New class size report, info on huge data breach & remember to take our survey!

March 31, 2022

1. Last week we put out a new report, showing how average class sizes have fallen significantly in many schools, due to enrollment decline, though sharp disparities remain. We also wrote about how the DOE is proposing to cut spending for new schools by over $1.5B, leading to over 11,000 school seats eliminated. Check out our report to see how your district will be affected. We also provided testimony at last week’s budget hearings, pointing out how class sizes will again rise sharply to previous levels if the Mayor’s proposed $375 million cuts to school budgets are adopted. If your CEC or community groups would like a briefing on either of these issues, or to pass a resolution against these egregious cuts, let us know.

2. Please also take our ten-minute class size survey now and share it with other NYC parents, teachers, students and administrators. It will help us advocate against these horrible budget cuts. We also now have posted a version in Spanish.

3. Late Friday, the DOE revealed that a massive data breach from the Skedula and Pupil path programs had occurred that released the personal information of about 820,000 current and past NYC students. More on this here. If you are concerned about this issue and whether your child’s data was breached, here is a sample email you can send DOE.

4. Finally, we provided comments at the monthly Panel for Educational Policy meeting on Wednesday about a wasteful $82.5 million DOE contract to be paid to a company that would hire and manage consultants, at a big mark-up. To our surprise, the PEP voted NOT to approve the contract, for only the second time in its history. For more on what we said, check out the blog here.

But please take our survey first!