TESTIMONY
Member of the Public on Challenges and Consequences of Reducing Class Sizes in High-Poverty School Districts
3:24:46
·
5 min
A member of the public discusses the potential negative impacts of reducing class sizes on high-poverty school districts, using Brownsville as an example.
- Expresses surprise at learning the Department of Education's arguments related to school and classroom capacity caps.
- Shares personal anecdotes about their daughter's educational experiences in Brownsville's only gifted and talented school.
- Highlights the importance of teacher quality in high-need districts and fears the bill will push quality teachers to wealthier schools.
- Presents 2022-2023 statistics showing a higher percentage of teachers teaching out of their certification in high-poverty schools.
- Urges the city council and mayor to ensure the class size reduction law benefits high-poverty schools like those in Brownsville.
UNKNOWN
3:24:46
Hello.
3:24:47
Yes.
3:24:48
Good evening, everyone.
3:24:50
Good afternoon.
3:24:50
Nothing great.
3:24:53
So I come across some new information while sitting down, kinda listening to the arguments of the Department of Education in regards to cap and how many students, you know.
3:25:07
It wasn't just about you know, to captain of students to a school, not just to a classroom.
3:25:16
Like, that was very surprising to me to even hear.
3:25:19
That argument, especially coming from an area like mine in Brownsville where where the largest concentrated area of public housing and low income people in New York City, period.
3:25:30
Right?
3:25:31
And that's district 23 where the 73rd precinct captain came from.
3:25:35
So that was, like, very surprising to me.
3:25:38
I'm actually the cochairman of Resident Association, a Youssef engagement committee, and I've been doing that 10 plus years.
3:25:45
Working with the kids of the inner city.
3:25:48
Right?
3:25:49
And I'm into construction management.
3:25:51
I'm an assistant project manager.
3:25:53
Building is something I like to do.
3:25:56
So just to read from my
April Blanding
3:25:59
notes, and
UNKNOWN
3:26:01
try to stay focused.
3:26:03
So I have my daughter, name is Takaju, and she's an 11th grader in an Urban Assembly High School for music and arts.
3:26:10
She's always been into that.
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She was in a junior high school, which is also the only gifted and talented school in Brownsville, and she had to test amongst thousands of kids just to get India had to get.
3:26:25
2 recommendations from prior teachers, 3rd grade.
3:26:30
You know, I had to write a essay.
3:26:32
She had to write a essay.
3:26:33
She had to take an exam.
3:26:34
There was an interview.
3:26:36
It was really difficult to get into one of the only schools in that underprivileged area.
3:26:42
For her, you know, to even have an opportunity.
3:26:46
And even that school that has funding come into it had a lot of challenges as far as keeping a lot of extra curriculum activities into it.
3:26:54
I needed I needed to say that.
3:26:56
Right?
3:26:57
So now I've learned the important ingredient in fear school system is teacher quality.
3:27:03
Right?
3:27:04
A good teacher can make all the difference for a student, especially when in high need district like Brownsville, and and an experienced and effective teacher can hold students back from achieving their full potential.
3:27:15
Today, they aren't enough great teachers to go around instead of solving the problem, the bill makes it worse.
3:27:21
By decreasing class sizes across the board, it will encourage wealthy, low need schools to be pushed upon the best teachers away from the schools in the underprivileged areas like Brownsville.
3:27:35
It will leave those schools less equipped to close the achievement gap, especially considering how COVID 19 core students to be behind even more than before the pandemic.
3:27:47
Right?
3:27:48
It's true.
3:27:49
Large class sizes are a problem.
3:27:52
Right?
3:27:53
But this bill tries to solve it by creating an even worse problem, like ex exacerbating the problem.
3:28:00
Right?
3:28:01
For instance, the data from the New York State Educational Department clearly indicates the disadvantages of underprivileged schools compared to privileged schools.
3:28:11
Right?
3:28:12
So we're talking about teachers.
3:28:14
Right?
3:28:16
Teachers, teaching out of their subject or filled of certification.
3:28:21
This information comes from 2022 and 2023, which isn't indicated on that thing.
3:28:26
The underprivileged district is number 17 in which I'm really trying to reference.
3:28:32
I'm using as a reference, which which is the Brownsville Academy High School.
3:28:36
So they have 1362 teachers out of certification, teaching out of their certification.
3:28:42
Out of that, 222 of them are out of cert.
3:28:46
Period.
3:28:47
Right?
3:28:48
New York State Wide They Have 2200,000 almost 4 204,000 teachers that are teaching out of certification.
3:28:59
18,302 of them are out of serve.
3:29:05
State wide, high poverty schools have 43,397 teachers, teaching out of certification, 8930 6 of them are out of CERC.
3:29:20
That's 21%.
3:29:22
State wide low poverty schools have 60,400 and 17 teachers teaching out of CERC.
3:29:32
1216 of those teachers are out of CERC.
3:29:36
That's 2%.
3:29:38
Not only does the high poverty schools have about 20,000 less teachers, but they also have 19% more teachers without certification.
3:29:51
Right?
3:29:52
Math don't lie.
3:29:54
We don't have enough teaching power, right, to make our classrooms smaller.
3:30:03
Right?
3:30:04
They don't have enough programming already.
3:30:06
If this law comes to New York City, I just urge the council in the mayor to work together to make sure it benefits high poverty schools and neighborhoods like Brownsville.
3:30:17
Because in its current form, I worry that the is worse than a disease.
3:30:24
Thank you.
