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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sarah Jonas, Vice President of Youth Division at Children's Aid on Community Schools and Education Funding
10:02:02
ยท
3 min
Sarah Jonas, Vice President of Youth Division at Children's Aid, testified on the importance of community schools and the need for continued funding. She highlighted the success of their programs in improving student outcomes and addressing challenges like chronic absenteeism and learning loss.
- Urged the administration to restore and baseline $14 million in funding for 80 community schools facing a critical funding gap
- Called for addressing delays in contract registration and timely payments to nonprofit providers
- Advocated for baselining funding for essential education programs currently at risk due to one-year city dollars
- Requested urgent action to address school transportation challenges for students in foster care
Sarah Jonas
10:02:02
Good evening and thank you to Education Chair Council member Rita Joseph, the Education Committee, and the New York City Council for this opportunity to testify.
10:02:12
My name is Sarah Jonas, and I'm the vice president of the youth division at Children's Aid.
10:02:17
At Children's Aid, we are committed to ensuring that young people have no boundaries to their aspirations and no limits to their potential.
10:02:26
For over thirty years, we've partnered with New York City Public Schools to operate community schools that break down the barriers to success academically, socially, and emotionally.
10:02:37
We currently partner with 20 community schools across New York City, providing a comprehensive range of services that span academic support, social emotional development, health and wellness, and family engagement.
10:02:51
These services include after school programming, targeted academic interventions, health clinics, mental health supports, and family workshops.
10:03:01
Together, these efforts address some of the most pressing challenges our youth are facing today, including chronic absenteeism, learning loss, mental health concerns, and food insecurity.
10:03:14
In the twenty twenty three-twenty four school year, we saw promising results.
10:03:18
11 out of our 20 schools showed improvement in chronic absenteeism and 14 out of 15 of our k to eight schools increased math proficiency scores.
10:03:29
Nonetheless, there's still much more work to be done.
10:03:32
We are so grateful to our city leaders for their commitment to community schools.
10:03:37
However, 80 community schools in New York City are facing a critical 14,000,000 funding gap, which must be addressed to continue providing essential services to the children and families who rely on them.
10:03:50
This includes 9,160,000.00 for approximately 70 campus model community schools and 5,000,000 for 10 schools in the zip codes hardest hit by the pandemic.
10:04:01
Children's Aid Charles Drew Campus, one of the campus model impacted schools, has provided essential services since 2014, including after school beacon programming, ESL and GED classes for parents, a food pantry, and a school based health clinic.
10:04:19
We stand with the Coalition for Community School Excellence in urging the administration to restore and baseline this 14,000,000 in funding.
10:04:27
We also call on the city to address the delays in contract registration and timely payments to nonprofit providers.
10:04:37
We join the coalition for equitable education funding and advocating for baselining funding for essential education programs that are currently at risk due to one year city dollars.
10:04:47
Finally, we urge the city to take urgent action to address the challenges of school transportation for students in foster care.
10:04:54
Reliable and timely transportation is essential for these students.
10:04:58
It's a critical source of stability in their lives.
10:05:01
Delays of weeks or months in assigning bus routes create unnecessary barriers to their education, and we call on city leaders to allocate the funding needed to ensure safe and consistent transportation.
10:05:12
Thank you so much for your time and for your continued commitment to the children and families of New York City.