Yesterday's hearings and our critique of DOE's reopening plan: too little Covid testing; too much standardized testing

Update:  Here is the just-posted transcript of the hearings.

 Joint hearings of the City Council Education and Health Committees were held yesterday on DOE's school reopening plan. The assorted officials who testified, including Chancellor Meisha Porter and Dr. Dave Chokshi, NYC Health Department Commissioner, did not appear to reassure many of the Council Members that their plan was well-thought out or strong enough to ensure student safety.

What was also depressing is that the public testimony was dominated by anti-vaxxer teachers, who also called out and disrupted the hearings several times.  News reports about the proceedings are here  and here

Above is the video of Michael Horwitz, providing abbreviated remarks on behalf of Class Size Matters.  The video of the entire session is here.   

Here and embedded below is our full testimony with our detailed critique of DOE's school reopening plan. 

Latest Talk out of School podcast with Jasmine Gripper of AQE and MS principal Michael Perlberg

Check out the latest #TalkoutofSchool with AQE's Jasmine Gripper on what state budget deal is looking like for NYC & MS principal Michael Perlberg on challenges faced by his school this year & what students should be offered next year to help them recover & reconnect. 

Resources: 

• New Class Size Matters report on overspending on charter facilities and underspending on public school matching funds
• Daily News article; and WCBS TV segment on the lack of matching funds.
• AQE: Send a letter to Gov. Cuomo and state leaders on protecting students in the state budget by taxing the ultra-wealthy
• More on Outward Bound NYC public schools, including MS 839.
• Gothamist article on different proposals that have been made for the use of the federal funds, including reducing class size.

Talk out of School with Beth Ellor & Brad Lander: REC centers, safe reopening of schools, and need for child care & wraparound services next year

In today's podcast of Talk out of School, I spoke to Beth Ellor, a former Kindergarten teacher and preschool director, who described what it’s like working at the REC centers, which opened up to serve the NYC children of essential workers when schools were shut down in mid-March, including the various health and safety protocols they have followed. She discussed how the conditions in the REC centers relates to the safeguards that schools must use if and when they reopen in the fall.

I briefly summarized recent guidance from Gov. Cuomo, the NY State Department of Health and the Board of Regents for the reopening of schools, and explained how if NYC schools do reopen, to ensure social distancing most students will only be able to attend school in person 1-3 days a week, depending on how overcrowded their particular school is.

Council Member Brad Lander then joined us, to explain how the city needs to provide child care and wrap around services for young students on days when they are not attending school.  We discussed where the funding will come from and the need for more federal and state aid.

Resources and links:

Governor Cuomo’s announcement of the metrics that will determine whether schools can be reopened in NY state in the fall.

Guidelines from  the state Department of Health and the Board of Regents.

Class Size Matters and NYC Kids PAC proposals for the safe reopening of schools; letter to the Board of Regents and Summary of ideas from our June 20 conference.

How the need for social distancing brings in sharper focus the inequities of class size across the city.

Council Member Brad Lander’s oped and draft childcare plan.

Information on the increase in wealth among NY state billionaires during the pandemic.

NY Legislature bills that would raise revenue to support our schools during the pandemic and help pay for child care and wrap around services, by increasing taxes on the ultra-wealthy.