Governor Cuomo has released a report which concludes that many of New York State’s public schools are failing. As I skimmed the lengthy document online, I noticed a consistency which, to me, was critical in understanding why these schools are struggling. With only two exceptions (Amsterdam and Buffalo’s South Park), the schools which have been deemed failing are attempting to educate populations in which the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch and the percentage of minority students both exceed 50% of the total enrollment. In most cases, those two figures both reside firmly in the 90th + percentile.
In my mind, this failure lies not at the hands of educators, but instead with the lack of services and support that New York State’s poor residents receive. I’ve worked in an urban school district and witnessed the lack of resources provided to poor children by parents who are unable to do much more than get by as they contend with meeting their family’s most essential needs. Of course, education is an essential need but try telling that to someone who never attained a diploma and is struggling to feed, clothe and shelter their family.
Why doesn’t this report include charter schools? Since the Governor wants to add an additional 100 charter schools to our state shouldn’t we be privy to how they’re performing?
This governor’s attack on public education and teachers must stop. His focus on rigorous standardized testing for elementary age children is developmentally inappropriate and my child will not be participating any longer. Will yours?
I think it’s interesting that his report was published on Scribd, yet I couldn’t locate it on the state education department’s website. Speaking of publications, if you’re not one of the few people who purchased a copy of Cuomo’s recent autobiography, you can purchase it online as an eBook. I’m sure it is just coincidental that Cuomo’s administration backed a “bill that created a special sales tax break for online-only publications that charge for subscriptions,” like Scribd and for eBook publications.
Yep, New York State – the State of Opportunity.
DelSo 