PDF version here. NYC Should Fund Class Size Reduction Now! Class Size Matters is proposing that the NYC Council allocate $200 million to be targeted to reducing class size, starting first in the early grades and in struggling schools. That amount would pay for the salaries of about 2,000 new teachers, which could reduce class […]
A pdf you can download of this memo is here. Agostini v Elia—The New York City C4E Class Size Case In July 2017, nine parents from each borough of New York City filed a petition with the State Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) charging the City Department of Education (“DOE”) with failing to reduce […]
PDF of this testimony here. March 15, 2019 Thank you for holding these hearings today. My name is Leonie Haimson and I am the Executive Director of Class Size Matters, a citywide advocacy organization dedicated to providing information on the benefits of smaller classes. I am also the co-chair of the Parent Coalition for Student […]
Presentation given at the terrific education forum sponsored by Jackson Heights People for Public Schools on March 16, 2019.
This blog post was originally posted here. PDF version is available here. Wednesday, February 27, 2019. Requiem for the Renewal schools: what went wrong? On February 26, 2019, the Mayor and the Chancellor Carranza announced an end to the Renewal program, which has cost the city $773 million since 2014. Since that time, of the 94 schools put on the list […]
Here is a summary of class size trends in NYC public schools, for all grade levels. For district specific trends, please email us [email protected] In short, though the state’s highest court concluded in 2003 that smaller classes were needed for NYC students to receive their constitutional right to a sound basic education, class sizes are […]
Full report with citations posted here (pdf):The Impact of PreK on School Overcrowding in NYC: Lack of Planning, Lack of Space, Dec. 2018. A Daily News article about the report is here. Summary: New York City public schools are critically overcrowded. About 575,000 students, more than half of all students, attended schools that are at […]
This testimony is available as a pdf here. December 18, 2018 Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. My name is Leonie Haimson, and I’m the Executive Director of Class Size Matters. NYC public schools are critically overcrowded and the new five-year proposed capital plan fails to address the need for new […]
Class size and overcrowding citywide and in District 6. Presented to CEC 6 on Dec. 3, 2018.
The NY Times front-page article by Eliza Shapiro about the disappointing results at the Renewal schools is here. I have written and testified about the deeply flawed strategies used in these schools since at least 2015, advocating that instead, DOE should be reducing class sizes in these schools, as they have promised the NY State […]
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 .
