Mayor Bill de Blasio outlined a number of major reforms coming to city schools yesterday at a Queens press conference. The sweeping changes put forward by the administration in the executive budget and its contract with the United Federation of Teachers include more parent-teacher time each week, $4.4 billion to ease school overcrowding, pre-K for over 50,000 children, after-school for 100,000 more middle schoolers
“These aren’t pilot programs that help a lucky few; they are foundational changes that will lift up schools in every neighborhood,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio at the announcement, which can be seen in the video below. “The strategic investments we are making recognize parents as true stakeholders, empower our educators and help students succeed.”
Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña weighed in, stating:
“We are making unprecedented investments in our children through an historic expansion of universal pre-K, and ensuring that from early education through high school, our focus is on preparing students for the future. The teachers’ contract and the reforms embedded in the Mayor’s executive budget reflect tremendous progress to restore dignity, opportunity and empower our city’s parents, schoolchildren, teachers and principals.”
East Bronx and Queens Congressman Joe Crowley commented on the news:
“I’m glad to see the administration making the necessary investments to help every New York City student reach their full potential. Smaller classroom sizes, increased parental involvement, and a well-rounded education that embraces the arts are the things that will put our children on a path to success. We owe it to them to make the one opportunity they have at a great education the best it can be.”
The reforms discussed include:
A Greater Voice for Parents: The UFT contract dedicates 40 minutes every Tuesday for teachers to reach out to parents by email, letter, telephone, or face-to-face meetings. The contract also doubles the number of evening parent-teacher conferences from two to four each school year.
Alleviating Overcrowding: This budget will start to address space conditions in the city’s schools, reducing overcrowding and the use of trailers as classrooms with $4.4 billion capital investment in new space, including class size reduction. In addition, the Department of Education will devote $480 million to remove temporary classroom units and rehabilitate the play yards where they had been located.
High-Quality, Universal, Full-Day Pre-K: The executive budget launches a major expansion of full-day universal pre-K to ensure that all 4-year-olds are set up for long-term success, including $300 million for 53,000 seats in FY 2015 and $340 million for 73,000 seats in FY 2016.
More Middle School After-School Programs: The executive budget includes an unprecedented investment of $145 million in FY 2015 to fund 34,000 new seats to serve nearly 100,000 middle school children.
More Arts Education: The executive budget also allocates $20 million in FY 2015 for arts education, which will be used to expand a range of art programs in schools across the city, improve art facilities, and increase partnerships with art institutions.
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