Class Size Hearing on Thursday 2/29/24 at 1 PM; press conference at 12 noon in front of City Hall; please come! To testify remotely or in person sign up here: https://council.nyc.gov/testify/ The best testimony is to speak from your own experience as a parent about how your child would benefit from smaller classes; but here […]
Our new hand-out with an updated FAQ on the new law, complete with a brief rebuttal of some of the myths surrounding the law here and below.
Here is the brief presentation I gave as part of a Workshop at the Black and Hispanic Caucus weekend in Albany on Feb. 17, entitled “Every Student Deserves Small Classes: The Road Map towards Compliance with the State Law.” Please share with others if you can!
Feb. 7, 2024 Here and below is our Feb. 1 testimony to the State legislature on the budget, and how DOE is doing nothing to comply with the new class size law. In fact, as we point out below, class sizes have increased in most schools over the last two years, a trend that is […]
Feb. 6, 2024 Below is the presentation I gave last night to the Education Committee of the NYC Bar Association, on the history and the myths surrounding Mayoral control. Below that is my longer testimony on Mayoral control to the State Education Department, that goes into more depth on these issues. NYSED is supposed to […]
Jan. 30, 2024 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, with the overwhelming number of parents, teachers and community members who spoke vehemently opposed to the continuation of mayoral control. You can […]
This document is also downloadable as a PDF. See also our Updated FAQ on the Class Size Law. Myth: The research on the benefits of smaller classes is weak, and the only evidence relates to the early grades. Fact: Studies from Tennessee, Wisconsin, and other states demonstrate that students assigned to smaller classes in […]
Jan. 5, 2024 NYC has plentiful options for raising billions in more funding with the help of the state, including more than $170 million annually if our district was treated the same as any other district in the state by being eligible for charter transition aid and exempt from being forced to pay for charter […]
Below is a draft resolution for CECs and other community and advocacy organizations to consider passing, urging the DOE to adopt the recommendations in the report of the Class Size Working Group and begin to lower class size in compliance with the class size law. So far, resolutions urging the DOE to implement plans to […]
December 11, 2023 Our testimony at today’s NYC Council Finance hearings about how the Mayor’s proposed cuts to education would prevent the DOE from complying with the class size law and likely cause even sharper class size increases than students experienced over the last two years. Also available here.
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 .
