Letter from CECs and Citywide Councils to Mayor-Elect de Blasio
Education Councils representing parents citywide have signed on to a letter to
Mayor-elect de Blasio. In this
unprecedented show of unity, the Councils have issued a statement to de Blasio
raising concerns in numerous areas, including the decision-making processes put
in place by the Bloomberg administration. A copy of the letter, an Executive Summary, and Press Release are attached hereto.
The statement calls for, among other things, reform of the Panel
for Education Policy, a return to a Community School District structure, serious
changes to the way that decisions are made concerning the space allocations to
schools and future construction and educational programming, and reversal of
the contested co-locations approved by Bloomberg’s Panel for Education Policy
late this year. The statement seeks
immediate review of the City’s assessment and delivery of special education
services. In addition, the statement
seeks parental and community input into the selection of the next chancellor,
urges the City to follow state law concerning payment of rent for charter
school co-locations, seeks engagement on the Common Core, seeks a moratorium on
the use of standardized testing in high-stakes decisions, and asks the
mayor-elect to protect student privacy.
As
of December 16, Community Education Councils for Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12,
13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, and 31, as well as the Citywide
Council on English Language Learners, Citywide Council on Special Education,
and the Citywide District 75 Council and individual signatories from the
Citywide Council on High Schools and Community Education Council 23 have signed
on to the letter. Additional Community
Education Councils and Citywide Councils are expected to be added througout the
month of December.
