Compelling testimony including videos from yesterday's hearings on the importance of lowering class size for NYC students.

Much of the testimony yesterday at the City Council was compelling about the importance of lowering class size and the need to pass Intro 2374 for the sake of NYC students. Class Size Matters testimony is here. Testimony of Michael Mulgrew, UFT President, is here. An article about these hearings is here. 

If you'd like to submit written testimony, you can do it here through Saturday.  Please also email it to us at info@classsizematters.org so we can post it on our website.

Below are videos and written testimonies of Board of Regents member and former Superintendent Kathleen Cashin, education historian and advocate Diane Ravitch, Elsie McCabe Thompson, President of the Mission Society, Curtis D. Young, Executive Director of Artistic Noise, and Marissa Manzanares, parent and CEC 14 member. 

Kathleen Cashin Testimony (10.27.21) from Class Size Matters on Vimeo.

Curtis D. Young Testimony (10.27.21) from Class Size Matters on Vimeo. Marissa Manzanares Testimony (10.27.21) from Class Size Matters on Vimeo.

"Talk out of School" podcast with PEP member Tom Sheppard and Regent Kathy Cashin

Check out our latest "Talk out of School" podcast with Tom Sheppard on pushing the envelope on Panel for Educational Policy to empower parents on issues such as school mergers, closures, and larger educational policies regarding testing, funding and class size; and Regent Kathy Cashin on how smaller classes transformed her schools when she was Superintendent of D23 & Regional Superintendent in Brooklyn and Queens.

 

Resources:

Panel for Educational Policy agenda for May 18 meeting and contract list; instructions on how to listen or comment here. 

Daily News article on proposed closure of PS 88 in the Bronx 

NY Times 2006 profile of Kathleen Cashin and her work as a Superintendent and Regional Superintendent in Brooklyn and Queens.

Regent Cashin’s op-ed on what happened in her schools when class size was reduced.

Regent Cashin proposes New York withdraw from inBloom

This happened  at the Board of Regents meeting this morning in Albany.

Unfortunately, Merryl Tisch changed the subject and ignored Cashin's proposal to be responsive to the pleas of parents, school board members, educators and elected officials to protect the privacy and safety of the state's children and pull out of inBloom Inc.