Earlier today, City Council Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced and introduced legislation which would effectively reduce class sizes by updating NYC’s Administrative Code. The bill (Int. No. 2374) will raise the minimum per person classroom space to 35 square feet per student from the current 20 square feet for grades […]
June 20, 2021 On Friday, we released a new short video on why class size matters and why it must be reduced in NYC schools. The video includes the voices of parents, educators, and students, as well as historian Diane Ravitch, former District Superintendent Kathleen Cashin, and CM Danny Dromm, who is leading the charge […]
June 16, 2021 The state bill, S.6296/A. 7447 that would require NYC to update and implement a class size reduction plan did not pass this Legislature this session, despite garnering strong support. We will work to make sure it passes next year. Thanks so much to all of you who made calls and sent emails; […]
June 8, 2021 I wanted to share with you my latest Gotham Gazette piece co-authored with Wendy Lecker of the Education Law Center about why this year, to do right by our kids, the Legislature must restart the clock on NYC’s obligation to lower class size by passing S.6296 and A. 7447. We have only […]
June 4, 2021 Thanks so much if you contacted your legislators to support S.6296 and A. 7447, the bills that would require NYC to update and implement a five-year class size reduction plan. We have only a week before the Legislature ends for the year, so we are now switching gears and asking people to […]
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, […]
May 20, 2021 Last chance to sign up for our Parent Action Conference, co-sponsored by NYC Kids PAC and Teens Take Charge, to be held this Sat. at 11 AM, May 22. All parents, teachers, students and concerned New Yorkers are invited.We want to hear your thoughts on how the additional $8B in state and […]
By law, the DOE is supposed to report on class sizes twice a year, the first time on Nov. 15 and then again on Feb. 15. We had heard from parents of egregiously large classes sizes this fall for many students engaged in remote learning of sixty students or even more, either full-time or part-time. […]
A pdf of this testimony is posted here. Class Size Matters Testimony on Impact of COVID-19 on Student Learning and Academic Achievement January 20, 2021 Thank you for holding these oversight hearings today. My name is Leonie Haimson and I am the Executive Director of Class Size Matters. Recent articles in the NY Post [1], […]
Dec. 28, 2020 Dear Friends — 2020 was a difficult year for Class Size Matters as it was for many non-profits. If you support our mission of smaller classes, so that all students no matter what their background can receive the help and feedback from teachers they need for an equitable opportunity to learn, please […]
Talk out of School radio show and podcast airs Sunday night at 7 PM on WBAI 99.5 FM or online at www.wbai.org when Leonie Haimson and Daniel Alicea interview guests and discuss issues affecting public schools in NYC, the state level and nationally. You can stream or subscribe to the podcast here; or at iTunes, Spotify or Google.
We held our annual Skinny award dinner Wed. June 28, 2023, honoring Rep. Jamaal Bowman, former Bronx principal and now a progressive trailblazer who is fighting in Congress to protect and improve our public schools. More photos on Facebook .
