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| Jessamyn Lee,Co-Chair, Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council (credit S. Ochshorn) |
For immediate
release: January 23, 2018
On Tuesday, Jan.
23, 2018, leaders of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council (CPAC),
representing all the PTAs and Parent Associations in NYC public schools, along
with the leaders of the Education Council Consortium, representing the elected
and appointed members of the Community and Citywide Education Councils, along
with about 30 other parent leaders, gathered
on the steps of Tweed
Courthouse, the NYC Department of Education
headquarters. As representatives of more
than one million public school parents, they demanded that Mayor de Blasio
implement a transparent selection process for a new Chancellor, and give
parents a voice in this process, as he promised to do when he first ran for Mayor, instead
of the quiet, internal decision that he currently plans.
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| Marco Batistella, CPAC co-chair (credit S. Ochshorn) |
If there is a public vetting that includes the
input of parents and community members, the likelihood will be that the
individual selected will work well with parents and be responsive to their
concerns. As the first step in devising this process, they asked to meet with the Mayor as soon as
possible.
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| Shino Tanikawa, Co-Chair ECC, President NYC Kids PAC (credit S.Ochshorn) |
Jessamyn Lee, the
Co-Chair of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory said: “The Chancellor's Parent
Advisory Council (CPAC) urges Mayor de Blasio to honor Chancellor Farina's
commitment to parent engagement by including parents in the selection of the
new Schools Chancellor. We are partners in the education of our children. The
city trusts parents to participate as partners in the hiring of our school
principals and local superintendents. The 1.1 million students in our school
system are wholly disenfranchised, represented only by the voices and activism
of their parents. For the Mayor to deny parents the opportunity to represent
the interests of our children in this critical decision is to ignore the voices
of our most vulnerable, underrepresented New Yorkers. CPAC insists that parents
be included in the hiring of the Department of Education's new leader. “
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| NeQuan McLean, Co-chair, ECC (credit S. Ochshorn) |
Shino Tanikawa, the Co-Chair of NYC Kids PAC
and the co-President of the Education Council Consortium said, “I sincerely hope the Mayor considers
an open and public selection process that includes parent leaders. This
is an opportunity to ensure that the next Chancellor has the qualities and
qualifications necessary to run the nation's largest public school system and
is someone who can truly collaborate with all stakeholders including parents.”
NeQuan McLean, the Co-Chair of the
Education Council Consortium said: “The next chancellor will need to address
the challenge of ‘separate is not equal’ in NYC’s highly segregated school
system. NYC students deserve a chancellor who will work to stop the well-
documented harm done to the majority of students who attend our public schools.
These students are children with disabilities, English Language Learners and
children from economically disadvantaged communities. They are our most
vulnerable students with the most to gain as educated and career-ready
citizens. Our next chancellor needs to be a champion for these children and all
children in our public school system.”
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| Pam Stewart, CCHS (credit: S. Ochshorn) |
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| Eduardo Hernandez, CEC 8 (credit S. Ochshorn) |
Marco Batistella, CPAC Co-Char, Pam Stewart of the Citywide Council of High Schools, Eduardo Hernandez of the Community Education Council in District 8, Nancy Northrup of the Queens High School Presidents Council, and many other parent leaders explained why it was critical for parents to have a real voice in the selection process, to ensure that the next Chancellor will be successful in collaborating with parents for the benefit of NYC children.
ECC letter here: https://tinyurl.com/y739q5yk
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