Class sizes keep increasing in all areas of the city, despite the Contracts for Excellence (C4E) law passed by the state in 2007, requiring the DOE to reduce class sizes in all grades. We are now in the fifth and final year of the city’s class size reduction plan, only class sizes in the early […]
Last week at the Save Our Schools conference, Robin Hiller of Voices for Education and I presented a workshop on class size reduction vs. Race to the Top. The room at American University was standing room only. I learned that Robin became involved in class size issue when her daughter was in a class of […]
July 26.2011 Yesterday, along with the NYC Parents Union and many individual parent plaintiffs, we filed a lawsuit against DOE regarding their policy of co-locating charter schools in DOE buildings. Our decision to sue the city was not taken likely, and was based upon two principal concerns: 1. According to NY state law, districts are […]
Sign our petition now, asking the State and City Comptroller to reject no-bid contracts with Murdoch’s Wireless Generation, with copies sent to the State Education Commissioner John King, the NY Board of Regents, NYC Chancellor Walcott, and the federal independent investigator for the US Dept. of Ed (since the state program is supposed to be […]
On June 29, 2011, along with the final city budget, the NYC Council approved two new important bills requiring more transparent reporting from the NYC Department of Education. According to the first bill, 354-A, the DOE will now be required to report each year by June 30 on the number of students discharged by individual […]
Check our NYC Council testimony about the unconscionable budget cuts that the mayor has proposed, that would led to the elimination of 6,000 teaching positions and the sharpest increases in class size in over thirty years. Also check out our proposals as to where more than $1 billion in resources can be found to prevent […]
Nearly half a million children currently attend overcrowded schools, one quarter of all elementary schools have waiting lists for Kindergarten, and due to residential development, the DOE admits that they will need at least 58,000 more seats over the next five years. The state pays for half of all funds spent on new school construction. […]
Is this really pocket overcrowding, as the DOE still maintains? With now, waiting lists at more than one fourth of the city’s elementary schools? Check out the maps below. Just as the administration cuts the capital plan back by almost 50%…..see for yourself the evidence of the growing overcrowding crisis in our schools. Though the […]
2011 FAQ on class size in NYC schools Frequently asked questions about class size 2011: What can a NYC parent do? (pdf) https://classsizematters.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/FAQ-class-size-2011.pdf
Class Size Matters is a non-profit organization that advocates for class size reduction in NYC’s public schools and the nation as a whole. The New York Times has called us the “city’s leading proponent of smaller classes.” We provide information on the benefits of class size reduction to parents, teachers, and concerned citizens, as well […]
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.
