Make your voice heard on class size and ed tech!

Sept. 17, 2023

A quick but important update on important meetings happening this week and next:

1. Save these dates on class size! The Class Size Working Group that was appointed by the Chancellor to help develop a plan to lower class size citywide in accordance with the new state law is holding public engagement sessions online and in person starting next week to present their preliminary proposals and get feedback: Tuesday, September 26th – 5- 7:30pm online (Manhattan/Brooklyn); Wednesday, September 27th – 5- 7:30pm online (Queens/Bronx/Staten Island) and Monday, October 2nd – Citywide from 5- 7:30pm in person at MLK Campus Auditorium, 122 Amsterdam Ave. Manhattan.

Registration links have not yet been posted as of this morning but soon will be here. The links may be posted by the time you read this message. Please register, attend, and let your voice be heard, especially as those few vocal parents who opposed the law and urged the Governor to repeal it are already doing outreach.

2. As you are probably aware, DOE’s inadequate privacy and security practices have contributed to widespread breaches of personal student information the last few years. Meanwhile, the administration has plans to significantly expand online learning, which made it difficult for most students to learn and stay engaged in school during the pandemic and may risk further undermining their privacy.

Tomorrow evening, Tues. Sept. 18, I have been asked to brief CEC 15 on the many ways DOE has failed to sufficiently protect and secure student data; you can sign up here if you’d like to watch via Zoom. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM.

The following day, Wed. Sept. 19 starting at 1 PM, the City Council Technology and Education Committees will be holding joint oversight hearings on the role of Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technology, and Computer Instruction in NYC schools. You can sign up to testify either remotely or in person here.

If you cannot testify, you can send in written remarks via the same link, up to Saturday Sept. 22 at 5 PM. If you have concerns about DOE’s plans to increase the use of ed tech, please testify or submit comments!

Thanks for your support, Leonie