Editorials
NYC Reads reset
This school year, as outside consultants took over most of the training, teachers grew increasingly frustrated with their lack of voice and the lack of support. So we headed to the bargaining table to demand changes. The revised curriculum policy that the DOE announced in early December is a step in the right direction.
Errors in math
As the DOE's mandated Algebra I math curriculum has expanded from a few hundred high schools last year to citywide this school year, so have teachers’ concerns that it is a mismatch for city schools and is hampering their students’ academic progress.
Para-lyzing process
New York City schools, particularly in District 75, are in dire need of paraprofessionals, who provide essential support services for children with disabilities. The shortage won’t get resolved until the city Department of Education streamlines its bureaucratic hiring process.
Don’t phone it in
Cell phones in schools distract from teaching and learning and can threaten students’ mental health by feeding an addiction to social media. Barring them from classrooms makes sense, but any citywide ban has to be carefully conceived and implemented. Educators should not have to use instructional time to collect phones and they should not be the first or sole line of enforcement.
Pre-K, 3-K still a fight
Our #StartStrong campaign continues. The city and the DOE must do more to put our city’s youngsters on the path to educational success.
Harris for president
Democrat Kamala Harris has earned our parent union’s endorsement because she is pro-public education and pro-union, as is her running mate Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and a former teacher.