Town Hall: Governance, grievances and sunsets on the horizon

Posted by helen at 12:56 PM

Last night's Town Hall in Brooklyn was the first of many, according to City Council member Bill deBlasio, that will address issues raised by mayoral control of the city's schools -- a state law that's slated to sunset in 2009.

Most speakers described the erosion of public influence on public education due to mayoral control: Community Education Councils as weak substitutes for elected school boards; policy decisions (and PR disasters) enacted by remote DOE leadership; and the mayorally-appointed (and thus beholden) Panel for Educational Policy in lieu of the former Board of Education, whose antagonism to the Mayor -- any mayor -- was legion.

Parents brought specific and legitimate complaints about the high-school admissions process and the exclusion of special-education parents and students from many policy-level conversations. Martine Guerrier, head of the Office of Family Engagement, was present; more than a few charged her office with "Orwellian" practices and a dismissive, "we'll get back to you" philosophy. Notably, veteran school leaders said that parents are reluctant to step into leadership roles because of fears that their questions will lead to repercussions for their children.

In a practical reflection of the Mayor's corporate ethos, small-business providers of resources for English Language Learners said their bids were no longer welcome at the DOE, which restricted some bids to businesses worth $5 million or more. The irony is particularly stinging given that Local Law 129 provides preferential bidding practices for small businesses, especially those headed by minorities and women -- and that the DOE is apparently exempt from that ruling.

The UFT, ICOPE, ACORN/the Alliance for Quality Education, the Council for Economic Justice, Time Out From Testing and other advocates promise to keep the mayoral-control dialogue going.

Brooklyn Town Hall update: Politicos, advocates on deck

Posted by helen at 8:53 AM

The open-mic education Town Hall slated for this Wednesday in Brooklyn will include a number of city officials, according to Evan Stone, a public-school teacher in the Bronx who's 'summering' in Bill deBlasio's office. "We are expecting Senator Eric Adams, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, [City] Council Members [education committee chair Robert] Jackson, [David] Yassky, [Diana] Reyna, [James] Vacca, [Letitia] James and others."

"[Also coming are] ... representatives from the United Federation of Teachers, the Alliance for Quality Education, Time out from Testing, the Independent Commission on Public Education, ACORN, The After-School Corporation, The Office of the Public Advocate, the Citizens Union Foundation, and others." Quite the lineup.

The town hall will weigh the impact of mayoral control on community involvement in the city's schools -- and how to insure that parents' voices are heard as reauthorization looms.

RSVPs are still coming in. The DOE Representatives have been invited, said Stone, but "have not confirmed their attendance." Very diplomatically put, but that silence sounds a lot like 'no' to us.

Education town hall, July 16 in Brooklyn

Posted by helen at 9:35 AM

One commenter yesterday asked for more Town Hall meetings on education; this morning, another ambitiously proposed a Town Hall in every school. For starters, City Council member Bill deBlasio of Brooklyn has convened an education Town Hall next week, July 16th, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, from 6:30 to 8 pm.

Planners say that education advocates and elected officials will be on hand to hear parents', students', and teachers' opinions on school governance and mayoral control; we're trying to learn who'll be there and whether anyone from DOE plans to attend.

For information and to RSVP, write educationtownhall@gmail.com. (Right now, they've booked the Community Room for the meeting -- but a flood of RSVPs could prompt a change of venue.)

Details to come when we've got 'em.

Pre-K Questions, No Answers (Yet)

Posted by helen at 5:00 PM

It's hard to imagine how much more time the DOE will require to review the pre-K applications that have caused so much turmoil. But as there's no official word there beyond 'we're working on it and will let parents know,' I don't have news of substance to report.

For those seeking political recourse, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum will hold a press conference at Tweed tomorrow, Wednesday, at 12:45pm; Council Member Bill DeBlasio of Brooklyn will speak around 1p. (We'll be there, too.)

Questions abound in regard to potentially unclaimed seats -- those offered to families who, for reasons of distance, convenience or sheer frustration with the DOE morass, will make other pre-K choices. Because the process was a citywide effort this year, schools don't have official wait lists, and there is no "trading up," as one poster had hoped, from a spot at a second- or third-choice school if a place at the first-choice school opens. If your child was offered a seat, you can accept or decline -- no wheeling-dealing.

Families of children who have not been offered a seat can participate in a second round of pre-K admissions, which opens (no typo) June 23d, just three days before school lets out for summer. Not all schools will have empty seats, but this is how the seats that aren't spoken for will be filled.

As of this writing, you have to go to an OSEPO borough office to get the paperwork and a directory of schools. Amazingly, the powers that be haven't yet published a deadline for second-round applications -- I'm working on it.