Every August City & State, an online news aggregator hosts an Education Summit, in the Holocaust Museum at the Battery, hundreds gather to engage each other and listen to education policy makers from the city and the state. Our new Chancellor Kamar Samuels was the keynote speaker, days after the reading scores kerfuffle, after increasing scores last year and lots of backslapping, a new mayor, a new chancellor and unparalleled decreases in reading scores.
What happened? The chancellor seemed baffled and only committed to continuing the current reading program See my comments here
He never mentioned chronic absenteeism? Or, the ten percent of students who are homeless?
Check out NYC attempts to integrate schools here
David Rogers, Politics and Bureaucracy in New York City Schools sees a huge bureaucracy dedicated to maintaining itself.
The NY Times, NYC Schools and Desegregation here
And a recently released report avers the “NYC school system is the most segregated in the nation.” See here
In the early 60s. a decade after Brown v Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision the NYC Board of Education embarked on a busing plan intended to integrate schools, a detailed recounting in David Rogers, 110 Livingston Street. A grassroots organization, Parents and Teachers (PAT) vigorously opposed the plan, electeds joined the opposition, and the city backed off.
The city did implement a high school plan, students from a few all African American neighborhoods could opt to attend a number of all White high schools, with mixed results, an excellent article, “A Prisoner of Class,” by Fran Schumer here.
One school district, in the early eighties, concerned about the Fed’s imposing a plan, skillfully crafted a plan. Students from adjacent addresses in the all African American neighborhoods were assigned to the same underutilized White school. The superintendent and the school board kept the electeds, the faith leaders and the parent associations in the loop, the plan was phased out over the years as housing patterns changed the neighborhoods self integrated.
The city’s more recent efforts, asking residents with assistance of advisers to craft plans, only a few complied.
Black students include Caribbean, African as well as Afro Americans, the Hispanic students are from innumerable nations, the Asian students also from many nations. And, many from mixed race families.
NYC Schools:
42.3. Hispanic
19.3 Black
18.7 Asian
16.1 White
2.0 Mixed Race
From over 100 different nations
It is unlikely that White students will be bused into all Black/Hispanic schools without the assistance of the National Guard.
Parents choose schools within walking distance of their homes.
Do parents of Black/Hispanic students want to bus their children in predominantly White schools? Unlikely
Can merging or closing small schools integrate schools?
Maybe
Keep in mind the mayor’s staff writes the chancellor’s talking points, the mayor’s staff probably thought the “integration” comment would satisfy a constituency.
Yes, Gheppeto and Pinocchio.
The # 1 priority for parents is school safety.
Of course the mayor could integrate the five small high schools that use the Specialized High School Admissions (SHSAT) by using different entrance criteria, nary a word from Gracie Mansion.
An announcement was made at the beginning of the event, the chancellor would be late, he had to attend an announcement by the mayor impacting schools.
The Research Alliance for NYC Schools released an excellent report re students in shelters, many of whom are chronically absent with low test scores; the Report, deftly, is sharply critical of the Department of Education.
Read the Report here
This brief provides background and context for understanding the homelessness problem in NYC schools, draws on existing research to describe the harmful effects of homelessness on student outcomes, and highlights evidence-based strategies and programs being implemented in NYC to improve homeless student identification and support systems. We end with some recommendations for the new mayoral administration.
“The challenges homeless students face underscore that schools do not operate in a vacuum, and that there are many factors outside of the classroom that shape students’ educational experiences. While this brief focuses on how schools can better support homeless students, a comprehensive policy response must also prioritize affordable housing and efforts to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place”.
Chronic Absenteeism. Homeless students are more likely to be chronically absent, meaning they miss at least 18 days of school during the year.
In NYC, research consistently shows that homeless students have higher rates of chronic absenteeism than those who are not experiencing homelessness … These absences are often driven by structural hurdles, in particular, transportation difficulties resulting from shelter placements far from students’ original school.
School Mobility: Homelessness is linked with greater odds of changing schools, which can disrupt peer and teacher relationships and overall educational progress. Students living in shelters are more likely to change schools than both stably housed and doubled-up students. Our research demonstrated that the typical NYC elementary student residing in a shelter for three or years changed schools at least once between kindergarten and 4th grade, with some students changing schools up to seven times.
Challenges to Interagency Coordination: Silos between school districts and social service agencies—worsened by inconsistent eligibility criteria and conflicting priorities—are an impediment to McKinney-Vento implementation … district and school staff prioritize educational stability and school attendance, while shelter staff prioritize helping families secure emergency shelter, find permanent housing, and comply with case management requirements. In NYC, these priorities can sometimes be at odds, such as when students are placed in a shelter far from their school.
The Research Alliance report lays out a pathway, Samuel’s predecessors cast aside, the homeless catastrophe requires all city agencies to work together.
Will the Report sit on a bookshelf or drive a coordinated action plan?
Twelve years, six chancellors, our children deserve better
Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 