AGENCY TESTIMONY
Personal commitment to equity in special education
0:17:17
ยท
58 sec
Christina Foti shares her personal connection to special education and her commitment to ensuring equitable education for all students. She draws on her experiences as an educator and as a sibling of a person with disabilities to inform her approach.
- Foti has a brother with a significant intellectual disability
- Her background as a middle school teacher exposed her to systemic challenges facing black and brown boys with trauma or mental health issues
- She emphasizes the importance of celebrating students' gifts and talents, not just tolerating differences
- Foti reflects on the disconnect between teaching about desegregation while observing continued inequities in special education placements
Christina Foti
0:17:17
As an educator and a sister to an adult brother with a significant intellectual disability, I am deeply committed to ensuring an equitable path for all students where gifts and talents are celebrated, not only tolerated.
0:17:31
My journey in education began as a middle school teacher where I taught students who illuminated the systemic challenges that disproportionately impact black and brown boys, particularly those grappling with trauma, grappling with trauma or mental health challenges.
0:17:46
I vividly remember my students taking a mandated exam that required them to write about the impact of Brown versus Board of Education, even as their lived experiences reflected continued inequities, placed in special classes far removed for their from their communities in separate programs.
0:18:03
This administration has taken a major step to learn from the past.
0:18:07
Initiatives like New York City Reads are transformative, providing all students with the tools they need to read, a foundational step toward inclusion.