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Contact: Barbara Gross – 347 262 6310
Evan Thies – 917 715 9265
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice: Parents “outraged” at alarming student proficiency stats
July 19, 2010 – News broke Sunday of the projected results of a study showing that New York State’s testing system for determining which eighth-grade students are proficient in math and English is severely flawed, and that our education system has left thousands of students who required further instruction unprepared for high school and college.
The NYC Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ) has been a consistent critic of the ”reforms” that we now know have not produced the outcomes that education officials have claimed. The following statements are from CEJ parents in response to Sunday’s news.
“We are saddened that so many schoolchildren have not received the education they need and deserve, and are outraged that education officials have touted misleading statistics,” said Jose Gonzalez, CEJ parent leader and PS 73 PTA President. “We need dramatic action immediately. The DOE should begin by implementing CEJ’s School Transformational Zone to save troubled schools, giving increased support to teachers and students where it is needed, and adding an engaging, well-rounded curriculum.
“But the DOE must also change its fundamental approach for creating school reform,” Gonzalez added. “Stakeholders at every level must be involved in real ways.”
In May, the NY City Council unanimously endorsed CEJ’s call for a School Transformation Zone, which would integrate school-improvement strategies with additional resources over three years to turn schools around instead of closing them. Seventy-two school reform organizations, academics, and individuals also support the plan. Last week, the New York City Department of Education unequivocally rejected the proposal.
“CEJ has been saying for years that the structural reforms put in place by the Bloomberg/Klein DOE were not producing the significantly improved outcomes they were claiming for New York City students,” said Victoria Bousquet, CEJ parent leader. “Now we hope they will acknowledge this and listen to CEJ and the many others who have said that our children need an educational plan that includes a well-rounded, engaging curriculum, and teachers who get the resources and mentoring that they need. This study shows that our children can’t wait another minute.”
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