Friday, January 08, 2010

AN OBJECT LESSON: It CAN happen here …and it is!

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters writes

CSR Parent Conference

Throughout the city, students, parents and teachers are outraged at the unilateral decision of the DOE to close their neighborhood schools and/or put charter schools in their buildings.

These closings will likely cause skyrocketing discharge rates among those students left behind, lead to hundreds of more teachers put on Absent Teacher reserve, and create even worse overcrowding and increased class sizes for the majority of NYC students. 

The most affected will be our most vulnerable students, especially those with special needs and/or English language learners, relatively few of whom attend the small schools or charters that are slated to replace the closing schools.

The Panel on Educational Policy will vote on these proposals on Jan. 26 at Brooklyn Tech HS.

Parents want to know what can be done. 

Class Size Matters is hosting an emergency citywide conference about the proposed school closings by the Department of Education. We will be hearing from parents, students and teachers at the affected schools, and will share strategies and legal options.

When: Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where: School of the Future, 127 East 22nd Street, NYC. (take the #6 to 23 St.)

Norman Siegel, famed civil rights attorney, will be one of the speakers.

Here is a flyer you can distribute to other parents. It is posted at http://www.classsizematters.org/Jan__16_2010_Parent_Conference.pdf

The conference planning committee includes Lisa Donlan, Shino Tanikawa, Khem Irby, William McDonald and Monica Major; all active parent leaders from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

For more information or to volunteer to help out, please contact Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters, at classsizematters@gmail.com; 212-674-7320 or Monica Major, Event co-chair at majorm766@gmail.com; 347-664-6712.

Please forward this message to others who care, and hope to see you there!

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
classsizematters@gmail.com
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson

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