Saturday, 29 September 2012
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Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Monday, 24 September 2012
Emergency contraceptive program in NY schools expanding
Hundreds of students used the emergency contraception during last year's pilot program in five schools. Now it is expanding.
Contraception supplied in New York City public high schools is nothing new - the department has handed out condoms for years.
However, now a new and broader approach, for the first time, the morning after pill is available to students.The pill can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex.
Most parents who Eyewitness News spoke to at one of the schools included in the program, Boys and Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, say this encourages careless sex.
"They're in high school, it is not right," said Midtown resident Robby Carter.
"Condoms protect you. The morning after pill promotes unprotected sex," said Jody Wilson.
Others say it's a necessary tool to battle the teen pregnancy epidemic.
"It's coed. Society now has changed. Kids are more open," said Crowne Heights resident Julie Brown.
Under the Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Health program or "CATCH", girls can get the emergency contraception and other oral or injectable birth control without telling their parents - unless parents opt out.
The Health Department oversees the program. A spokesperson explained.
In New York City, more than 7,000 girls get pregnant by the age of 17. 90 percent of these pregnancies are unplanned, and 64 percent of these pregnancies are terminated.
Candace Smith says she was a pregnant teen - she finished high school, and her daughter Iana is now 3 years old.
"Parents should be involved. They need to watch their kids," Smith adds.
Plan B is typically sold as an over-the-counter medication, but those under age 18 need a prescription.
Parents may bar their kids from getting pregnancy tests or contraceptives if they sign and return an opt-out statement.
If they do not, schools can confidentially give the contraception without permission.
An average of 1 to 2 percent of parents at each school have returned the opt-out sheets,
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(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Health News »health news, carolina leid
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Diocese to close six schools on Long Island
Eyewitness NewsThe Diocese of Rockville Centre is closing six Catholic schools on Long Island. (WABC) -- The Diocese of Rockville Centre is closing six Catholic schools on Long Island.
Four schools will close in Nassau County and two in Suffolk County at the end of the school year.
Five other schools have been told they need to improve.
The Diocese will be issuing more details on Wednesday.NASSAU CLOSINGS:
1) St. John Baptist De LaSalle Regional School in Farmingdale
2) St. Catherine of Sienna School in Franklin Square
3) St. Ignatius Loyola School in Hicksville
4) Sacred Heart School in North Merrick
SUFFOLK CLOSINGS:
5) Prince of Peace Regional School in Sayville
6) Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Lindenhurst
A letter from Bishop Murphy is posted on the Diocese website at http://www.drvc.org/.
(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)Get more Education News »
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Saturday, 4 June 2011
New Changes Planned for the New York Schools by the State's New Governor
Many states are experiencing the shock of new governors who are breaking the mold of former elected officials. In past generations, new state governors created a transitional governing period during which they and their staffs could get up to speed on the operations and issues of their states' governments. In 2007, many new governors are hitting the ground running. Transitional periods seem to be nonexistent with the newly elected governors barely settling into the governor's residence before making changes within their states.
New York's new democratic governor is such an elected official. Governor Eliot Spitzer was swore in on January 1st, taking his oath of office and delivering his inaugural speech. By the end of January, he already has formulated new plans to put the New York schools and its students back on the road to success.
Spitzer's major push is his series of "Contracts for Excellence", which are methods and programs to improve the New York schools and the education its students receive.
One initiative will provide a significant increase in state aid to poorly performing districts within the New York schools. Of course, this increase in funding has strings attached that the governor believes will set a new course for success for the problem schools. New York schools receiving the extra funding must justify any improvements to their facilities. They also must set goals for their New York schools' students' performance. If these New York schools meet their goals, they will receive special recognition for their success, along with the possibility of receiving even more funding. Failing to meet their goals, however, means these New York schools risk funding penalties and the removal of superintendents, principals, and even school district board members.
A second initiative from Spitzer is report cards for New York schools' leadership. In a recent speech at the State Education building in Albany, Spitzer stated that currently only New York schools' students and their schools receive report cards. Soon, the New York schools' leadership will begin receiving annual report cards that will track the performance of district superintendents and individual school principals from year-to-year. For the first time, the New York schools will be able to rigorously compare and evaluate their performance with the report cards following them from one school district to another within the state of New York.
Other initiatives under Spitzer's Contracts for Excellence for the New York schools are:
o A universal pre-kindergarten for all four-year-olds within the New York schools' area by 2010. All children deserve the opportunity to get a head start on education through this uniquely designed preschool period of acclimatization.
o The class sizes in the New York schools are much too large, making students in large classrooms difficult to teach and learning next to impossible for the children. Spitzer sees smaller class sizes as a must for educational success within the New York schools.
o Spitzer wants the cap on public charter schools within the New York schools to be raised from the current 100 to 250. Many see these public school academies as the solution to poor performing traditional New York schools. The charter schools also will be required to meet their own "Contract for Excellence" every five years in order to remain open.
o The governor wants to appoint a "Children's Cabinet" to assist with and guide the improvement efforts of the New York schools. The cabinet will be comprised of regents, education experts, and the state education commissioner.
Lastly, Spitzer announced his appointment of Manny Rivera as his new deputy secretary for education. Rivera is the former superintendent of schools in Rochester, New York.
Though Spitzer did not provide any details of how his proposals will be implemented or from where the funding will come, he did note that his plans will be meticulously formulated in detail during the creation of the state's budget proposal to the legislature.
Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please New York Schools [http://www.schoolsk-12.com/New York/index.html]
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Mayor Reorganizes New York City Schools Again
Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his State of the City speech recently and included some unexpected changes for the New York City schools that could profoundly change their current operation. Though the pre-speech release noted that his speech would focus on tax cuts, many were caught by surprise on what could be called only his second reorganization of the New York City schools.
The announcement was followed by a prepared public relations campaign of press briefings and New York City schools' chancellor Joel Klein spoke to business leaders the following day. Here are the major points of the mayor's announcement:
o The New York City schools would remain public and under the control of the Department of Education. The department will continue to be responsible for setting educational standards, allocating funds to the New York City schools, and hiring/firing New York City schools' principals.
o Principals will be empowered to control key issues within their New York City schools. They will have more autonomy, beginning with the next school year, managing their individual budgets and staffing, as well as determining the best teaching approach for their individual New York City schools. Principals will be expected to partner with a support organization.
Along with empowerment and more autonomy comes more accountability. An array of measurements will be employed to ensure the principals are succeeding in their New York City schools. Student grades will be accessible to parents, one of the most effective forms of accountability. New York City schools' principals who do well will enjoy additional funding for their schools.
Mayor Bloomberg sees this move of empowerment and accountability as a longtime corporate success tool -- succeed or lose your job. Others worry he may be losing sight of the learning and teaching aspect of education.
o Support organization partnerships will be established for each of the New York City schools. Each support organization comes from a private group, such as nonprofit agencies and colleges/universities. The support organization will provide professional development support to the principal, his teachers and staff. It will help interpret test results and other statistics, as well as identify helpful teaching approaches for the individual New York City schools.
o Four years ago, when the mayor took control of the New York City schools, he created ten regions. Now that they have served their purpose and completed their work, they are being eliminated. The mayor did not address, however, what group or agency would be responsible for the administration of high schools and admissions for middle schools, previously handled by the regions.
o Chancellor Klein has long criticized the New York City schools' tenure policy of three years on the job and a teacher qualifies for tenure, making it difficult to fire ineffective teachers. Under the mayor's new proposal, the tenure standards will become more difficult but not impossible to achieve. He intends to work with the United Federation of Teachers (the teachers' union for the New York City schools), whose consent is required for any major changes in tenure policy. The mayor aims to use tenure to improve teacher quality with salary increases, develop a program for experienced "lead teachers" to mentor others, and a housing bonus for experienced teachers in teaching fields of short supply.
o Lastly, the mayor is looking at changing the New York City schools' funding formula. He wants to fund each child rather than each New York City schools, believing the current policy is extremely complex and unfair. Each of the New York City schools would receive $3,000 to $3,750 per child with additional funding for poverty-level, non-English speaking, special education, and/or low academic performance-level children. There may possibly be extra funding for the gifted and talented children.
Comments and discussions already have commenced from parents, special interest groups, and advisory councils/committees. It is difficult to see how all of the mayor's changes will benefit the New York City schools' students directly. Parents especially have an interest is seeing smaller class sizes and keeping their children from dropping out of school -- none of which was mentioned in the mayor's announcement.
Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please New York City Schools
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
New York Schools Announce 228 High Schools in Need of Improvement
Of the 946 high schools within the New York schools, 228 have been identified as needing improvement under federal and state rules, according to an announcement made in mid-September by the New York schools.
All schools within the New York schools are held accountable for the academic achievement of students by race and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and low-income students. They are graded at the end of each school year by the New York schools, according to their grading standards as well as federal rules.
Of the 228 high schools, 18 were newly identified this year. Twenty-nine high schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years in all areas previously identified as needing improvement and were removed from the list this year. Seventy-five made AYP last year and, if they make AYP this school year, they will be removed from the list next year. Though many of the New York schools on the list last year have raised their AYP scores, the number of high schools on the list only decreased statewide by eleven.
Title I funds are given to 107 of the identified 228 New York schools. They are considered Schools In Need of Improvement, under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The other 121 New York schools identified are called Schools Requiring Academic Progress (SRAP) and do not receive Title I funding. The Title I schools are required to take a variety of actions, while the other New York schools identified must implement state accountability measures. All 228 New York schools will receive technical assistance to help improve student performance.
Of the 946 secondary New York schools, 653 have grades nine through twelve, with 293 also having grades seven and eight in-house. Here are the total New York schools' standings for its high schools:
o 718 high schools within the New York schools are in good standing,
o 27 New York schools are in their first year of needing improvement,
o 20 are in their second year,
o 21 need corrective action,
o 26 New York schools are in the planning stage of restructuring,
o 13 are in restructuring,
o 32 require academic progress (SRAP), first year,
o 28 are in year two of requiring academic progress, and
o 14 are in year four or more of requiring academic progress.
Three New York schools within their third year of restructuring and one in year seven of SRAP face possible closing or phasing out, if they do not improve during this school year.
The New York schools require different actions for schools identified at the different levels of needing improvement. The worse the school's AYP score and the longer it has been on the New York schools list, the more that is required to be implemented at the school in order to improve student academic achievement. Actions range from parental school choice, to strengthening core academic subjects, to providing high quality professional development for teachers, to teacher mentoring programs, to implementing new curriculum, and so on. The New York schools could even bring in outside experts to assist New York schools principals in raising their AYP scores or restructure the entire school's internal organization.
Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please New York Schools
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Academic Intervention Services Available from New York Schools
As with all public schools across the nation, New York schools have standards in reading and mathematics that must be met by its students. Unfortunately, many students fall short of the standards and their families are not in a position financially to provide the extracurricular tutoring that is required to improve the skills of their children. The schools in New York do not want to see any child at any grade left behind and provides the solution.
The New York schools have student academic intervention programs that provide the needed tutoring, counseling and teaching of skill sets. The schools in New York services are a supplement to the general teaching curriculum.
New York schools students who are academically at risk and need assistance in the areas of English language arts, mathematics, social studies, and/or science are candidates for intervention. The schools in New York support may address the areas of guidance, counseling, attendance and study skills, all of which affect a student's ability to perform well academically.
The New York schools academic intervention may be offered during regular school hours or during an extended school day or year, depending upon the school. The New York educators determine the need for intervention. It is not something that may be requested or refused by parents, though their cooperation can make a difference between success and failure of the program.
If a child in the New York schools is determined to need such intervention, the parents are notified in writing, telling them of the commencement of the program for their child, what services will be provided, the reason intervention is required, and the consequences for the student of not achieving the expected performance levels. New York schools communication with the parents is ongoing and encourages their cooperation and participation in the program. There is at least one consultation a semester with the classroom teacher and other New York schools professional staff, who are assisting their child. Progress reports are given the parents at least on a quarterly basis. Additionally, information is provided to the parents on how to work with their child to improve academic achievement, how to monitor the child's progress, and how to work with New York schools educators to improve their child's achievement.
New York schools student academic intervention is determined as follows:
o Kindergarten through grade three --
1) Student lacks reading readiness, including knowledge of sounds and letters, and is based on appraisal by the New York schools; OR
2) Student is at risk of not meeting the schools' required performance level in English language arts and/or mathematics. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities; and limited English proficiency determination.
o Grades four through eight --
1) Student scores below the state required performance level on one or more elementary assessments in English language arts, mathematics, social studies or science; OR
2) Student is at risk of not achieving New York schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities; OR
3) Student is limited English proficient and at risk of not achieving standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science by using English or their native language. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities.
o Grades nine through twelve --
1) Student scores below the required performance level on one or more state intermediate assessments in English language arts, mathematics, social studies or science; OR
2) Student scores below required performance level on any one of the state examinations that are required for graduation; OR
3) Student is at risk of not achieving New York schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities; OR
4) Student is limited English proficient and at risk of not achieving schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science by using English or their native language. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities.
The New York student academic intervention is ended, when a student successfully meets the state's required performance level in the areas he or she was having difficulty. Though school standards are now the norm across the nation, theschools in New York are going one step beyond to ensure students meet those standards.
Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more on New York schools visit New York School Ratings and Private School Rankings
Saturday, 28 May 2011
NEA Gives New York Schools a Failing Grade
Though public schools across the nation are improving their environments for students, the New York schools are falling behind, according to the National Education Association (NEA). In a recently posted web page, the NEA cited many failings of New York. Here are some of the challenges that the NY schools continue to face during the 2006-2007 year.
Average Sizes for Classes and Campuses
The elementary and secondary schools in New York continue to be among the largest schools in the nation. The average size of an elementary school within the New York schools system is 27 percent higher than the national average. With an average of 558 students per elementary school, the schools in New York rank fifth to have the largest elementary populations on average in the United States. Their high schools are even larger, averaging 1004 students per campus. That is 33 percent higher than the national average, making the school system in New York the eighth largest in average size.
The class sizes in the New York schools also are among the largest with an average of 22 students per class. The NEA ranked the New York schools as the tenth largest in average elementary class size nationally.
Poor Infrastructure
In addition to the overcrowding in the New York schools, their crumbling and aging infrastructure is in desperate disrepair with a third of the facilities in need of extensive repair or replacement. The costs to complete construction and repair needs on school buildings and facilities are estimated to be as high as $15 billion. During the 2006-2007 school year, the New York schools will have literally tens of thousands of students attending class in mobile trailers, storage areas, and converted bathrooms -- not the most conducive environment for learning.
The NY schools rank among the bottom ten states in the percentage of schools with at least one unsatisfactory environment condition. Seventy-six percent of the New York schools fall into this category. There are 36 percent with poor ventilation that is bad for children with respiratory ailments, such as asthma, and contributes to higher illness rates of children and staff from passing viruses back and forth through the stagnant air. Additionally, 28 percent of all New York schools have bad plumbing and 31 percent of the schools have roofs that are crumbling.
As important as computers have become to educational opportunities in the United States, more than a third of the NY schools lack adequate outlets and the necessary wiring for computer use in the classroom.
Teacher Salaries
Teacher salaries in the schools system in New York continue to decline. While other public school systems across the nation have increased salaries over the past ten years, teacher salaries in the New York system have decreased in constant dollars by eight percent. This means that many of the quality teachers are either moving out-of-state to teach or moving into new career fields that pay better. The NEA has designated the school system in New York as one of the four worse states for allowing real teacher salaries to decline.
As the NEA points out, the New York schools have many challenges yet to face in order to provide a quality education to the youth within the state of New York.
Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on New York schools visit New York School Rankings and Private School Rankings
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
NJ Supreme Court orders state to give schools more
By GEOFF MULVIHILLTRENTON -- The New Jersey Supreme Court has rebuked Gov. Chris Christie and ordered the state to increase spending on poor schools by an estimated $500 million.
But in its split ruling, the court stopped short of the scenario Christie frequently and publicly said he feared: An order to hike spending on all schools to the tune of $1.7 billion.
The $500 million is about the same amount the state treasurer says the state has in a windfall due to higher than expected tax revenues.
Two of the court's seven justices recused themselves for the case. The court voted 3-2 in favor of the decision, with Justice Edwin Stern, who was temporarily assigned to the court, casting the deciding vote.The ruling Tuesday was the 21st decision in the decades-long court battle known as Abbott v. Burke, the legal part of New Jersey's definitive political conundrum.
Over more than two decades, the state's Supreme Court has ordered the state to pay more to subsidize 31 school districts in low-income communities to satisfy the requirement in the state constitution that New Jersey provide children with a "thorough and efficient education."
In many respects, the state's public schools are regarded as among the best in the nation, with top graduation rates and high scores on the SAT and other standardized tests that are given across the country. But the schools in the state's cities, which include places that rank among the nation's poorest, have lagged behind.
The court orders have led to free preschools for 3- and 4-year-olds in the cities, new and improved school buildings and extra literacy tutors, among other items. And now, most of the so-called "Abbott districts" have among the highest-spending districts, on a per-pupil basis, in the state.
While the gap in test scores has narrowed between the city schools and others at lower grades, it is still wide.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)Get more Education News »
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Sunday, 15 May 2011
Teachers In New York City Schools
As the largest school district in the nation, with over a million students, the New York City Public Schools face a mammoth task. In some ways New York City Schools are at an advantage because New York State has required the stringent Regents exam as a requirement for graduation for years. That doesn't mean that everyone in the New York City Schools is fond of the mandatory tests, but it has put the city and state at an advantage as far as meeting some of the No Child Left Behind Act's Standards. At least teachers and administrators of the New York City Schools already had some tight standards in place.
Teachers in New York City Schools need to have or obtain a Master's Degree to teach. While the New York City Schools are in need of teachers, just like the rest of the nation, the standards that they hold their teachers to and the pay are among the highest in the country. That's not to say the New York City Schools don't have problems- they do. But the New York City Schools do have a sound foundation for hiring teachers.
Diversity of New York City Schools
For anyone who hasn't visited the Big Apple, it's not easy to explain the different worlds that exist in one city. It's like the difference between the hustle and busy of New York City and the rural feel of the rest of New York State- different worlds. For teachers in New York City it means that where you teach can make all the difference in the world. New York City school teachers in Harlem will have an inner-city experience, while New York City school teachers in Long Island may have a more suburban teaching experience.
Issues for New York City Schools
The size of New York City Schools and classrooms is an issue that has haunted teachers for years. Most teachers agree that smaller class sizes are more effective for creating learning environments. Some students and teachers in about 50 New York City Schools have moved into smaller sized school buildings. Teachers in New York City Schools say that smaller school sizes create a more intimate setting, better parent-teacher relationships, and higher student achievement. Teachers also have a better chance of individualizing instruction when there are fewer students in a classroom. While the small schools initiative was mainly targeted at school size, teachers try to address class size as well.
Teacher turnover has been an issue in many, usually poorer, New York City Schools. Coming up with ways to keep teachers happy in these at-risk areas continues to be a challenge. Tenured teachers often leave these for "better" schools. And turnover itself creates issues. The teachers in the New York City Schools have a tough job by anyone's standards. And as the country looks for solutions to public education, New York City Schools will continue to be watched closely.
Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit New York City Public Schools
Friday, 13 May 2011
Questions Rising Concerning Spending of Funds by the Mayor and the New York City Schools
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City schools Chancellor Joel Klein, together, have made sweeping changes within the New York City schools. Yet, many are questioning their intentions and spending of funds.
Creating smaller class sizes, especially in the elementary grades, has long been a priority of most parents, teachers and advocates in New York City. Many states and cities have passed laws requiring smaller classrooms, such as the state of Florida.
Studies have repeatedly shown that smaller classrooms improve student achievement, reduce teacher attrition, decrease student disciplinary problems, and increase parent involvement. They have proved especially effective for the elementary grades, but smaller classrooms in high schools are believed to reduce dropout rates, as well.
Today, the New York City schools classrooms are the largest ones in the state. The Court of Appeals ruled in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case that class sizes in the New York City schools were too large to provide students their "constitutional right to an adequate education." The public is complaining that the mayor only plans to spend two percent of the money received from the lawsuit toward reducing class sizes within the New York City schools; yet, he plans to spend ten times as much on more school administrators and specialists.
According to the Gotham Gazette, the mayor and Klein are undermining the reduction of classroom size in six major ways:
o Ignoring State Law -- Since 1999, over $500 million has been given to the New York City schools by the state to cut class size. According to an audit released in March by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, only 20 extra classes in kindergarten through third grade were created as of last year, compared to the 1,586 classes the New York City schools officials said had been formed.
The audit also showed that officials had sharply cut back the number of K-3 classes by almost 900 over the last four years. Classes should now be 19.1 students per class; however, they remain with 65 percent of the students in classes with 21 students or more, and 26 percent in classes with 25 students or more.
o Not Allowing Voters to Decide -- Over 100,000 New Yorkers signed petitions last year to put an amendment on the ballot that would require a minimum of 25 percent of funds owed the New York City schools from the lawsuit be spent on class size reduction. New York City schools officials blocked the proposal, stating it was "improper", since the New York City schools are under the authority of the state and do not have to comply with city laws. Many voters and advocate groups are contesting.
o Fewer New Classroom Seats Are Being Created -- Reporter Leonie Haimson believes the city is in danger of creating more seats in new stadiums than in New York City schools during Bloomberg's administration. The following are the number of new seats added, according to the Mayor's Management Report:
22,267 seats in fiscal year 2003,
12,921 in 2004,
8,631 in 2005,
4,287 in 2006, and
204 thus far, this year.
Yet, all five boroughs are experiencing a development boom in their neighborhoods. In other major cities across the country, developers are being required to provide schools and other community needs as part of their development projects. New York City has no such requirement. Therefore, there are fewer seats with no expectation of more being added, even though development is increasing.
o No School Plans for Governors Island -- When the mayor was elected in 2001, he pledged to put a major high school and university on the island, which has current facilities sitting vacant that once were used as classrooms. According to Gazette sources, no one is discussing a plan for a school in that location, and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation has been told to maximize the island's profit-making potential. A new high school on the island would have relieved a lot of overcrowding in the other secondary New York City schools.
o More Charter Schools Being Created -- The mayor plans to create up to 100 new charter schools, and the New York City schools capital plan calls for 74 percent of them to be put into existing New York City schools buildings. With new charter schools taking currently used New York City schools classroom space that means more overcrowding and larger classrooms for the New York City schools.
o New Administrative Positions -- The creation of new administrative positions within the New York City schools has exploded since the mayor was elected. The city comptroller found in 2005 that the New York City schools had lost over 2,000 teachers without replacement within two years, further crowding more students into each classroom. The Educational Priorities Panel recently found that the amount of money devoted to instruction had steadily declined during the first four years of the mayor's administration. Meanwhile, the number of new administrative positions has escalated, with only a slight decline in administrators at the district level.
The public's concerns over classroom size are growing, as the mayor and Klein appear to be focusing on other concerns for the New York City schools.
Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on New York City schools visit New York City Schools