Category: Education

Elected Officials, Advocates Demand Increased Funding for School Crossing Guards to Keep NYC’s Students Safe

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Improved Working Conditions Necessary to Achieve City’s Vision Zero Goals and Safer Pre-K Expansion NEW YORK—Today on the steps of City Hall, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council Member Brad Lander, City Council Member and Chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee Vanessa Gibson, along with parents, students, elected officials, and safe-streets advocates from across New York City called for a significant increase in funding for school crossing guards… Read more

Statement on Custom Computer Specialists Contract under Consideration by NYC Panel for Educational Policy (PEP)

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“Going forward, there must be a better procurement process for technology in city government — one which is fully transparent and allows significant public scrutiny. “One month for RFPs and one WEEK for PEP review is just mind-boggling. “While the cost of the contract has come down during that period between RFP and final contract, luckily, we don’t fully know the details of how and why the costs are reduced.… Read more

Public School Town Hall with Chancellor Fariña

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Gale and Carmen Fariña speaking to audience at Public School Town Hall meeting Over a hundred people– Parents, CEC members, teachers, principals, and community board members–  joined me and DOE Chancellor Carmen Fariña at my Public School Town Hall November 12th at John Jay College.
We heard her discuss new education initiatives, including the just-announced School Renewal Program,  parent engagement, capacity framework, and school quality “Snapshots.” I raised my concerns about introducing and improving technology in schools– now that Proposal 3, the $2… Read more

BP Brewer and activists call for reboot of City schools’ tech curricula and purchasing policies in advance of Proposal 3 bond vote

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NEW YORK, NY – Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and education and technology advocates today called for reforms to city schools’ technology curriculum and purchasing policies to better prepare them for a tech-driven world, in advance of next week’s statewide vote on Proposal 3, a $2 billion school bond authorization. “There’s no other way to put it: our public schools are behind in almost all aspects of technology,” said… Read more

Brewer statement on Mayor’s expansion of arts education

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“The arts are essential, and I applaud the Mayor and Council for adding $23 million for arts education to ensure more in-school programs for underserved schools. Key steps must include improving the Department of Education’s Annual Arts Survey to fix inaccuracies – so that we know what is really going on in our schools and can guarantee that schools have equal access to the resources they need. My report ‘Arts… Read more

Brewer points way to better arts education with new report, announces $20,000 in grants and series of arts mixers

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Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer called for more and better arts education in City schools in a new report released June 30 – while also announcing $20,000 in grants to help fund in-school arts partnerships and a series of arts mixers to connect the borough’s public schools with the City’s top museums and cultural institutions. The new report, “Arts Forward,” calls into question the reliability of the Department of… Read more

Brewer criticizes Albany proposal on charter schools

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Gale speaking at a rally criticizing Albany proposal on charter schools Last I checked, the Mayor was still in charge of New York City Public Schools. It would be a mistake for Albany to disregard its own laws by forcing the City to provide public space for all charters or else require the DOE to pay charter rent for private space.  Our City doesn’t benefit from Albany’s meddling; it can only breed resentment and the vast majority of New Yorkers will… Read more