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TESTIMONY
Olympia Kazi on Improving Public School Quality and Addressing DOE's Lack of Constructive Plans
4:23:10
·
171 sec
Olympia Kazi criticizes the Department of Education's (DOE) approach to improving public school quality and its unconstructive stance towards addressing educational challenges.
- Kazi shares her experience as a parent with children in Manhattan School District 6 and voices her dissatisfaction with the DOE’s attitude.
- She critiques the DOE for not providing concrete plans or engaging in creative problem-solving, referencing successful projects like the one by the Whitney Museum as examples of missed opportunities.
- Kazi emphasizes the importance of abandoning a scarcity mentality and insists that every child deserves high-quality, integrated education.
- She calls on the DOE to utilize innovative solutions and to ensure all schools receive the necessary resources to become great.
Olympia Kazi
4:23:10
So my name is Olinda Kazie, and I have a 1st grader and a 3rd grader in Manhattan school district 6 in Washington Heights.
4:23:19
And I was there earlier than I had to come and pick up my kids.
4:23:23
And ascaling to the hearing, I just wanna thank again chair Joseph Joseph, sorry, for hosting it.
4:23:31
For asking the questions that you did at DOE and all the thoughtful questions that you asked about also all the other council members.
4:23:37
And, of course, the work of Leonie, John, all the people who served there, these parent leaders, I I feel better as a parent knowing that you guys exist.
4:23:46
Right?
4:23:47
However, I am also very upset about what I heard today from DOE, and I feel that their attitude was very defeatist.
4:24:00
They kept pushing back.
4:24:02
They didn't give us concrete plants.
4:24:05
They didn't mention really any constructive way to address the challenges.
4:24:10
You know, I thought these were the time in which a challenge is also an opportunity and even though they're given the fans to do something good, they're not doing it.
4:24:20
And I was particularly upset because of the fear molding they did with constantly sank trade offs and caps.
4:24:26
And I was sad to hear some parents here today, you know, drinking the kool Aid and believing that this is really in the situation.
4:24:33
That we have to accept this scarcity mentality.
4:24:36
We are the richest city in the world, and we can have a great education for every kid.
4:24:42
We should have integrated schools, and they should all the kids should have services that they need and grade education.
4:24:48
So I wanna take one minute to talk about these great schools that people are so scared, they're gonna be kept so their kids cannot go to these great schools.
4:24:58
Have we looked how many they are?
4:25:00
And what is the issue?
4:25:02
How many kids will need to be sent away?
4:25:04
Have they thought of, you know, constructive ways, creative ways of You know, the Whitney Museum had amazing containers that were stuck there within 6 months, and they created public conjugation for kids in an amazing project that now is being located.
4:25:19
That's a Socrates Park, public Socrates in Astoria.
4:25:23
So the DOE is not doing anything creative.
4:25:26
Have they thought of having, you know, stuck schedules?
4:25:29
Some kids will be going in the morning in the afternoon.
4:25:31
If that's the program, we have just a few great schools that people are so sad about, but this is not really the problem.
4:25:38
The problem is that they accept it that they should have few schools.
4:25:42
As if it was said in stone, you know, there are few public schools that are good.
4:25:46
All public schools should be great.
4:25:49
And if we don't give them the resources, they will never be great.
4:25:52
Right?
4:25:52
Our kids are worthy of great public schools, and I wanna thank you again because I know you're working to get it done.
4:25:58
Ideally should start doing their job.
4:26:00
Thank you.