and next steps

May 23, 2021

Thanks to all who participated in our Parent Action Conference yesterday, co-sponsored with NYC Kids PAC and Teens Take Charge. It was a terrific event. For those who couldn’t attend, a summary is posted here, along with a link to the Zoom recording.

Our keynote speakers, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Sen. Robert Jackson, and CM Mark Treyger, were both incisive and inspirational about how the additional billions made available to our schools are a tremendous opportunity to ensure that kids are provided with the programs and services that they truly need – but this won’t happen unless we push the city and state to require this. They were followed by a short presentation of the additional funds that will be available to our schools, and the results of our online survey. Then we separated into breakout groups and finally reconvened to hear everyone’s thoughts on how these funds should be invested in improving our schools. You can check out the results of our deliberations here.

Important reminder: City Council budget hearings will be held THIS Tuesday May 25 starting at 10 AM; you can sign up to testify live via Zoom until 9 AM tomorrow morning, or email your comments to [email protected] for three days after the close of the hearings. Your comments don’t have to be long, just be sure to sign them with your name and address, and copy them to your Council Members. You can find out their names and emails by filling out this form.   If you copy me as well at [email protected], I can post them on my blog.

If you do support smaller classes, remember to also send letters to your legislators to require NYC to update and implement a class size reduction plan; and sign our petition to the Mayor, asking him to agree to the Council proposal for $250M for smaller classes next year.

Finally, please share this important info with others who care. This is urgent, as we have only a little more than two more weeks before the Legislature adjourns and the city budget is finalized. If we don’t act now, NYC students may be consigned to years more of huge class sizes, denying them of their right to an equitable chance to learn.

thanks as always for your support,

Leonie at Class Size Matters