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 […]
Dear all, The February 28 hearings on class size were so overcrowded that many people who came did not even get in the room or have a chance to testify. Many others were unable to attend because of other reasons. But I wanted to let you know that you will have a second chance. On […]
The class size hearings at City Hall on Friday were so overcrowded that it was standing room only. Sadly, many people weren’t allowed in the room, and many left before speaking. Among those educators, parents, students and advocates who managed to speak, many gave tremendously stirring testimony about how much their opportunities had been unfairly […]
Final Reminder: Please come to the City Council hearings tomorrow, Friday Feb. 28 starting at 10 AM at the Committee Room at City Hall on the need to lower class size in city schools; a flyer is here, and a new FAQ is here. Even if you don’t choose to testify, please come to show your support. Also, I […]
Welcome back from mid-winter break. Just a quick reminder that Council hearings will be held this Friday, Feb. 28 starting at 10 AM on the need to lower class size in the public schools at City Hall. We are urging the City Council to allocate specific funding towards lowering class size, first in the early […]
Just a quick update and correction of my previous email; the flyer for the NYC Council class size hearings now scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28 at City Hall was revised and is now available for download here. Please share the flyer widely, post it in your schools, and attend the hearings if you can; public testimony […]
The important Class size hearings have been moved to Friday Feb. 28 at 10 AM at City Hall. Here is an updated flyer. Please share widely, and sorry for all the confusion. If you can, 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, […]
On Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, parents, students, educators and advocates testified on the importance of reducing class size at City Hall hearings of the NYC Education Committee, chaired by Council Member Mark Treyger. Below are videos and links to written statements of some of these testimonies. The full unedited video of the hearings is here. […]
See the video of Regent Kathleen Cashin’s observations about class size which she made during the City Council hearings on Feb. 28 about what happened when she lowered class size in the District 23 schools when she was Superintendent. As she puts it, when you reduce class size, the “whole world changes.” She explained how […]
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 .
