Please sign up for our Jan. 27 Parent Action Conference now!
Happy New Year and I have exciting news to report! Our annual Parent Action Conference (flyer here and below), co-sponsored by Class Size Matters, NYC Kids PAC and CEC2, will be held Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 at the Peck Slip School in downtown Manhattan (Take the A,C, 2, 3, 4, 5, J, or Z trains to Fulton Street; map here.)
After a rousing call to action by Bronx principal Jamaal Bowman, morning workshops will address important topics including: Parent Organizing 101, Legal challenges to overcrowding and large classes, Advocating for your child with special needs, Opting out of testing, Integrating our schools, Preventing bullying, Fighting charter expansion, and Promoting Restorative Justice to end the School to Prison Pipeline.
In the afternoon, we will show the acclaimed documentary on school privatization, "Backpack Full of Cash" narrated by Matt Damon. After the film, we will hold a panel discussion with special guest NY Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa. At some point during the day, we also plan to solicit the views of those attending the conference about what sort of Chancellor they would like to see to replace retiring Carmen Farina.
Please sign up now at Eventbrite. We are asking for a donation of $10 to cover the cost of lunch and the film, but you can contribute any amount you like. If you need a scholarship to attend, just email us at info@classsizematters.org. Hope to see you there! Leonie
PS Check out this week's The Nation, in which the editors urge Mayor de Blasio to focus on integrating our public schools and reducing class size during his second term.
FAR ROCKAWAY —The city approved the co-location of a Success Academy school inside a local middle school building that currently houses three schools, despite concerns from the community over space issues.
The Success Academy Charter School, run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, plans to open inside the building at 10-45 Nameoke St. for the 2016-2017 school year, the DOE said.
The charter will start with kindergarten and first grades, then add a grade each year until it hits the fourth grade.
They estimate they'll reach approximately 500-600 students by the 2019-2020 school year, and also expressed an interest in universal pre-k, according to the DOE.
They'll share space in the building with M.S. 53 and Village Academy Middle School, as well as a special school for students serving long-term suspensions that exceed five days, officials said.
The move — which will be the charter school group's third in Queens — has been criticized by parents and elected officials, who say the building is already overcrowded and isn't a good fit for younger students.
Councilman Donovan Richards said in a statement that the Panel for Educational Policy ignored the community's concerns, which were shared throughout the process, most recently at a hearing on Nov. 17.
"While I am not opposed to welcoming charter schools, such as Success Academy, into the Rockaways, it is unfair to the students and educators who already deal with inadequate resources to have another school come into the building causing division within the hallways," he said in a statement after the deal was approved.
He added that charter schools should be in their own buildings, a thought shared by many who spoke at the Nov. 17 hearing, according to the DOE.
One person worried the new charter school wouldn't be able to serve the district's special education students.
Another commenter asked where there was room in the building for Success Academy "if students were being taught in closets," according to a summary of the hearing.
According to the DOE, though, the building is under-utilized, with only 45 percent of the building currently in use.
The school's move into the building won't impact any classes or extracurricular activities, the DOE said, or M.S. 53's participation in the "School Renewal Program," which provides extra help to students and teachers.
The Success Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.