April 17, 2024 Because of a cyberattack that hit Albany, negotiations over Mayoral control and the budget are temporarily on hold. Meanwhile, the only education organization that has publicly come out in favor of extending Mayoral control is the charter school lobby – whose schools are not governed by the Mayor, though he’s done them […]
April 22, 2024 Dear all — The State budget was finalized on Friday, and to the disappointment of many, it extended Mayoral control for another two years. This occurred due to the insistence of the Governor, and despite the express wishes of many Legislators, who had said that this important issue needed careful consideration and […]
May 1, 2024 Dear all: 1. On Saturday May 11 at 10:30 AM, Class Size Matters will be holding our annual Parent Action Conference, co-sponsored by NYC Kids PAC. Our keynote speakers, Sen. John Liu and CUNY Law professor Natalie Gomez-Velez, the co-author of the NYSED study of Mayoral control, will discuss why […]
January 30, 2024 Two important deadlines this week. 1- The deadline to submit your views on Mayoral control is tomorrow, Wed. January 31, at 5 PM. You can upload your testimony here. The borough hearings were very well attended, and the overwhelming number of speakers, whether parents, teachers or community members, were […]
Feb. 8, 2024 1.Save the date! The City Council Education Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday Feb. 29 at 1 PM on the proposals of the Class Size Working Group, and what the DOE is doing or not doing to lower class size. If you support the goal of smaller classes, please sign up […]
Jan. 22, 2021 Dear all – 1.Please read my piece published today at Gotham Gazette. It explains why the DOE should cancel the “gifted” tests immediately; now and forever. It makes no sense to continue this invalid, unreliable and biased exam, especially in the midst of a pandemic and the prospect of steep budget cuts […]
November 12, 2020 Dear Friends, 1/ Today, Thursday Nov. 12 at 6:30 PM, I’ll be speaking at an online forum hosted by Brooklyn for Peace about how the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the inequities that already exist within our public school system. You can find more information about this forum and sign up to attend here. 2/ The […]
October 5, 2020 Dear Friends, Yesterday the Mayor announced that all school buildings will be closed on Wed. in 9 neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn where the infection positivity rates have been over 3% for at least seven days; today the Governor moved that date forward, saying these schools will be closed starting tomorrow Tuesday. The zip codes […]
1. Just a quick note to let you know that the hearings on class size have now been rescheduled on Mon. Feb. 24 at 1 PM at 250 Broadway; 14th floor across from City Hall. We really need parents and concerned citizens and, if possible, teachers to come speak about why this is an important issue to […]
Sept. 24, 2018 The next five-year capital plan for schools will be introduced sometime in the next two months. In May 2016, Mayor de Blasio promised that he would fully fund the capacity portion of the new plan, to alleviate current overcrowding and address future enrollment growth. Based upon a Nov. 2017 estimate, this meant […]
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.
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 .
