March 29, 2020 Dear folks: Hope you and your families are figuring out how to cope with all the new restrictions on life as we used to live it, as well as the new regime of remote learning – if that’s what your child’s school is trying to do. 1. Meanwhile, NY Governor Cuomo has […]
March 22, 2020 Dear all: A lot of news to catch up on. Tomorrow starts remote learning for NYC public school students. If you don’t have an online device, the Chancellor said on Friday that you can pick up written packets of suggested homework at the 400 school sites distributing food. [UPDATE: apparently these packets […]
March 15, 2020 After several weeks of resistance, Mayor de Blasio just announced that starting tomorrow, Monday March 16, NYC public schools will be closed, and will remain closed until at least April 20, to stem the rapid spread of coronavirus. For the next week, schools will be open only as a place for parents […]
Class Size Matters and other groups are urging the City Council to allocate $100 million towards class size reduction in next year’s education budget. Please call the Speaker’s office with this message: “As a parent [or teacher, or concerned citizen], I urge the Speaker to fight for $100 million to be targeted towards reducing class […]
A pdf of this testimony is posted here; a video of my abbreviated remarks is here. Leonie Haimson’s Testimony before the NYC Council Education Committee on the Need to Reduce Class Size in the NYC Public Schools Feb. 28, 2020 Thank you Chair Treyger for holding these important hearings today on a subject that is […]
Here and below is the updated flyer for the Feb. 28 class size hearings at City Hall, starting at 10 AM. Please share widely, and sorry for all the confusion. Please come to show your support for smaller classes, even if you don’t choose to testify. If you can’t be there at 10 AM, don’t […]
The Board of Regents and the New York State Education Department are re-examining the use of Regents “exit exams” as a requirement for high school graduation, and are holding a series of regional public sessions to gather input from parents, teachers and other stakeholders before making any changes to the current policy. These meetings will […]
Jan. 16, 2020 Please join Class Size Matters and NYC Kids Pac to rally for smaller classes on Wed. January 29 in front of City Hall at noon; with City Council hearings focused on the class size issue to follow, starting at 1 PM. The rally and hearings are an ideal opportunity for parents and […]
Dec. 31, 2019 Dear Friend: I wanted to let you know that we just heard yesterday that the appeal of our class size lawsuit vs the DOE Chancellor and State Education Commissioner, Agostini vs. Elia, will be heard on Monday, January 13 at 1 PM in the Appellate Court in Albany. We filed the […]
Dec. 27, 2019 Dear all– I hope you had a wonderful holiday break with friends and family. Please consider making a year-end, tax-deductible donation to Class Size Matters so that we can continue our passionate advocacy for the smaller classes that all kids need for a quality education. We also promote the parent voice in […]
Please join us on Wed. June 18 when we will honor Dr. Betty Rosa, former Bronx principal, District Superintendent, Board of Regents member and now NY State Education Commissioner for courageously standing up against the Trump administration on the importance of preserving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in our public schools. Wine and food will be served!
Sign up here for our Annual Parent Action Conference on June 7th 2025, with keynote speaker Jamaal Bowman!
Sign here to urge NYC to implement a real, multi-year strategy to lower class size, as the law intends, without exempting up to half or more of all students.
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.
