NYC’s Summer Rising program gets admissions overhaul
As summer approaches, New York City families should expect changes in the sign-up process and who will be given priority for the city’s sprawling public summer enrichment program, which will again be open to 110,000 children. Summer Rising — launched under former Mayor Bill de Blasio in the summer of 2021 with the help of federal […]
NYC parent coordinators are essential school workers. Many feel undervalued and underpaid
“Family engagement” and “parent empowerment” are not mere buzzwords to Ana Maria Aguilar. They are her touchstones as parent coordinator at a Brooklyn elementary school, where she sees the faces of her own parents — immigrants from Mexico — reflected in many of the families at drop-off and pickup. “They come in with such fear. […]
Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay
On Staten Island, a middle schooler with a hair-trigger temper was in a fistfight every week. In north Brooklyn, a ninth grader cut class for months before he tried to commit suicide. A few miles east, where Brooklyn meets the marshlands of Jamaica Bay, a 13-year-old ended up in a psychiatric emergency room after the […]
NYC education panel approves mayor’s proposed $30.7B schools budget after lengthy debate
Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed $30.7 billion budget for the education department got the green light Wednesday night from New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy. The vote by the city’s 23-member board — largely comprised by mayoral appointees — is not the final step for the agency’s budget. Next, the mayor will release an updated version of […]
What to know about the upcoming state tests for grades 3-8
It’s testing season in New York once again. Schools across the state will administer standardized reading and math exams for grades 3-8 in April and May, as well as science exams for eighth graders in June. With the intense attention on the pandemic’s effect on students, some schools might be ramping up their focus on […]
64% of NYC’s bilingual special education students didn’t get all of their services last year
Nearly two-thirds of New York City students who are entitled to bilingual special education services are not receiving all of their mandated support, according to new figures released by the city’s education department. At the end of last school year, just 36% of children who were assigned bilingual special education services received the correct amount of instruction […]
NYC council bills would make it easier to open public school pools year-round
The City Council is diving in to address the city’s lifeguard shortage with a bill that would provide funding to keep public school pools open year-round and fund more swim programs in its next budget, according to Speaker Adrienne Adams’ office. The proposal — which also includes working with the Parks Department to find locations […]
Why are so few Black men teachers in New York City?
Black students make up around a quarter of the city’s more than one million public-school pupils. However, Black instructors are disproportionately underrepresented among the faculty who teach them. Only 19% of educators in New York City’s public schools are Black—and only 4% of the city’s educators are Black men. The scarcity of Black men is […]
