Testimonies of three mothers, speaking about how their children have been affected by the unacceptably large classes in city schools

The testimonies of parents, educators and advocates at the class size hearings at City Hall on Friday were so powerful that I am going to post many of them on this blog.  Here is video of the proceedings -- nearly six hours.  The hearings would have lasted even longer if many of the parents who wanted to testify hadn't been shut out because the room was too crowded. Here's an article about the hearings from Chalkbeat.

Below are the heartbreaking statements of three mothers, Alexa Aviles, Emily Hellstrom, and Naila Rosario. None of these their children were served adequately because of the unacceptably large classes in the city's public schools.

The plight of English language learners is also mentioned in Alexa Aviles' testimony, who asked, can you imagine such a child in a class of 32? It would be like trying to learn in Times Square on New Year's Eve.