Home Home Home About Us Home About Us About Us About Us /links/index.html /links/index.html /links/index.html /advertising/index.html /links/index.html /advertising/index.html /advertising/index.html /advertising/index.html About Us About Us /archives/index.html About Us /archives/index.html About Us /archives/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /survey/index.html /survey/index.html /links/index.html /survey/index.html /links/index.html /links/index.html /links/index.html
Home About Us About Us /links/index.html /advertising/index.html /advertising/index.html
About Us /archives/index.html /archives/index.html /subscribe/index.html /subscribe/index.html /survey/index.html /survey/index.html /survey/index.html /links/index.html

FAMOUS INTERVIEWS

Directories:

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS

HELP WANTED

Tutors

Workshops

Events

Sections:

Books

Camps & Sports

Careers

Children’s Corner

Collected Features

Colleges

Cover Stories

Distance Learning

Editorials

Famous Interviews

Homeschooling

Medical Update

Metro Beat

Movies & Theater

Museums

Music, Art & Dance

Special Education

Spotlight On Schools

Teachers of the Month

Technology

Archives:

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

1995-2000


 
New York City
March 2002

City Council News
By Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s task-force on mayoral control of the public school system is getting ready to wrap up its work. From all indications, it seems as if this special committee will offer a compromise solution, one in which the mayor is likely to gain more power within the context of a slightly reformed Board of Education.

Of course, this is unfortunate for the Mayor, who has said repeatedly that he wants to have full control of the schools in the context of an abolished Board of Education. But Mike Bloomberg’s desires and wishes aren’t the only things to suffer as a result of Albany’s fear of reform. In fact, the biggest victims may end up being the hopes and dreams of the more than one million children enrolled in New York City’s public education system.

Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, everyone knows that our public schools are in deep, deep trouble. Last year, three out of four kids in the public schools failed to meet the state’s minimum standards for reading and math. How much longer do we have to wait before Albany finally gets the message that we need real reform now? Is it reasonable to expect that New York City will continue to be the “Capitol of the World” if the vast majority of its citizens can’t read or calculate?

As both a graduate of and a former teacher in New York City’s public schools, I know that we are running out of time before we reach the point when it will no longer be possible to save our schools and, by extension, save our city. All the signs coming from Albany today point toward a compromise solution, one that will probably involve an expanded Board of Education with the lion’s share of appointments being left to the Mayor. While such a proposal holds some potential for improvement, it is still a far cry from what we need in order to raise standards, enhance performance, and enforce accountability.

School reform isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. Partisan bickering in a time of crisis will only lead to further deterioration for our schools and for our children’s prospects. For the sake of our children’s future and for the future of New York City, let’s hope Albany can find the courage to overcome its fear of radical reform and clear the way for the kind of changes that are desperately required to save public education.#

Eva Moskowitz is the Chair of the Education Committee in the NYC Council.

 

Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001. Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2001.




MetroBEAT

DIRECTORIES