PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Stephanie Garcia, Mother and New York City Resident
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4 min
Stephanie Garcia, a mother and lifelong New Yorker, testifies about the importance of community-based early childhood education centers, particularly Nuestros Niños, which faces closure. She criticizes the Department of Education (DOE) for poor communication, planning, and decision-making regarding these vital programs.
- Garcia highlights the personal impact of Nuestros Niños on her family and community, serving 156 students across multiple locations.
- She exposes issues with DOE's funding, citing that Nuestros Niños has been operating without budget allocation since July 2024.
- The testimony calls for accountability from the DOE and emphasizes the necessity of affordable childcare in New York City.
Stephanie Garcia
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Okay.
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Good morning.
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My name is Stephanie Garcia and I'm here as a mother, a lifelong New Yorker and a product of this city's public school system from Head Start to Hunter College.
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I grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I have seen firsthand how vital community based organizations are, especially for working families and those experiencing financial hardships.
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The truth is income instability can happen to anyone.
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I was earning over a hundred thousand dollars a year living paycheck to paycheck like so many New Yorkers.
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When I lost my job in in June of twenty twenty four, my biggest concern was ensuring my son had access to to quality early childhood education and care.
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I was relieved to know that my two year old would be the third generation in my family to attend West Dos Ninos, a bilingual, rego amelia inspired program that provides not just education but nourishment, stability, and a sense of community and culture.
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Every day my son and 94 95 other children receive two home cooked organic meals and two healthy snacks in a warm culturally responsive environment that feels like home.
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The South Forth Nessus Neos location, which is now facing closure after just having our release renewed for one more year, that also provides meals for the two other locations that we have, a total of 156 students.
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That is over 600 meals a day.
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But here's the problem, Nuezzos Ninos has been operating without budget allocation since July 2024.
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Think about that.
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No funding, yet they continue to show up for our children.
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If this is what they can provide with no money, imagine what they can achieve with proper support from the DOE and the mayor's office.
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We cannot wait for the house to be burning before we act.
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Affordable early childhood education should not be a luxury, and yet the New York City Department of Education has failed to communicate, failed to plan, and failed to prioritize the families that rely on these programs.
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We didn't hear the news from the DOE.
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Instead we learned the shocking news through parents that Nuecos Ninos lease was not being renewed.
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Parents discovered this when they tried to enroll their children in three k program in January, only to find out that Nuesos Ninos was missing from the application portal.
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The DOE failed to conduct even the most basic investigation into why their database inaccurately reported low enrollment numbers.
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Instead they chose to abandon over a 50 families and 80 staff members, leaving them to scramble for affordable care options and jobs in a city that seems to have forgotten its own people.
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This careless decision has thrown countless lives into chaos all because the DOE refused to take responsibility for their own errors.
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And this is not just about one school, this is about accountability.
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The DOE is responsible for $39,000,000,000, 1 third of the city's budget, yet they routinely show up unprepared to hearings like this one, have incorrect data in their databases, and make rash decisions.
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It's a running joke at this point.
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How can we trust an agency that is this disorganized to make the best decisions for our children?
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Chancellor Simone Hawkins wrote in her opt ed in AM New York, as a lifelong New Yorker who's attended our city's public schools and sent my daughter to an early childhood education center, I know firsthand the impact of affordable child care.
0:14:28
Well, where's that understanding now?
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She once ran She once 14 child care programs herself, so she should know exactly how strained Ms.
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O'Neal is.
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But it seems like once she started making over $250,000 a year, she forgot what it's like to be a struggling parent in New York City.
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So I ask, where is the DOE's accountability?
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To the families who rely on these programs, to the children who will one day be the future of this city, to the city council, and to the community based organizations they contract with.
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Nessos Nios is not only an Nessos Nios is the only extended two day the only extended day two k program in Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
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It is one of the last remaining spaces that truly serves this community, one that has been deeply affected by gentrification and displacement.
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Losing it is not just about closing a school, it is about erasing history, a legacy, breaking a support system, and failing the next generation.
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We need answers, we need funding, and most importantly we need a commitment from the city to keep Nezus Nios open because childcare should not be a privilege, it is a necessity.
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Thank you.