Noah Gotbaum on the announcement of new head for OFIA

Today it was announced that Ojeda Hall was leaving as head of DOE's Office of Family Information and Action, to be replaced with Jesse Mojica, former education aide to the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.  Jesse is a good guy and let's hope he was given real assurances that this is not a merely a PR move, but that Walcott really intends to start listening to parents when it comes to the DOE's wrongheaded priorities and policies.  As public school parent and District 3 CEC member Noah Gotbaum says below, we all wish Jesse good luck.  More on this appointment, and the DOE's dismal attitude and treatment of parents over the last eight years, see Gotham Gazette.

Well, after telling us in April and then again in June that he had “100% confidence in Ojeda” and that OFIA was “doing a great job” Walcott has woken up and smelled the coffee of a department in shambles.  Community Education Council elections were a complete disaster and being challenged, CEC members walking out of OFIA’s training in protest, the politicization of Parent Coordinators, and CPAC and dozens of CEC members across the City calling for an independent parent run organization to replace OFIA and the DOE in the oversight, administration, training and elections of CEC’s, Councils and other elected parent organizations.

Despite Walcott’s charm offensive, relations between the DOE and parents are at an all time low.  Surely OFIA has something to do with this, but it’s also because four out of five parents simply don’t support the Mayor’s policies of high stakes testing, class size increases, pushing charters while letting our district schools fight over scraps, accountability for everyone except the DOE, and balancing the budget on the back of our kids.

Good luck Jesse!

--Noah Gotbaum