Earlier today, City Council Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced and introduced legislation which would effectively reduce class sizes by updating NYC’s Administrative Code. The bill (Int. No. 2374) will raise the minimum per person classroom space to 35 square feet per student from the current 20 square feet for grades […]
July 8, 2021 Instead of the $250 million the City Council proposed should be invested in lowering class size, Mayor de Blasio would agree to only $18 million, for a “pilot” project in a few schools. This despite the fact that there will be a crying need for smaller classes next year, both for social […]
July 20, 2021 Late Friday, the DOE finally posted a schedule for Contract for Excellence (C4E) borough hearings, in response to a letter from Wendy Lecker of the Ed Law Center and I sent nearly a month ago, urging them to schedule timely hearings and to take public input seriously in their plan, as the […]
Friday June 25, 2021 Dear folks — It’s down to the wire. The City Council negotiations with the Mayor over next year’s budget are in their final stages, as the budget is due next week. Reportedly, the Mayor is dragging his feet over the Council’s proposal to allocate $250M towards lowering class size. We have […]
June 20, 2021 On Friday, we released a new short video on why class size matters and why it must be reduced in NYC schools. The video includes the voices of parents, educators, and students, as well as historian Diane Ravitch, former District Superintendent Kathleen Cashin, and CM Danny Dromm, who is leading the charge […]
NYC educators, parents, students, elected officials explain how class size has a profound impact on learning and the quality of education, especially for disadvantaged and high needs students, and that for the sake of true equity, class sizes should be reduced in NYC and nationwide. If you agree, please sign our petition to the […]
June 16, 2021 The state bill, S.6296/A. 7447 that would require NYC to update and implement a class size reduction plan did not pass this Legislature this session, despite garnering strong support. We will work to make sure it passes next year. Thanks so much to all of you who made calls and sent emails; […]
June 8, 2021 I wanted to share with you my latest Gotham Gazette piece co-authored with Wendy Lecker of the Education Law Center about why this year, to do right by our kids, the Legislature must restart the clock on NYC’s obligation to lower class size by passing S.6296 and A. 7447. We have only […]
June 4, 2021 Thanks so much if you contacted your legislators to support S.6296 and A. 7447, the bills that would require NYC to update and implement a five-year class size reduction plan. We have only a week before the Legislature ends for the year, so we are now switching gears and asking people to […]
May 23, 2021 Thanks to all who participated in our Parent Action Conference yesterday, co-sponsored with NYC Kids PAC and Teens Take Charge. It was a terrific event. For those who couldn’t attend, a summary is posted here, along with a link to the Zoom recording. Our keynote speakers, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Sen. Robert Jackson, […]
Sign the petition asking for a moratorium on the use of AI until rigorous safeguards are established to protect student privacy, learning and the environment.
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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, Daniel Alicea and Kaliris Salas Ramirez interview guests and discuss issues affecting public schools in NYC, the state level and nationally. You can stream or subscribe to the podcast here at Simplecast; or at iTunes, Spotify or Google.
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.
