Chalkbeat

Don’t expect a new COVID policy for NYC schools, even as the virus surges

2024-09-03T21:22:12+00:00

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More than 900,000 students will return to New York City schools on Thursday, after a summer that saw COVID cases surge across the nation and the five boroughs.

But don’t expect any changes to COVID guidance for the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Students will not be mandated to quarantine at home upon testing positive for the virus, under a policy adopted by city agencies in the spring that eliminated a prior five-day isolation requirement. Instead, officials ask individuals to remain at home until their symptoms improve as per the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There is no real new guidance, because this is going to be our new normal,” said Anne Williams-Isom, the city’s deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, during a Tuesday press conference.

She urged New Yorkers to get their updated COVID vaccine and stay home if feeling ill.

“If you’re not feeling well, if you have sniffles, you should stay at home so we’re not spreading it,” she said. “We just have to make sure that we’re taking those precautions, and it’s the same thing for kids as they’re going back to school.”

It may be difficult to track the city’s COVID rates as fewer people test for the virus. (The federal government discontinued its free at-home test program in March but plans to bring it back at the “end of September,” according to the CDC’s website.) A “very high” level of the virus was still being detected in New York state’s wastewater as of late August, according to CDC data.

Since March 1, the CDC has instructed people to stay home until their symptoms improve and they remain fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication. The federal agency still advises people to take precautions over the following five days, including wearing a mask, social distancing, and testing. It’s part of a shift in health policy toward treating COVID like other common illnesses, including RSV and the flu.

Under current New York City Education Department policy, those who are experiencing COVID symptoms should isolate themselves from others and get tested. Like the CDC, the city advises students and staff to remain at home until symptoms have improved and they’re fever-free for 24 hours without medication.

The department also urges students and staff to wear a mask and take other precautions for five days after returning to school.

Those who test positive for COVID but do not exhibit symptoms do not need to stay home from school, according to the city’s policies. But upon returning to school, the city instructs individuals to take precautions to avoid getting others sick, such as wearing a mask and practicing good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands often, and using hand sanitizer.

The city’s Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.

Millones en beneficios de comida por la pandemia podrían caducar el mes que viene

2024-01-31T17:57:05+00:00

Read in English.

Millones de dólares en beneficios de comida por la pandemia en Nueva York que no se han usado podrían empezar a caducar el mes que viene, ya que la fecha límite para que las familias los usen se está acercando.

Los fondos — conocidos como Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, o P-EBT— se enviaron a todas las familias de las escuelas públicas de Nueva York en varias rondas durante los últimos cuatro años. El propósito de los fondos es ayudar a cubrir los costos de las comidas que de otro modo serían recibidas en la escuela.

El año pasado, el estado distribuyó múltiples rondas de fondos, incluyendo $120 por niño para el verano de 2023, y por lo menos $391 por niño para el verano de 2022 y el año escolar 2021-22. (Los fondos de este último pago podrían ser de hasta $1,671 por niño según las ausencias relacionadas con el COVID o los días de aprendizaje remoto durante el año.)

Ahora, el último pago está por caducar para las familias que no los han usado todavía. En octubre, al menos 90,000 beneficios en la ciudad no habían sido canjeados por las familias, lo que significa que al menos $35 millones estaban en riesgo de caducar.

David Rubel, consultor de educación que ha seguido de cerca los beneficios de comida, teme que miles de familias perderán dentro de poco tiempo los beneficios que quizás no sepan que tienen.

“Imagínate que mañana por la mañana leamos que los principales programas de distribución de alimentos perdieron la mitad de su presupuesto”, dijo. “En realidad, esa es la magnitud de lo que estamos hablando”.

Las preocupaciones de Rubel surgen en parte por los datos que pidió y obtuvo bajo la Ley de Libertad de Información del estado, y que los funcionarios estatales confirmaron. Los datos mostraron que para los beneficios P-EBT emitidos para el verano de 2021, casi 600,000 estudiantes en todo el estado nunca canjearon el dinero.

Eso significa que más o menos un 27% de los más de 2.2 millones de estudiantes que recibieron los beneficios nunca los usaron — un total de beneficios sin usar de aproximadamente $222 millones.

A Rubel le preocupa que el estado no haya tenido suficientes actividades para informar a las familias sobre cada ronda de los fondos. Dijo que les ha pedido a los funcionarios estatales que soliciten al gobierno federal una enmienda a los plazos del programa.

La Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance del estado, o OTDA, que supervisa el programa P-EBT, dijo que el vencimiento de los fondos se basó en estatutos y regulaciones federales.

“La fecha de caducidad no se puede extender”, dijeron los funcionarios en una declaración.

En otros estados, los funcionarios han enmendado sus programas P-EBT para efectivamente extender la fecha límite para que las familias usen sus beneficios. En California, por ejemplo, los funcionarios permitieron que los hogares pidieran el restablecimiento de sus beneficios si se habían caducado sin que las familias los usaran.

Los funcionarios de Nueva York, sin embargo, dijeron que no tenían planes de pedir una aprobación federal para enmendar el programa P-EBT.

Esto es lo que las familias deben saber:

¿Cuándo empezarán a caducar los beneficios?

Los beneficios de P-EBT caducan automáticamente 274 días después de la última vez que se usaron, es decir, unos nueve meses después. Más del 60% de los beneficios del verano de 2022 se distribuyeron a las familias en mayo pasado, lo que significa que los fondos de quienes no los hayan usado todavía s empezarán a caducar en febrero.

Cuando las familias utilicen los beneficios, el plazo para caducar empieza a contar desde 0 nuevamente y tendrán otros 274 días antes de que los fondos corran riesgo de vencerse.

¿Cómo las familias pueden reemplazar sus tarjetas?

Las familias que hayan perdido su tarjeta P-EBT pueden obtener una de reemplazo llamando al 1-888-328-6399.

¿Por qué algunas familias no están usando los fondos?

Desde que comenzó la pandemia, la OTDA ha emitido más de $6,300 millones en beneficios P-EBT, de los cuales cerca del 60% han ido directamente a las cuentas existentes de hogares que ya estaban recibiendo beneficios del Programa de Asistencia Nutricional Suplementaria (SNAP). Otras familias recibieron los fondos en tarjetas P-EBT emitidas por el estado.

El estado mantiene información detallada sobre los beneficios en su sitio web y opera una línea de ayuda: 1-833-452-0096.

Los funcionarios de la OTDA le dijeron anteriormente a Chalkbeat que han llevado a cabo una extensa campaña de información para el público y han trabajado con grupos de defensa para ayudar a crear conciencia sobre los beneficios de comida. El Departamento de Educación del estado también envió mensajes sobre los beneficios a todos los distritos escolares locales, añadieron los funcionarios.

Las familias con números de teléfono válidos registrados en su distrito escolar también deberían haber recibido un mensaje de texto cada vez que había beneficios nuevos disponibles, según los funcionarios estatales.

Algunas familias, sin embargo, dijeron que nunca recibieron mensajes de texto, y otras han tenido dificultades para tener acceso a los beneficios.

“Debemos lograr un 100%”, dijo Angela Trude, profesora de la NYU que ha estudiado el acceso a comida y beneficios del gobierno. “Queremos que todo el mundo aproveche los beneficios”.

Trude dijo que ella ha trabajado con familias que suponen falsamente que usar los beneficios podría restarles dinero a otras familias más necesitadas, o que el gobierno en algún momento les pedirá que devuelvan los fondos.

Es crítico combatir estos conceptos erróneos, dijo ella, y a la vez comunicar que todas las familias deben utilizar los beneficios.

“Si estas familias sienten que les están quitando a otras, entonces en vez de no utilizarlos, pueden comprar alimentos no perecederos y donarlos a organizaciones comunitarias y despensas de alimentos”, añadió Trude.

Rubel cree que casi todas los beneficios caducados del desembolso del verano de 2021 ocurrieron entre familias que no son beneficiarias del SNAP, ya que los hogares del SNAP recibieron los beneficios en sus cuentas existentes y pudieron seguir gastando como de costumbre para utilizarlos.

Para las familias que han podido aprovechar los beneficios, los defensores han dicho que pueden tener enormes consecuencias. Rachel Sabella, directora de No Kid Hungry New York, dijo que los fondos del P-EBT “pueden ser la diferencia un niño que pasa hambre o uno que tiene una comida sana y nutritiva”.

“Sabemos que las familias están sufriendo — 3 de cada 4 nos han dicho que ahora ha sido más difícil poder comprar alimentos que en 2022 — así que esperamos que todos los hogares con derecho al P-EBT aprovechen este beneficio”, dijo en una declaración. “Sabemos cuán importante es dar a conocer estos fondos antes de que caduquen, y les pedimos a las familias a que revisen sus cuentas de EBT y tengan sus tarjetas a la mano”.

Nueva York necesita más programas de información, dice un experto

Wendy De La Rosa, profesora adjunta de marketing en la Wharton School de la Universidad de Pensilvania que ha estudiado los beneficios públicos, dijo que Nueva York y otros estados deberían hacer más para comunicarse de forma eficaz con las familias.

Usar mensajes de texto para avisarles a las familias sobre sus beneficios es un método “fundamentalmente defectuoso”, según De La Rosa.

“Las estafas están por las nubes, y todos los expertos en seguridad nos dicen que tengamos miedo”, dijo. “¿En qué mundo pensaríamos que un solo mensaje de texto — que con frecuencia proviene de un número desconocido — va a lograr que más gente lo reciba y capte?”

Agregó también que, en el caso de estudiantes con vivienda inestable, los números de teléfono que están en los archivos de los distritos escolares pueden tener errores o no estar actualizados.

“Tiene que ser un mensaje de texto, y un email, y una carta, y llamadas telefónicas, aparte de realmente determinar ¿A qué padres no hemos llegado?”, dijo De La Rosa. “Y luego hay que hacer un esfuerzo concertado para llegar a ellas y que todos estén informados”.

Algunas familias también responden mejor a cierto tipo de comunicación cuando se trata de beneficios. Lograr que las familias sientan más de los beneficios son suyos puede hacer que los aprovechen más, dijo De La Rosa. Es más probable que las familias usen beneficios presentados como un derecho, que los presentados como un programa de ayuda.

Programa permanente de beneficios de comida de verano a la vuelta de la esquina

A pesar de sus preocupaciones, a De La Rosa le satisface que Nueva York está entre los estados que han optado por adoptar un programa permanente federal de beneficios de comida en el verano. En todo el país, 9.5 millones de estudiantes que hubiesen sido elegibles para los beneficios probablemente se quedarán sin ellos este año, ya que por lo menos 12 estados no quisieron participar en el programa.

“Cuando se pone en ese contexto — que los niños de familias en algunos estados están pasando hambre porque los legisladores no han querido adoptar esta política — es evidente que Nueva York les lleva ventaja”, dijo ella.

Julian Shen-Berro es un reportero que cubre la ciudad de Nueva York. Comunícate con él enviándole un email a jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.

In NYC schools, substitute teachers are systematically denied COVID sick pay

2024-01-29T10:00:00+00:00

This story was published in partnership with New York Focus, a non-profit news site investigating how power works in New York state. Sign up for their newsletter here.

This is the first installment in a two-part series reported with support from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

Shane Lorenzen finally caught COVID days before Christmas in 2022.

A substitute teacher in New York City, he knew the state offered paid COVID leave to public employees — a key protection for essential workers put in place early in the pandemic. But when he asked his school payroll secretary about it, she informed him that as a sub, he didn’t qualify.

Like thousands of substitutes, Lorenzen helped prop up the city’s education system throughout the pandemic. He signed up in March 2020 to staff one of the education centers for the children of health care professionals, transit workers, and other frontline employees when regular schools were closed to other kids. During the omicron wave in January 2022, he was in the classroom as thousands of teachers went on sick leave.

When Lorenzen tested positive himself, the denial of paid leave felt like a slap in the face. He tried to insist — and was asked not to come back to his school.

Substitutes have been entitled to paid COVID leave since the state mandated the benefit in 2020, the New York state Department of Labor confirmed. But many subs assumed they didn’t qualify and never requested the benefit. And in New York City, many were denied even if they did ask.

The city Department of Education instructed schools to exclude nearly all substitute teachers and substitute paraprofessionals from the benefit, according to internal emails New York Focus obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request.

“Generally speaking substitutes … would not be eligible to receive the excused leave at full pay for up to two weeks if they needed to quarantine,” the DOE advised schools in an email. “They would not be paid for any time not worked.”

“I got COVID recently, and last year,” said one former substitute teacher in Bushwick who requested anonymity out of fear of employer retaliation. “[COVID leave] wasn’t a conversation that was had between me and the school.”

An education department spokesperson confirmed that during the pandemic, staff received guidance indicating that per diem workers — the teachers and paraprofessionals employed on a day-to-day basis who make up the majority of the substitute workforce — do not qualify for sick leave or other benefits normally provided to full-time staff. The spokesperson later contradicted this guidance, telling New York Focus in a phone call that subs could receive paid COVID leave if they provided a “quarantine order,” as required by the March 2020 state law.

Asked to elaborate, the department did not acknowledge the contradiction, only reiterating that per diems were not included in its guidance for schools.

The state Labor Department confirmed that per diem workers are included in the mandate.

“NYC DOE (including substitute teachers or sub paraprofessionals) qualify for paid COVID leave,” the Labor Department press office wrote. The DOE did not respond to the state agency’s apparently contradictory interpretation of the law.

Among subs, the lack of support has added to a sense that the school system sees them as disposable — even after they stepped up to help the city in a time of great need.

“I saw a couple of my coworkers get sick and get taken out in an ambulance, and I never saw them again,” said Lorenzen, recalling the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic’s early days. “And they were subs. They were subs or paras.”

While much attention has been paid to the sacrifices that full-time teachers made and the harms that students sustained during the pandemic, substitutes like Lorenzen played a critical role in holding the system together.

As sickness, refusal to abide by vaccine mandates, and burnout pushed thousands of teachers out of their posts, the city’s teacher attrition rate reached a decade high in 2022, with 2,000 fewer teachers in the system than five years earlier. Full-time teachers are still calling out sick at higher rates than before the pandemic, and the crisis may worsen as the United States experiences one of the largest surges in COVID cases since 2020, with New York flagged as a hot zone by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a public resolution addressing schools’ difficulties in hiring substitutes, the United Federation of Teachers recently asked the DOE to make nominations for substitute teachers and sub paras more flexible, and to offer subs pay differentials in “hard-to-staff” schools.

But while full-time teachers are still being offered COVID leave, subs remain in the lurch.

“There’s no safety net for me,” said the former Bushwick sub. “It was disappointing because there was this whole chatter about ‘essential workers,’ but it just felt like I wasn’t getting taken care of as a worker in the city.”

The DOE did not respond to requests for the number of substitutes in the city system, nor how many of them got sick with COVID. But based on broader figures — over 75% of Americans have contracted the virus at least once; over 35,000 short-term substitute teachers work in New York state; and well over 100,000 COVID cases have been confirmed among DOE staff since September 2020 — it’s likely that thousands of New York City substitutes have contracted the virus.

Although some subs work at their schools on longer-term appointments, many are still paid by the day — usually at a $200 rate. They typically don’t get employer-funded health insurance or paid sick days. But in March 2020 — when Lorenzen became a sub — the state passed a law, which is still in effect, granting some private and all public sector workers between five and 14 days of paid sick leave for Covid isolation and precautionary quarantines.

During severe coronavirus surges, DOE administrators tasked with answering COVID leave questions advised school staff that most substitutes did not qualify for paid COVID leave in at least 57 responses, according to emails New York Focus obtained via FOIL. (Initial senders’ names were redacted, but the number of threads suggests that dozens of schools inquired about the issue.)

Just four complaints were filed against the DOE for failing to provide substitutes paid COVID leave, according to Labor Department officials, who declined to provide further details about the cases. DOE officials said they received only one related complaint from the Labor Department, which was promptly addressed.

As teachers called out sick, schools grew increasingly desperate to place subs in classrooms, many in longer-term assignments. The DOE resorted to offering “special financial incentives” to subs when COVID rates were highest — up to $100 extra per day, according to emails sent to substitutes and obtained by New York Focus.

According to Lorenzen, there were periods during bad COVID surges, like the omicron wave, when most of the teachers in his school were substitutes. Others described a similar reliance.

“We reopened the schools back up and kept them open,” said Joe Diodato, a full-time teacher who subbed for a year and a half in the Bronx beginning in the winter of 2020. “It only happened because of subs.”

While subs often teach to supplement other jobs, some rely on substitute teaching as their primary source of income. From the three days Lorenzen was absent due to COVID isolation, he lost $615.75 from his paycheck. Other subs may have lost north of $2,800.

“Earned sick days are particularly important for low-wage workers who, absent sick leave, lack the savings, access to credit or assets needed to buffer against lost earnings if they need to take time off,” wrote Hilary Wething, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute who co-authored a report on state paid sick leave policies, in an email to New York Focus.

Paid leave can also protect the health of other staff and students by keeping people home when they’re sick. One substitute at a school in Brooklyn, who requested anonymity, said that he felt forced to work while down with the flu in order to pay his bills.

“I endured the whole week of just being sick,” he said. “I could not even speak, and I just did the job.”

When his school’s payroll secretary told Jack Ganley he was ineligible for leave, a teachers union representative instructed him to file a complaint with the Labor Department. Ganley, a substitute paraprofessional at a Brooklyn elementary school, decided not to file a complaint — or even raise the issue with school administrators.

“I can guarantee what the response would be, which would be we can’t help you,” Ganley said.

Multiple workers described a culture of retaliation in New York City public schools, with little recourse available to subs who are fired for filing grievances or otherwise challenging school administrators. Many of the subs who spoke to New York Focus requested anonymity for that reason.

Shane Lorenzen spoke out when he did not receive COVID sick pay.

Lorenzen was the only substitute interviewed who made a persistent attempt to claim his benefits.

When Lorenzen got sick, he emailed Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice in Crown Heights, where he was substitute teaching full-time. Aware of the March 2020 law, Lorenzen made sure to mention COVID leave in his initial communication.

“I’m hoping that at this point I am entitled to sick pay, as I cannot afford to take time off, but do not want to come in if I am still symptomatic,” wrote Lorenzen in a December 20, 2022, email, reviewed by New York Focus, to Nelson Mandela’s payroll secretary and principal.

He tested positive the next day and stayed home for the last three days before winter break.

The payroll secretary wished him well, but ignored his inquiry regarding sick leave.

After winter recess ended, Lorenzen returned to the classroom and asked the school repeatedly whether he would receive pay for the missed days. The school eventually said he wouldn’t because he wasn’t a full-time employee, though documents he provided to New York Focus show he was indeed working as a full-time substitute.

But it shouldn’t have mattered, Lorenzen believed. He shared with the school a public personnel memo from the DOE stating that part-time workers qualified for the leave, too. According to a United Federation of Teachers spokesperson, subs have previously won their paid sick days through the union grievance process by citing the memo.

In a conversation on January 9, 2023, a recording of which was shared with New York Focus, Nelson Mandela principal Matthew Anderson told Lorenzen that the problem was technical: Because of an issue with payroll codes, the school was operationally incapable of releasing the benefits. Anderson did not respond to multiple email requests for comment.

It seems the principal’s hands were tied. The Education Department did not appear to have distributed the appropriate codes for per diem employees, payroll memos obtained through a public records request confirmed. Only “long-term substitutes” classified as “part-time” — rather than “per diem” — workers qualified for COVID leave, as officials told schools in dozens of emailed messages.

Lorenzen kept on insisting, sending email after email. Then, less than two weeks after returning from winter recess, an assistant principal informed him that it would be his last day at Nelson Mandela. Originally, Lorenzen said, his position was supposed to last until June.

Anderson, the principal, told Lorenzen that he was being let go for budgetary reasons and that the school had teachers returning to fill his position, according to a recording of their meeting that day. A DOE spokesperson noted that terminations of subs’ positions are typical upon the return of a regular staff member or a shift in school needs, especially during the pandemic.

When Lorenzen suggested that the school was retaliating against him, Anderson chided him for being confrontational.

“I don’t have anything to do with the money you’re missing,” he said. “Continue with the process and you’ll get your money. That’s an issue with the city and central services.”

Lorenzen filed a complaint with the Labor Department shortly after he lost his position, but he has not heard back.

Nearly a year later, he’s still waiting to receive his benefits.

Teddy Ostrow is a journalist from Brooklyn. He was the host of The Upsurge podcast and his work has appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, In These Times, and elsewhere.

Eric Adams axes $547 million from NYC Education Department budget, more cuts on the way

2023-11-16T22:35:09+00:00

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New York City’s Education Department will cut nearly $550 million from its budget this year as part of a sweeping round of citywide reductions ordered by Mayor Eric Adams.

Many of the cuts are expected to take effect immediately. They will touch a wide range of programs and positions that directly affect students, from the city’s massive free preschool program, to community schools that support families with out-of-school needs, to the popular pandemic-era Summer Rising program.

A big chunk of this year’s savings will come through a hiring slowdown and the elimination of 432 vacant non-classroom positions, which officials said on Thursday will lead to a combined $157 million in savings.

Budget officials didn’t specify which roles would be eliminated but emphasized cuts to central offices and other roles that support schools. A hiring freeze has been in place since earlier this fall, but has not applied to teaching positions. Education Department officials didn’t immediately say whether the agency would continue to spare teaching positions from the freeze.

A mandate to rein in spending on “supplemental pay for administrative staff” is expected to save another $86 million this year, but officials didn’t immediately provide details on what that means.

In September, Adams directed all city agencies to find cuts equal to at least 5% of the city’s contribution to their annual budgets by November, in response to what he described as unsustainable levels of spending on the ongoing influx of asylum seekers. Additional cuts of 5% are expected in January and again in spring 2024.

In all, that means the Education Department could face up to $2.1 billion in cuts. The department’s overall budget is roughly $37.5 billion this school year.

Starting next fiscal year, the department will cut $120 million from the Universal Pre-K program, which enrolled about 100,000 3- and 4-year-old this year and is the signature legacy of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. The program has been beset by payment delays to child care operators and enrollment declines during the pandemic.

Officials said they’re reducing the size of the program because there are about 37,000 vacant seats, but did not specify how many of those slots they plan to eliminate.

“While we don’t know many details yet, there is no way a cut this large would not hurt the services available to children and families,” said Gregory Brender, the chief of policy and innovation at the Day Care Council of New York, a membership organization of child care providers.

A range of longstanding programs with a direct presence in schools are also facing small cuts.

An initiative to expand the teaching of computer science is losing $3.5 million this year, while the budget for community schools will be cut by $10 million this year. Community schools were another major educational priority of de Blasio’s administration, and have continued to grow under Adams.

Separately, nearly $20 million in funding for Summer Rising, the pandemic-era free summer school program that served roughly 110,000 students last year, is being slashed from the budget of the city’s Youth and Community Development Department, which jointly operates the program with the Education Department. The cuts will mean reduced hours and no Friday programs for some middle-schoolers, officials said.

The program has proved immensely popular with families and had about 45,000 more applicants than slots last year.

“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces,” Adams said in a Thursday statement. “To balance the budget as the law requires, every city agency dug into their own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services. And while we pulled it off this time, make no mistake: Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and COVID stimulus funding is drying up.”

Budget analysts have pointed out that the cuts ordered by Adams are far greater than the expected costs of serving the asylum seekers. The city also collected nearly $8 billion more in revenue last fiscal year than anticipated, according to a recent analysis from Comptroller Brad Lander.

Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, called the cuts “unnecessary” and “driven by City Hall’s false political narrative that New York City is about to fall off a fiscal cliff.”

“Revenues are higher than expected, investment from Albany is up, and reserves are at a near-record high,” he added.

Other groups warned that the city’s hiring and budget freeze is already affecting services for vulnerable children, and that further cuts could threaten their legal rights.

Advocates for Children, a nonprofit group, said the city has been unable to hire 15 additional staffers to help families living in shelters navigate the education system, an urgent concern given the influx of migrant families.

The organization also said short staffing appeared to be causing delays in providing preschool special education evaluations and services in the Bronx.

“We are particularly concerned that these budget plans will result in even more egregious violations of the rights of students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and students in temporary housing or foster care,” Advocates for Children executive director Kim Sweet said in a statement.

More cuts ahead for NYC schools

The city-directed budget cuts are part of a perfect storm of fiscal trouble facing city schools.

About $7.7 billion in one-time pandemic aid from the federal government has padded the Education Department’s budget in recent years and funded critical initiatives, including expanded preschool and summer enrichment programs. That money will dry up next September, and the looming expiration of that aid has already prompted some painful cuts.

For the first time in four years, the Education Department clawed back money this week from schools where enrollment numbers fell short of projections.

Because enrollment went up overall across the city, the majority of schools didn’t have to return money, and instead got extra funding because of higher-than projected enrollment. But there were still more than 650 schools that saw a total of $109 million in midyear cuts, according to a United Federation of Teachers analysis.

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

More NYC teachers are frequently out sick following COVID-19 pandemic

2023-09-25T20:29:17+00:00

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New York City teachers are calling out sick more frequently in the wake of the pandemic, following a national trend of increased educator absences as COVID-19 and other illnesses continue to swirl, city data shows.

During the six years prior to the pandemic, about 14% of teachers each school year used more than their 10 allotted sick days on average. That percentage sank to historic lows during the two school years in which classes were fully or partially remote, according to city numbers.

But when full-time, in-person classes resumed in the 2021-2022 school year, the number of teachers using 11 or more sick days jumped to 16% and continued climbing to nearly 19% last school year, according to the most recent Mayor’s Management Report.

Teachers along with union and Education Department officials attribute the rise in teacher absences to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and other illnesses — including the surge of the highly contagious omicron variant in winter 2021 and the “tripledemic” of COVID-19, flu, and RSV cases last winter.

“Since the onset of the COVID pandemic, everyone, including teachers, have been encouraged to take the time that they need to recover when sick and stop the spread of communicable diseases,” said Education Department spokesperson Chyann Tull. “This can lead to an increase in the rates at which teachers are absent.”

Elevated teacher absences can have a “tremendous effect” on school operations, said Roony Vizcaino, the principal of the Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce in Harlem, which has seen an increase in teacher absences over the past two school years.

“You don’t have that continuity of instruction, of relationship building,” Vizcaino said, and for students already dealing with disruption and uncertainty on a daily basis, the absence of a trusted adult can “derail” the rest of the school day.

Higher rates of chronically absent teachers are correlated with lower student achievement.

Substitutes are often difficult to find, and when they do come, can rarely replace full-time classroom teachers, Vizcaino added. Turning to other teachers to cover vacant classes can increase stress and burnout for those educators — forcing them to take time off to recover.

“It becomes this sort of domino effect in the school where adults are taking time off and there’s a collective complaint about, ‘Why am I covering classes every day,’” he said.

Calling out sick is rarely a full respite even for the teachers who do it, several educators noted, given the amount of work it can take to prepare plans for a substitute or colleague and catch students up when they return.

The city’s tally of teacher absenteeism looks at the number of sick days used but not vacation days, according to an education department spokesperson.

The uptick in New York City mirrors a national trend. During the 2021-2022 school year, nearly three-quarters of schools across the country reported more teacher absences than in a typical pre-pandemic school year, according to a survey from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Student chronic absenteeism has also spiked in New York City and across the country over the past two school years.

Brooklyn elementary school teacher Sarah Allen said COVID was “definitely the biggest thing” causing her and colleagues to miss more school in recent years.

“It can go on for weeks with just one case of COVID in your family,” Allen added, noting many teachers also had to stay home to care for sick family members.

Teachers were granted additional days off that weren’t drawn from their normal 10 sick days to recover from COVID-19 or the effects of vaccinations.

This school year, teachers who test positive for COVID will get five days off to recover before dipping into their sick days, and will get four hours of leave to recover from a COVID booster shot, according to guidance from the union.

Many educators are also now more cautious about showing up to work with symptoms, union officials said.

“Like the rest of the working public, educators and school staff are less likely to go to work with a cough or a cold now than pre-Covid,” said a spokesperson for the United Federation of Teachers.

Allen also said that she saw more colleagues taking mental health days, as educators confront mounting levels of stress and burnout.

“People I know who don’t usually take them, we were just extra beaten down last year,” she said. “It feels like for many of us [there are] more behavior issues, greater needs, money given to families is ending. There’s more on our plates, and everybody is exhausted.”

Caroline Shepard, a teacher and union chapter leader at Simon Baruch Middle School in Manhattan, said educators are more willing to enforce work-life balance in the wake of the pandemic.

“Personal boundaries are just stronger, and I think it’s a good thing,” she said.

Vizcaino said he’s tried both positive incentives for strong teacher attendance and disciplinary measures for especially high rates of absence, but neither has made much of a difference in recent years.

The increase in teacher absenteeism comes as rates of teachers leaving the profession have gone up in New York City and across the country. Vizcaino sees the two as related.

“Folks want to preserve themselves as much as possible,” he said. “I think for teachers, they’re saying, ‘This is a marathon. If I have to pause in this marathon once or twice… that’s okay, then I can finish the race.’”

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.

Salary disparity: Teachers, directors in NYC’s free pre-K program push for more money

2023-06-28T21:23:17+00:00

In her own words, Joanne Derwin was “not a runner.”

Then last year, as Derwin embarked on her annual quest to raise money for the preschool she oversees in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace neighborhood, a parent persuaded her to train for the Brooklyn Half Marathon with a large group. Since then, they’ve used the race to raise tens of thousands of dollars that are crucial, in part, for covering teacher salaries.

Derwin’s center is one of hundreds that contract with New York City for its free prekindergarten programs, expected to serve roughly 63,000 3- and 4-year-olds this fall. But these centers — which have offered seats to about 60% of the children in the city’s program — have faced a long-standing issue that is gaining renewed attention: Their city funding covers the salaries for their veteran teachers at the same rate as new teachers in city-run public schools. That makes it tough to retain staff, providers say, unless directors like Derwin find a way to close the salary gap.

“We literally have to run the Brooklyn Half Marathon to be able to have our program,” Derwin said.

Boosting wages for teachers, directors and other support staff will be a central sticking point in upcoming contract negotiations between the city and unions who represent community-based preschool staffers, with the hope that the city extends benefits to non-unionized staffers, too.

On the campaign trail, Mayor Eric Adams said he wanted to pay these teachers for their years of experience, and he promised a path to salary parity within two years of his first term.

“It’s almost humiliating what we are paying these professionals,” he said at the time.

Whether he follows through on those promises remains uncertain. Spokespeople for City Hall referred Chalkbeat to the city’s labor relations office, which did not immediately respond for comment.

The brewing battle comes four years after the city boosted teacher pay in community-based programs to match their public-school counterparts, eventually including non-unionized employees, in what was heralded as a huge achievement. Pay grew to $61,070 by 2021 for teachers with bachelor’s degrees and $68,652 for those with master’s degrees, with a one-time 2.75% raise for other staff.

That agreement, however, didn’t pay teachers according to their years of experience, nor did it address salary parity for directors or other support staff, such as assistant teachers or custodians — all issues that unions and providers plan to advocate for.

The negotiations will happen against the backdrop of a chaotic year for the city’s early childhood education system, including late payments to providers and a controversial decision by Adams to not expand preschool seats for 3-year-olds. The City Council has called for $46 million to address pay parity issues. It’s unclear if that will meet the unions’ demands, as the Day Care Council said it does not yet have cost estimates.

Preschool workers eye contract set by teachers union

Wage increases could make the difference between keeping workers or losing them in an industry that’s already burned out from the pandemic, said Nora Moran, director of policy and advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses, which represents many providers.

Community-based preschool programs, like many industries, have faced hiring shortages since COVID, leaving them scrambling to find staff, Moran said. Programs are not just struggling to hold onto teachers; directors are also leaving. Many of these employees work longer hours and throughout the summer.

Acknowledging a need for better pay, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced up to $3,000 in retention bonuses for 150,000 childcare workers, with unused federal stimulus dollars.

Without better pay, Moran said providers will be in a “dire situation,” ultimately impacting families who need preschool but can’t afford private programs.

“That sounds dramatic, but it’s true,” Moran said. “The compensation has become such a sticking point for folks.”

DC 37, which represents 7,900 early childhood workers, and the Day Care Council, which represents providers, are expected to begin negotiations with the city once their contract expires this fall. DC 37 also represents workers at federally funded Head Start programs, whose contract expired last January.

Separately, the city’s Council for Supervisors and Administrators, or CSA, is expected to restart their push to raise salaries for the 180 community-based preschool directors they represent. Pressure will likely mount in July, when the union begins court proceedings in a lawsuit that alleges the city is discriminating against community-based preschool directors, who are largely women of color, by not paying them at the same rate as directors of city-run sites.

Unions will be looking to the tentative contract deal reached between the city and the United Federation of Teachers, or UFT, which represents educators and other workers inside of public schools. Under that tentative agreement, starting salaries for new teachers with bachelor’s degrees will jump from $61,070 to $72,349 by November 2027.

Pay gap angers teachers and other support staff

Veteran teachers in New York City’s community-run preschool programs can make 53% of their counterparts with similar years of service in public schools, according to the Day Care Council.

To close such gaps, Derwin’s school, called One World Project, relies on multiple fundraising events, as well as income from their other programs that charge tuition, such as after school.

Derwin said she’s proud to pay her teaching staff as well as teachers who are covered by the teachers union. But that also means her teachers must receive raises annually as they gain more experience and with new contracts, leaving Derwin to close a larger gap every year without any additional help from the city.

“Every year, it’s a more precarious situation for us,” Derwin said.

About 10 miles east at the Howard Beach Judea Center Preschool in Queens, site director Lisa Pearlman-Mason said they struggle annually with enrollment, leading to tight budgets. Their two teachers each make just under $69,000 annually, or the same as a first-year teacher in public schools, as required by the 2019 agreement, even though one has about 15 years of experience and the other about 10.

They host an annual fundraiser, but the proceeds aren’t enough to cover salary bumps. (Last year, they used the money to buy an outdoor toy for their playground.)

Their teaching assistants make roughly $25,000 a year. The starting salary for the comparable title of a paraprofessional will be $34,257 by 2027, according to the tentative teachers union agreement.

“I don’t get to keep them for more than a couple of years because they realize what’s going on and they leave,” Pearlman-Mason said.

Salary disparity for directors pushes them out

Separate from teachers, the CSA is hoping to see pay boosted for about 180 directors of community-run preschools over a three-year period, for a total cost of $16.7 million, according to union officials.

Pre-K directors with master’s degrees at city-run programs make at least $133,375 with one year of experience, according to CSA. Under the expired contract for directors at private programs that are publicly funded, however, the city is only required to pay $63,287 to directors with master’s degrees.

Henry Rubio, the CSA’s president, said directors will sometimes take other jobs to make ends meet, or their centers might raise money to pay staff more. Still, the union sees directors leave their jobs “on a weekly basis” for better paying positions, including within the education department.

The union’s plea for raises traces back to at least 2019. At the time, when New York City agreed to boost teacher pay under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, officials promised to negotiate a similar “path to parity” for preschool directors, Rubio said. But since then, he said, the city has declined to do so.

Negotiations over a new contract stalled in 2021. That December, CSA filed its discrimination lawsuit, which states that community-run programs are overseen by directors who are 92% women of color, compared with the 31% at city-run sites who are Black or Latino.

“I think this is an opportunity for the mayor to really right a stark wrong here,” Rubio said. “For Black and brown women who have been dedicating their lives to the city, I think it’s an opportune time for both the City Council and the mayor to make a statement about his values.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

New York wants to revamp how schools are evaluated. Here’s what could change for now.

2023-06-22T16:45:25+00:00

How does the state determine whether schools are doing well or if they are struggling and need extra support?

Before the pandemic, state officials relied on standardized tests and high school Regents exams to figure out how well students were doing, along with other factors, such as graduation rates. But the public health crisis paused state testing and affected school performance metrics in other ways.

Now, education department officials are seeking a new, temporary evaluation system for the next two school years, with the hopes of creating something more permanent for the 2025-26 school year.

If a school is found to be struggling, it is required to develop an improvement plan that must be approved by local and state officials. Schools that don’t make progress for five years could face state takeover or closure — but it’s a route that state officials rarely took even before developing the current accountability system, which is meant to be less punitive for schools.

In the short term, over the next two years, state officials want to exclude certain science and social studies exams, as well as measures for student growth and college and career readiness, when deciding which schools need improvement. These changes are necessary, officials say, because schools are still missing a trove of data, such as enough student participation in state tests, because of the pandemic.

Already, the conversation is sparking some controversy. Some groups focused on education reform believe the move represents a step backward just as schools need more help as they recover from the pandemic. Other observers believe the state’s proposed plan is reasonable.

Ultimately, the federal government must sign off on these proposed changes, since the state’s accountability system is required by federal law and is written into New York’s federally required Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, plan.

“They’re doing a decent job of balancing what’s of interest in the state and the federal ESSA requirements, and incorporating all the instability and uncertainty that came with the slowdown of testing during the pandemic,” said Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College and an expert in testing.

But Education-Trust New York, an advocacy organization focused on equity issues, worried that several of the proposed changes could mean masking “bright spots and disparities,” according to their written public feedback to the state.

“I think these next two school years are incredibly important for kids coming out of the pandemic,” said Jeff Smink, the group’s deputy director, in an interview with Chalkbeat. “We have to both give them all the support they need but also hold them to high standards, and I just don’t feel like we’re doing that right now.”

What metrics would still be used?

Under the state’s proposal, schools will still be measured on English language proficiency (based on a state language exam for English learners), graduation rates, how well students are doing in core subjects based on Regents and state test scores, and chronic absenteeism. In New York City, chronic absenteeism has been a pressing issue, with 41% of students last school year absent for at least 10 school days.

What do state officials want to ditch (for now)?

The state wants to put a pause on measuring academic progress based on certain goals for student scores on state English and math tests.

State officials say they want to update these goals — first set in the 2017-18 school year — before they use them to determine whether schools are struggling.

The state’s proposed plan would also pause the use of “Measures of Interim Progress,” which more broadly measures whether schools are meeting goals for academics and other things, like their graduation rates.

For elementary and middle schools, officials want to pause how they’ve been measuring student growth, largely because of the lack of testing data. Typically, they calculated student growth using three years of testing data, but the pandemic caused big disruptions: For example, just one in five New York City children took state exams in the 2020-21 school year, when most children chose to learn from home.

For high schools, officials won’t consider college, career, and civic readiness metrics, which include advanced coursework or extra credentials in specialized jobs-based courses. That’s because the pandemic may have hampered students’ access to some of these programs or courses, officials said. They also worried that the pandemic’s impact on learning may have caused students to perform worse academically than they otherwise would have, such as on AP exams.

What will the state do with data, even if it’s not being used to evaluate schools?

State officials still plan to provide all of this data to schools for “informational purposes only” for the next two school years, they said.

Why do state officials want to exclude elementary school science exams and high school social studies assessments?

Science tests would be excluded because the state has changed who must take those exams. Traditionally, students in fourth and eighth grades take the state science test. However, only eighth graders took the test this school year, as the state prepares to offer the exam next year to fifth graders instead of fourth graders. That means they won’t be able to compare results equitably across elementary and middle schools that have different grade configurations.

Fifth graders will take the exam next spring. Asked why those scores won’t be taken into account for the 2024-25 school year, a spokesperson said that it allows districts to have “consistency and predictability” for now, as they attempt to rebuild the accountability system.

While calling it a “logical” move, Ed-Trust argued that excluding science tests “undermines the importance of science education” and worried schools will have less reason to focus on it. The organization suggested that the state should instead work with local districts to “ensure a smooth transition” to the new science assessments without entirely removing it as one way to measure student performance.

On the high school level, officials want to pause using social studies tests because of multiple exam cancellations in recent years. The state looks at cohorts of students, such as the graduating class of 2023, when considering how they performed on these tests, namely the Regents exams for Global History and Geography and U.S. History and Government.

But students who will graduate this year couldn’t take Regents exams in 2021, when they were in 10th grade, because of the pandemic. U.S. History and Government exams were also canceled last year, when these students were juniors, in the wake of a mass shooting in Buffalo, with the state education department claiming there was material on the exam that could “compound student trauma.”

State officials have emphasized that this plan “in no way diminishes” the importance of science or social studies instruction.

How will schools be labeled if they need support?

The lowest performing schools are known as schools in need of Comprehensive Support and Improvement, or CSI. But the state won’t list new CSI schools until the 2025-26 school year because they identified a group of such schools this year under a tweaked system, and that process only happens every three years, officials said.

A total of 139 New York City schools were identified this year as in need of some level of improvement, with 83% of them listed as CSI schools, according to state data.

However, New York will identify schools for Targeted Support and Intervention, or TSI, next year, which must happen annually per federal law. Those are schools that aren’t meeting goals set for specific student groups, such as by race, economic status, and those with disabilities.

In one recent — and perhaps confusing — change, schools that are meeting or exceeding their goals are no longer called “Schools in Good Standing” and instead are now labeled by the state as schools identified for Local Support and Improvement, or LSI.

What will happen for the 2025-26 school year?

State officials plan to revamp the accountability system for the 2025-26 school year after collecting feedback from the public. The new plan will also incorporate any changes to the state’s graduation requirements, which could come as soon as the end of this year. The education department is rethinking the role of Regents exams in graduation, among other considerations.

Pallas said that the plan for the 2025-26 school year and beyond would still have to meet federal ESSA requirements and earn the buy-in of school district leaders — meaning that it likely won’t be “a dramatic break from the past.”

“It’s gotta be something that feels progressive but also comfortable,” Pallas said.

Thomas Wilburn contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC teachers union and Adams administration reach tentative deal on 5-year contract

2023-06-13T20:12:43+00:00

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New York City reached a deal with the teachers union for a five-year contract that includes annual raises, expands opportunities for virtual learning, and allows some remote work for certain employees, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday.

The tentative deal for the United Federation of Teachers’ 115,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time education department employees includes 3% wage increases for the first three years, followed by a 3.25% increase in the fourth year, and 3.5% in the fifth year. The full contract would cost the city $6.4 billion, city officials said.

Starting salary for new teachers will jump from $61,070 to $72,349 by the end of the contract. In five years, the most experienced teachers will earn $151,271. The deal also proposes to cut in half the amount of time it takes teachers to reach a $100,000 salary — from 15 to eight years.

It also includes annual retention bonuses that will grow to $1,000 in 2026, for as long as an employee is an education department employee, and will be built into the system going forward. It’s the first time the union has negotiated such a payment, said Michael Mulgrew, president of the teachers union, during a press conference announcing the deal.

“We’re saying to all of our titles and every member, whether you’re in the first year or your 25th year, New York City is saying that we appreciate you, we recognize the challenges that you take on every day and you will receive $1,000 every [year] for that,” Mulgrew said. [Mulgrew initially misspoke, and his statement has been clarified.]

The retention bonus is “a good strategy” for keeping teachers, said Melissa Arnold Lyon, assistant professor of politics and policy at the University of Albany, who has been following the UFT’s contract negotiations. Teacher turnover rates in New York City and elsewhere hit an unusual high after last school year, potentially exacerbated by the stresses of the pandemic.

“There are a lot of costs of trying to find and hire new teachers,” Lyon said. “If $1,000 helps you to keep a teacher, at least on the micro level, that’s worth it.”

The agreement is retroactive to Sept. 14, 2022, and runs through Nov. 28, 2027, city officials said. The wage increases follow the pattern of raises set by the February agreement with District Council 37, which includes cafeteria workers, parent coordinators, and crossing guards.

Many teachers expected that their union would follow suit and had expressed concerns given that the previous deals were not keeping pace with inflation, which has moderated somewhat in recent months but reached 6.5% last year. Teachers had complained that their responsibilities have only increased since the pandemic, as they continue to catch up students academically and socially from years of interrupted learning.

A virtual learning program to expand

The contract would expand a pilot remote learning project that allowed small schools to offer virtual courses — such as AP Chemistry — that they otherwise couldn’t because of staffing issues. This year, the program used federal funding to grow, reaching about 1,500 students across 58 schools, with 23 separate online courses outside traditional school hours.

Under the tentative deal, high schools, as well as schools that serve grades 6-12, could offer virtual courses after school and on the weekends starting in the next academic year, union officials said, though nothing would bar schools from creating tutoring programs, too. Those programs would be available to students who volunteer to participate, and would be staffed by volunteer teachers. A quarter of high schools would be allowed to participate next year, growing to all high schools by the 2027-28 school year. High schools must apply to participate, education officials said.

Courses might be offered at individual schools or through the central education department, and high schools must apply to participate, education officials said. Part-time remote teachers can apply to be part of their school-based remote program and work before or after the school day; there will also be full-time, centrally hired teachers for the other program.

Programs could vary, Gendar said. For example, a school could offer evening courses, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., for students who are missing classes because they’re working day jobs, she said.

Schools could offer non-traditional schedules for students and teachers who want them. If a teacher volunteers to work a virtual program in addition to their regular work day, they will be paid overtime, Gendar said.

During a press conference, schools Chancellor David Banks said the virtual learning agreement gives students more flexibility, noting that some benefited from remote learning during the pandemic.

“Students who were at risk of dropping out were able to continue their coursework on a schedule that works best for them,” Banks said of remote learning during the start of the pandemic. “This expands those types of opportunities across the entire system.”

The contract would also allow some employees, who don’t work directly in schools, to work remotely for up to two days a week. It was not immediately clear which employees that would include.

Another sticking point was over how teachers would get to spend an extra 155 minutes each week after school. The deal would allow them, as they did this year, to do professional development and parent outreach, and it added a new option for teachers to do other classroom work of their choice in that time.

Teachers have mixed feelings

The contract is not yet final. First, the union’s negotiating committee, composed of 500 members, along with its executive board and delegate assembly will decide whether to send the tentative deal to all union members for a vote. Union officials did not immediately provide dates for those votes.

Some teachers took to social media to criticize the deal, but pushing back against it could be an uphill battle. The union cannot easily pull off a work stoppage because a teachers strike would violate New York’s Taylor Law, which imposes significant financial penalties for public sector unions that strike.

Robert Effinger, a union chapter leader at the Bronx High School of Business, said the pay increases surpassed his expectations.

Although some educators hoped that the salary increases would exceed inflation, the union was hemmed in by the pattern set by unions that negotiated contracts earlier this year. But Effinger said he was glad to see the union negotiate a quicker path to higher pay, an issue he hopes will help retain more educators.

“One of the reasons people burn out in education is they feel like they’re doing a lot of labor that is not appropriately compensated,” he said. “Having an accelerated early track is better for keeping people in.”

Still, he said he’s eager to hear more details about other elements of the contract including increased teacher autonomy, a major part of the union’s campaign, which focused on burdensome paperwork requirements educators face.

The union plans to hold a virtual town hall for members on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Alex Zimmerman contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

NYC failed to provide full services to 9,800 preschool children with disabilities last year: report

2023-06-06T09:30:00+00:00

More than one-third of New York City’s preschool children with disabilities did not receive all of the extra support they’re entitled to in the last school year, according to a report released Tuesday morning.

The report, by advocacy organization Advocates for Children New York, analyzes the most recently available city data for the 2021-22 school year. The figure represents an increase from the 2020-21 school year, when 30% of children, or about 7,800, didn’t receive all of their required services.

The data means that a child may have received some of their required speech therapy, for example, but no required physical therapy — services that are spelled out in an individualized education program, or IEP.

Among the 9,800 children — or close to 37% — who didn’t receive all of their required services:

About 6,500 children who required speech therapy — or about a quarter of children who needed monolingual speech therapy and a third of children who required bilingual services.
Nearly 28%, or 5,300 children, who required occupational therapy.
About 2,000 children, or nearly 26%, who needed physical therapy.

The report showcases a yearslong problem with the city’s public preschool system, which serves 3- and 4-year-olds: Programs struggle to provide all children with the services they need, as they are legally required to do. Young children’s access to these services might be more crucial now, since some of these students may have missed out on necessary services as infants and toddlers early in the pandemic, like tens of thousands of kids nationally.

The greatest disparity in who received services was based on language: Sixty-nine percent of children who required only English instruction received their services, versus 53.5% of those who needed to be taught in another language.

The racial and socioeconomic disparities were smaller. While 69% of white students fully received services, the same was true for 67% of Hispanic children, 65.5% of Black children, and 62% of Asian children. Sixty-seven percent of permanently housed students received services, versus 61% of homeless children.

The city’s data might actually “significantly” underreport the problem, the report said. The education department considers a child “fully served” if they received at least one session of all of their required services, the report said.

“A child whose occupational therapist quits in November and is never replaced, or a preschooler who waits six months for mandated speech therapy to begin because the DOE is unable to find a provider, is not fully served from the perspective of their parents and teachers, but they are left out of the counts above,” the report said.

In December, Mayor Eric Adams vowed to open hundreds of additional seats for preschool children with disabilities to ensure that all children get the seats that they’re entitled to. Advocates have praised that commitment, but it already is being tested. While the city has opened 700 new seats this school year for students with more challenging disabilities, about 300 preschoolers are still waiting for a spot, the report noted.

Having access to seats is a perennial issue. Last year, just over 1,000 preschool children who required a small special education class did not have access to those seats by the end of last school year, according to the report.

“We agree with the concerns of our parents and advocates that for far too long students with disabilities were excluded from programming and services,” Nicole Brownstein, a spokesperson for the city’s education department, said in a statement. “This administration is committed to righting this wrong.”

But the city’s commitment to open more seats doesn’t address the ongoing shortage of staff who can provide extra required services for these children, one significant reason why children are missing out on services, said Betty Baez Melo, director of the Early Childhood Education Project at Advocates For Children. The city contracts with outside organizations to provide many of these services, so Advocates For Children is calling on Adams to spend another $50 million to increase pay for those service providers and hire their own staffers.

Brownstein noted that the education department has expanded its own teams who provide services to preschool children, including hiring an additional 24 speech therapists, 23 occupational itinerant therapists, and 12 physical therapists.

The $50 million request from Advocates For Children would also go toward speeding up evaluations for children, another weak area the report cited. Nearly 16% of children, or 1,974, who were eligible for preschool special education services waited more than 60 days — the legal deadline — for a meeting to determine what extra services they should receive, according to the organization. That’s a similar rate to last school year.

Over the last three years, the education department has opened 21 Preschool Regional Assessment (PRAC) teams, which provide evaluations in addition to state-approved agencies that the city contracts with. This school year, staffers on PRAC teams had the option of working overtime, allowing more students to get evaluated — something they plan to do again next school year, officials said.

Still, education department officials said there are not enough agencies to meet the evaluation needs of preschool students, as more children have been referred for services since the pandemic. They plan to work with city, state, and federal government officials to ensure there’s enough funding to link students with necessary services.

While data for this school year is not yet available, the organization reported that it’s received many calls from families who have struggled to access services for their young children. One of those calls was from Terese, a mother in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn who asked to use her first name only for privacy reasons.

Her 4-year-old son required the help of a special education itinerant teacher, or an SEIT, who helps children like hers with disabilities inside of a general education preschool class. But in February, that teacher left her son’s preschool with no replacement.

Terese spent a month emailing the main special education contact in her district about a replacement teacher with no response, even taking days off work to deal with the issue, she said. Meanwhile, her son was talking less at home.

“The teacher started reporting to me that he was not communicating in the classroom,” Terese said.

Terese’s problem was not unique. According to the report, roughly 1,300 preschoolers, or nearly one in five children did not have an SEIT all last school year, even though their IEP required one.

Eventually Terese contacted Advocates For Children, which advised her to lodge a complaint through 311. After that, a special education official with her district responded, blaming the lack of a teacher on a staffing shortage. By mid-May, her son once again had an SEIT, she said.

“I felt all alone,” Terese said. “The DOE just left me to fend for myself with my child with special needs.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

What happened to the social-emotional screening tool that NYC schools began using last year?

2023-05-25T18:00:00+00:00

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New York City’s education department plans to ditch a controversial social skills assessment for the coming school year, Chalkbeat has learned.

The tool’s proponents believe it’s a missed opportunity to help shift school culture to become more responsive to children’s social-emotional wellbeing, particularly at a time when needs are high.

In many ways, however, the tool’s rollout was doomed from the start.

Officials knew that students would have increased mental health demands when they returned to classrooms last year. They promised to be ready.

It was December 2020, long before the start of the new school year, when officials released a “mental health and wellbeing plan,” highlighting how schools would use a five-minute assessment to quickly identify significant emotional issues. The results would help flag individuals who needed more intensive interventions and support.

About eight months after that announcement, the city approved a 3-year $18 million contract to Aperture, an education technology company that created a platform to administer what’s known as the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment, or DESSA.

A few months later, in October 2021, education department officials shared the assessment tool with teachers, giving them a short runway to figure out how to utilize it.

The backlash against the DESSA was swift. Teachers feared they didn’t know their students well enough and that their responses could be biased. Many revolted against the directive to administer it, asking parents to opt out. Parents from various ends of the political spectrum refused to have their kids assessed. Some had concerns about privacy and data security, others worried about the questions’ overreach and the time it would take teachers away from building relationships with their children.

Many questioned the cost of the tool — though broken down by school, it came to roughly $3,300 a year for each school.

This year, the education department quietly backed off the initiative, making it optional for schools to administer the DESSA. Many educators told Chalkbeat that their schools ditched it. Education department officials declined to disclose how many schools continue to use it, but confirmed that the citywide DESSA program is expected to be discontinued in the coming school year.

“Broad implementation of the screener was only a temporary initiative,” education department spokesperson Jenna Lyle said in an email. “While the screener will no longer be administered city-wide, the practice has helped schools to understand the importance of identifying students who may be in need of additional support and prioritizing wellness among the entire school community.”

Schools can continue to implement social-emotional screening assessments, if they choose to, and the department is available to assist with that process, she said.

For David Adams, the CEO of Urban Assembly, a network of about two dozen schools across the city that have long incorporated the DESSA, the assessment tool is critical, especially at a time when many kids don’t feel like they have a trusted adult on campus.

Of the sixth through 12th graders across the city who responded to last year’s school survey, more than 1 in 5 did not have at least one adult in the school they could confide in.

The criticism from teachers about not knowing their students well enough to fill out the assessments is precisely the reason that it’s needed, Adams said.

“The tool becomes the intervention,” he said. “A teacher who is paying attention to student interactions will be able to fill it out. A teacher who doesn’t know their students, isn’t collaborative with them… that’s where you’re seeing the opportunity.”

Problems with DESSA rollout

The messaging around the initial announcement of the mental health plan laid some of the groundwork for pushback. Educators and parents worried about overstepping boundaries when it came to evaluating kids’ mental health.

The DESSA, however, is not about identifying mental health issues. It aims to gauge social skills such as decision-making, self-awareness, and taking personal responsibility. Among the 40 questions: During the past four weeks, how often did the child keep trying when unsuccessful? Get things done within a timely fashion? Show good judgment? Offer to help somebody?

It also often took more than five minutes for a teacher to fill out the questions for each student. Teachers were expected to fill it out in the fall and spring to track a student’s social-emotional arc over the year. It often felt like one more burden, teachers said.

Moreover, several educators told Chalkbeat they didn’t know how the results were used and didn’t think that schools got more support for counselors if they ended up flagging students who needed more help.

“Vague promises were made about school-level support that might materialize depending on the results of the DESSA screeners,” said Brittany Kaiser, an art teacher at the Earth School, an elementary school in Manhattan’s East Village. “We were, and are, in desperate need of more guidance counselors and social workers, more funding for other support positions, and trainings on trauma-informed teaching, de-escalation strategies, restorative justice implementation, and conflict resolution strategies.”

That support, however, never materialized, she said.

When the tool was made optional this year, Kaiser’s school dropped it.

Overall, fewer Manhattan schools filled out the DESSA than their counterparts in other boroughs, according to fall 2022 data obtained by Chalkbeat. Roughly 67% of Manhattan schools used the tool in the fall, while about 75% in Brooklyn and Queens did. Schools in Staten Island and the Bronx had the highest rates at 84% and 80%, respectively.

New York City schools are trying to focus more on social-emotional learning. The DESSA was supposed to help.

The education department tried to make it easier to administer the DESSA, giving high schools the option of having students fill out the questionnaire themselves, while elementary and middle schools could allow parents to fill out the questions, according to updated guidance sent to principals earlier this year. Officials also told schools they could tap federal relief funding to pay teachers extra for filling out the tool beyond the school day.

Allowing students and parents to fill out the form dilutes the intent, Adams said. He sees the tool as a way to get teachers to pay closer attention to their students through a “strength-based” framework and give educators a common language on how to discuss those skills.

Adams compared the assessment to an approach that a coach uses for athletes, observing and giving suggestions based on those observations. Rather than a screener, Adams views the DESSA as a “feedback tool.”

“The goal is not ultimately about having people rate kids,” he said. “It’s about every kid having social emotional competence and teachers learning to see and give feedback on that. Feedback drives learning.”

Teachers are often giving feedback on social-emotional skills that’s tied up in grades, Adams said. They might, for instance, conflate mastery of a topic with things like deadlines. The tool provides a way to tease that apart and enable a teacher to discuss the importance of responsibility and turning assignments in on time. Rather than simply taking 10 points off on an assignment, for example, it gives the teacher “the language and the clarity” to talk about certain skills a student needs to be successful.

According to Adams, about 47% of a student’s grade is linked to social-emotional competency scores, and the DESSA, he believes, can help schools address issues, such as goal-setting, which affect academic performance.

Using the tool to change teaching and learning

The Urban Assembly network began incorporating the DESSA years ago, after seeing how nonprofit youth development organizations, such as the Children’s Aid Society, were using it to focus on social-emotional outcomes. The network employs 14 social-emotional learning specialists that fan out to schools to assist them with how to use the DESSA. (Meisha Porter, who was chancellor at the time the city selected the DESSA, had been a principal of an Urban Assembly school — after taking over from current Chancellor David Banks.) But the intensive assistance from the Urban Assembly was never scaled across the system, leaving many schools adrift when it came to incorporating the tool.

“If it feels like an add on…it’s not going to be useful,” said Delia Veve, principal of Manhattan’s Urban Assembly Media High School. “If people are doing it out of compliance and begrudgingly, then it’s about checking a box. What does that accomplish?”

The school goes all in on the tool. Before they administer it for their students, the adults at Veve’s school study the skills on the DESSA, to help them reflect on what they mean and how they might show up, the principal explained. Then, each of the roughly 350 students are assessed twice a year by at least two different adults, including the teacher from advisory, to help address possible biases in responses.

“I recognize that’s a heavy lift,” Veve said, “but it does make that data that much more reliable.”

Her school uses results from the DESSA less for identifying individuals who need more dedicated support and more for identifying trends across the grades to change teaching practices.

The school noticed last year that relationship skills were a bigger area of weakness than previously, which was unsurprising given the prolonged isolation during the pandemic and the continued COVID mitigations last year that prevented a lot of group work. So this year, the school bolstered opportunities for kids to work collaboratively.

Rather than view the responses as an issue where students aren’t demonstrating certain competencies, it reveals where the school might not be creating the space to meet their needs.

It helps her see, Veve said, “Is it a reflection of the kid or is it a reflection of the school?”

Need for a holistic approach to help kids

Without a lot of support, however, many schools floundered with the DESSA. One Bronx administrator explained that her school dropped the DESSA because it felt redundant to what they already had in place. The school prides itself on having a robust team for social-emotional support: It has three guidance counselors and two social workers who help lead weekly advisory groups and small group counseling for its roughly 600 students.

The advisory groups, in particular, focus on social-emotional learning and peer relationships, and they provide insights to the counseling team when issues might arise, said the administrator, who requested anonymity. Whether a school offers an advisory period often comes down to carving out space in the schedule and making tradeoffs, the administrator explained. For them, it meant giving up other electives, like robotics.

If her school’s team didn’t have such a strong counseling infrastructure in place, she might have found the DESSA more helpful, she said. She thought it was worthwhile to figure out a way to measure social-emotional learning metrics, she said.

The ways schools have incorporated the DESSA was uneven, with some schools more focused than others on how to use the tool to identify students who need help, said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, executive director of Counseling in Schools, which provides counseling services at roughly 70 schools across the city.

Yet, while the tool might not give a parent a definitive answer about how their child is doing, Dahill-Fuchel didn’t think it seemed harmful. But there’s not always a clear plan on what should happen next with the data.

“There’s not a robust accountability system,” Dahill-Fuchel said.

Having such a system is important to shift a school’s culture toward a more supportive environment, he said.

“Where we need to get to ultimately,” Dahill-Fuchel said, “is that schools get held accountable for social skill development and emotional wellbeing in the same way they do for academic progress.”

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

NYC’s Summer Rising program rejected 45,000 applicants, launching scramble for child care

2023-05-24T21:50:38+00:00

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Roughly 45,000 children have been shut out of New York City’s free, popular summer program, education department officials said this week.

The program, which runs between six to seven weeks for most students, provides academics during the morning and enrichment activities in the afternoon for children in grades K-8 across the five boroughs from July to August.

Like last year, a total of 110,000 seats were available this year, with a portion held open for students mandated to attend summer school. During a City Council hearing this week, the education department’s Chief Operating Officer Emma Vadehra said there are 94,000 seats available for 139,000 applicants. Officials initially reported that 30,000 families did not receive spots.

It’s possible that some of the rejected applicants will have to attend the program anyway for academic reasons and will get a seat that has been set aside. Still, many of those families, who were notified earlier this month that they didn’t get seats, are likely scrambling to find summer programs for their children before the school year ends on June 27.

“The basic challenge is that demand outstripped supply pretty dramatically,” Vadehra told City Council members. “And so there’s different ways that could have looked, but we just didn’t have enough seats in the program for the number of kids and families that really wanted this program despite the fact that it is the largest summer program we’ve had – and the largest in the country.”

Two of those unsuccessful applicants were Alejandra Perez’s 5- and 10-year-old sons, who should have been prioritized for seats because they attend an after-school program run by the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, through a community-based organization that helps oversee Summer Rising.

Perez, a lifelong East Harlemite, paid $2,250 last summer for six weeks of child care, which she can barely afford again this year.

But in mid-May, about three weeks after applying, she was informed via email that her sons, who attend a charter school in East Harlem, didn’t get in. While she can probably rely on a relative to care for her older son, she is scrambling to find free or affordable care for her 5-year-old.

“I am still trying to find a program,” she said. “By the act of God, maybe I’ll get an email like, ‘Hey, we found you a spot!’”

Some children with priority did not get spots

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio established the program two years ago with federal relief dollars as the city clawed its way out of the pandemic, attempting to provide children with a bridge back to school after remote learning. It differs from summer programs in the past: It’s open to any child, including those in charters and private school, not just those who are mandated to attend summer school.

The program, though bumpy with its initial roll out, has grown in popularity. This year, city officials made a couple of key changes to the application process. While still open to the same number of children, applicants were allowed to rank choices for Summer Rising sites instead of the first come, first served process last year. Additionally, students who attend after-school programs subsidized through the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, or DYCD, were supposed to be prioritized for seats, like Perez’s children. That’s in addition to students living in temporary housing, children in foster care, and children with disabilities who must have services year round.

Perez had ranked three Summer Rising sites close to her home. Perez said the application did not ask if her kids were in an after-school program. According to an education department spokesperson, Perez’s children didn’t receive a spot because there was likely a lot of demand at the sites she chose.

When she asked someone from the after-school program why her sons didn’t get into Summer Rising, they didn’t have an answer — except that none of the kids in the program who applied got in, Perez said. (A representative for their SCAN-Harbor Beacon after-school program did not return a request for comment.)

During the City Council hearing this week, officials said that just over half of the seats that have been filled went to students in the priority groups. Of those, 29,000 spots went to students who were in DYCD-run after-school programs, 16,000 went to students in temporary housing, 3,000 seats to children with 12-month individualized education programs, or IEPs, and another 1,000 to students in foster care. (Last year, Summer Rising had 12,000 students in temporary housing, 2,700 students with 12-month IEPs and 1,000 students in foster care.)

New seats won’t be added, but filled seats might open up

Vadehra said they’re not planning to add seats — emphasizing that this program is being supported by federal dollars that are set to run out next year — and there is no wait list for seats. But they are expecting an unspecified number of spots to open up, either because fewer students will be mandated to attend summer school or because families may decline a seat they’ve been offered. The education department is working with DYCD to figure out how to make families aware of empty seats in June and how they can apply for those, she said.

In the meantime, parents are scrambling to find options that seem few and far between — and too pricey.

Perez’s rejection email from the education department included a link to other DYCD programs that might be available. She said she has called every local community-based organization near her home for some type of programming with no luck.

“At this point I am just emailing everyone,” she said.

Tia Jackson, who lives in Central Harlem, knew she would potentially need to scramble for summer options if her son didn’t get into Summer Rising, so she signed him up for a YMCA program near her home. Her planning came in handy: Her son did not get a Summer Rising seat.

While he doesn’t fall into any of the priority groups, her son, who is autistic, also has an individualized education program. The YMCA program has staff who can assist him if he needs extra support, Jackson said. She will be reimbursed up to $2,250 for summer care expenses through the state’s Office of People With Developmental Disabilities, but that only ensures four weeks of summer programming for her son. He’s planning to visit his aunt in Florida for one week, and she will pay out of pocket for child care for an additional week.

She feels thankful for having a “Plan A and Plan B.”

“I feel like the way they rolled out the program to start was very late, and it wasn’t the best for working parents, typically because when you think about summer camps most applications for summer camp start in February and March,” she said. “We didn’t get the Summer Rising notification until April.”

The department spokesperson did not explain the timing of the Summer Rising application, except to say there are several factors that impact the timeline.

Both of Loretta Bencivengo’s children got into Summer Rising last year, likely because she submitted her application as soon as it opened during the previous first come, first served model. This year they didn’t get spots, said Bencivengo, who lives in Windsor Terrace.

The most affordable alternate option she’s found so far is with the local YMCA for a $5,000, eight-week program for both of her children, which she equated to two months of rent. Many places don’t have space this late in the spring, she said.

“All those slots are filled up in January and February,” she said of private programs. “If that’s the case, why not put this application out in November and December so that you can open an appropriate amount of slots?”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC won’t slash school budgets at first, but mid-year cuts are still possible

2023-05-22T22:33:01+00:00

New York City schools won’t have to brace for budget cuts next school year — at least at first.

All schools will receive the same amount of money or more at the start of the 2023-24 academic year as they did this year despite some of the “fiscal challenges” facing the city, Chancellor David Banks announced on Monday during a City Council hearing about the education department’s proposed budget for next fiscal year.

But school budgets may not need the extra cushion this year. Unlike the significant drops over the past few years, the education department is projecting enrollment to largely hold steady next year, dipping by less than 1%

The move represents a shift from what happened last summer, when budget cuts tied to declining enrollment, sparked severe backlash, including a lawsuit, and forced schools to shrink staff and programming.

It also comes as Mayor Eric Adams has proposed cutting the education department’s budget by 3% next fiscal year, which begins July 1. That $30.5 billion budget is expected to include less spending on fringe benefits and cut a previously announced expansion of preschool for 3-year-olds.

The decision to start the new school year with steady budgets, however, doesn’t mean schools are completely immune from cuts. Banks said the city hasn’t yet decided whether schools will see cuts during what’s known as the “mid-year adjustment”— a practice put on pause this year using $200 million in federal COVID relief dollars.

Schools get money in the summer based on the city’s enrollment projections, and when the final tallies are taken on Oct. 31, schools could lose money mid-year if they’ve enrolled fewer students than projected — or get extra money if they have more children.

“If a school has 500 students, but by the middle of the year, they’ve dropped down to 200 students, we’re not going to make the commitment today to say, ‘No matter what, there’ll be no adjustment even at that point,’” Banks said during the hearing.

That might leave some school leaders with tough decisions. While principals might get the same amount of money as last year, they may be hesitant to hire more teachers or create more programming in anticipation of losing money during the school year.

One the one hand, some city principals said they understand the city’s desire to bring funding more in line with enrollment to avoid big disparities in per-student spending between schools.

“There are schools that are serving many fewer students than they were five years ago, and the city can’t afford to just fund those schools endlessly,” said a Brooklyn principal who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

But on the other hand, the principal wishes that the education department would make it easier for schools to plan by promising budgets will not be cut more than a certain percentage in a given year rather than having to make educated guesses.

And even if a school does not have to return money later in the year, it can be difficult to use before the spending deadline, especially to hire staff. If a school has an unexpected surplus in January, “all of a sudden there’s a spending spree and it’s not effective and efficient,” the principal said. “It doesn’t help to get money in November or January if you needed to hire a teacher in September.”

Schools are expected to receive their budgets by the end of this month, said Emma Vadehra, chief operating officer for the education department. When principals receive those budgets, Vadehra said, they might notice cuts to individual funding streams, such as Fair Student Funding, which is the city’s main school funding formula. (Schools with higher needs and higher enrollment get more money under the formula.)

Such drops will be backfilled with “other funding streams” to hold budgets steady, Vadehra said. However, officials did not clarify how schools will be able to use those funds. While Fair Student Funding can be used to hire teachers, money from other pots can sometimes be restricted for other uses.

The education department plans to use funding from multiple sources to keep budgets level at the start of the school year, Vadehra said. That includes a $160 million in federal stimulus funds that had been announced previously, as well as money from the state, which has boosted dollars for districts through its own school funding formula, known as Foundation Aid.

Several council members raised concerns about education department programs that are relying on expiring federal stimulus dollars, including preschool programming and expanded summer programming. Vadehra acknowledged that the education department does not yet have a plan on how to fund these initiatives once the money runs out in 2024.

“This is a major challenge,” Banks said to council members. “I mean, there’s a lot of great programs — even as we came on board — that have been built off of access to these stimulus dollars. The stimulus dollars are going away. We’re going to have to work very closely together to try to figure this out.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

NYC school suspensions spike 27% during the first half of the school year

2023-05-19T23:01:29+00:00

New York City public schools issued significantly more suspensions during the first half of this school year, according to long overdue department statistics.

Between July and December 2022, schools issued just over 10,600 suspensions — 27% more than the same period in 2021. The number is about 6% higher than in 2019 just before the pandemic hit, even though the number of K-12 students has declined over 10%.

Drilling down into the data, principal suspensions — which last five days or fewer — jumped by about 29%. Superintendent suspensions, which stretch longer than five days, and are served at outside suspension sites, spiked by 21%. (The figures do not include charter schools.)

Before the pandemic hit, suspensions were on a downward trajectory, owing in part to a slew of policy changes that made it more difficult to exclude students from classrooms. When COVID forced the city’s school buildings to shutter, suspensions mostly stopped.

Last school year — the first time students were required to attend school in person since March 2020 — suspensions ticked back up but remained far short of pre-pandemic levels. That surprised some student discipline experts, who expected a larger increase given widespread concerns about student mental health and students’ ability to reacclimate to regular classroom rules.

Educators may have been more reluctant to exacerbate learning loss after years of pandemic schooling. Skyrocketing rates of chronic absenteeism and declining enrollment may have also played a role, as there were simply fewer students in school buildings to suspend.

Social distancing rules could have made physical confrontations, which may lead to suspensions, less likely. Suspensions are disproportionately issued to Black students, and teachers may have tempered suspensions in the wake of the racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder.

Whatever the cause of the decline after the pandemic, suspensions are now ticking back up, mirroring educator reports across the country of more disruptive student behavior. Local data for the full school year, including demographic breakdowns, will not be available until later this year.

The uptick in suspensions raised concern among some discipline reform advocates.

“That is a huge problem that the city is choosing to increase the use of punitive and exclusionary approaches,” said Dawn Yuster, director of the School Justice Project at the nonprofit group Advocates for Children. “We are in the midst of a youth mental health crisis and we know our young people are literally crying out for more support.”

Jenna Lyle, an education department spokesperson, emphasized that the use of suspensions have generally declined over the last decade.

“We are continuously focused on equipping schools with the resources they need to address any issues in a positive, supportive, and less punitive manner, including through implementation of restorative practices,” she wrote.

Under city law, the education department’s mid-year suspension report is due by the end of March. Despite multiple requests, education department officials did not provide the suspension report for weeks. Lyle did not answer a question about why the city did not provide the figures within the required timeframe, a deadline the city regularly met before the pandemic.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

NYC schools grasp for support as some migrant students miss out on mandated English instruction

2023-05-09T10:00:00+00:00

Miriam Sicherman looks at her Google Translate app or her pocket translator an average of 25 times a day while teaching fourth graders at the Children’s Workshop School in Manhattan’s East Village.

For a recent lesson on internet safety, she translated her presentation into Spanish and Russian ahead of time for her five newcomer immigrant students who speak those languages, but then used her phone to look up words like “password” or “email address” to respond to their questions. In an eight-hour school day, she repeats this process over and over again.

On top of the translation apps, Sicherman takes Duolingo Spanish lessons in her own time and accepts occasional help from a bilingual student and a Russian-speaking teacher at another school in her building.

Still, it sometimes feels impossible to explain in-depth concepts in a language other than her own.

An estimated 14,000 asylum-seeking immigrant students have enrolled in New York City public schools, city officials said last month. Teachers are finding that many of these children are learning English at the most basic level, and some hadn’t attended school regularly before arriving in the United States. The students are legally entitled to extra support, but some schools are struggling to provide it.

Failing to meet the needs of English language learners is not a new problem. Since 2016, the state has placed New York City on a corrective action plan because the district has failed to adequately support English learners, including not providing required services for those with disabilities. The plan, which has been extended multiple times over the past seven years, requires the city to gradually provide more of these services.

For Sicherman, it’s crucial that her English language learners get the support to which they are entitled. But there is just one part-time English-as-a-new-language, or ENL, teacher who provides this support to dozens of students at her school. That means Sicherman’s newcomers are getting a fraction of the extra help they should receive, she said.

“I can make them feel comfortable and safe — that I’m doing my best with, and I think I am achieving that — but they really are entitled to much more than that,” Sicherman said.

Sicherman’s concern is one that potentially many educators share, as thousands of new immigrant families have sought refuge in New York City this year, from Central and South American countries, as well as from Ukraine and Russia.

In anticipation of students’ arrival, the city launched “Project Open Arms” in the fall to send a total $12 million to schools that enrolled six or more newcomer students living in temporary housing. Officials also said schools that have enrolled more students than expected have received another $98 million this year.

Still, some teachers say their schools don’t have enough funding to hire more staff who are equipped to work with newcomer English learners. Some schools have the money, but have struggled to find teachers due to a long-standing shortage of bilingual teachers. That leaves teachers like Sicherman feeling overwhelmed and at times unequipped to properly help these students.

As the city expects another wave of newcomer immigrant families, teachers and advocates are worried it will become even more challenging to support English learners without more help from the city.

The New York Immigration Coalition has heard complaints throughout this school year that students aren’t receiving their required services, said Andrea Ortiz, senior manager of education policy.

“We shouldn’t be allowing students to be just housed in places where they’re not gonna be given the types of supports that they’re legally entitled to,” Ortiz said.

In a statement, education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said officials are working closely with schools to “assess any gaps in resources and to provide solutions as expeditiously as possible.”

‘It’s kind of demoralizing’

Sicherman’s school has been waiting months for more help.

Over each of the past five years, her school enrolled between six and 13 English learners, according to demographic records. This year, roughly 60 English learners enrolled, Sicherman said.

School leaders volunteered in January to accept more asylum seekers, the spokesperson said. A crush of newcomer immigrant students began coming in February, but even after the principal requested more staffing help from the education department, the school still had just one part-time ENL teacher, Sicherman said.

Budget records show that the school received about $64,600 in funding from Project Open Arms, which can be used to pay teachers overtime, cover teacher prep periods, and pay substitutes, among other uses related to communication with parents. It’s not clear when the school received those funds. The principal did not respond to a request for comment to discuss the school’s challenges this year or explain how that money was used.

As beginner-level English learners, Sicherman’s five newcomer students should each be receiving 360 minutes a week of extra help building English skills, per state regulations for grades K-8. But they are only getting 135 minutes, since the part-time ENL teacher can only work with them for 45 minutes during each of her three days at the school.

Officials did not answer why the school hasn’t received more staffing help. Superintendent Carry Chan, who oversees Manhattan’s District 1, where the Children’s Workshop School is located, has appealed for the school to receive another full-time ENL teacher, a spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the school also has a classroom teacher licensed to work with English language learners, and suggested they could tweak programming and use that person so that students are getting more services.

Sicherman said she’s constantly trying to balance those students’ needs with those of the 16 native English speakers in her class. She translates many lessons and uses other tools, including donated Spanish flash cards. But it’s difficult to explain topics in-depth, such as the Irish potato famine, or have a conversation about it. She relies “completely” on Google Translate for her Russian student, with whom the language barrier is so thick that Sicherman worries the child won’t be able to tell her if she’s feeling unwell.

Even lighthearted moments are hard. Sicherman recently pulled up Google Translate to tell a few of her Spanish-speaking students that they were “being silly.” Her bilingual student stopped her: Using the app’s suggested word “tonto” would be like calling the children idiots, he said.

“It’s kind of demoralizing,” Sicherman said. “I wish I could be teaching these kids, and I’m really not teaching them.”

There don’t appear to be immediate consequences for schools or districts who are not providing legally required services to English learners. J.P. O’Hare, a spokesperson for the state education department, said the corrective action plan requires the district to submit multiple reports a year about how they’re improving support for these students. In response, state officials share “direction and guidance” on where city schools need to improve and meet regularly with district staff.

Some experienced ENL teachers are struggling this year

Even experienced ENL teachers say they’re overwhelmed by the arrival of thousands of new immigrant students.

Brooklyn ENL teacher Melanie is usually paired with middle schoolers. But this year, as more English learners enrolled at her Bay Ridge school and one of her ENL colleagues went on leave, she was also asked to work with children in grades 2-5.

Melanie, who asked only to use her first name because she was not authorized to speak with the press, found she was “really struggling” to help younger students, since she’s used to helping older children who know how to read and write at more advanced levels.

The school couldn’t find a replacement for the ENL teacher on leave, who returned a few weeks ago.

For most of this year, Melanie served roughly twice as many children in the “beginner” level as she usually does, many of whom haven’t attended school in a while and are learning various skills, such as how to use an iPad. She was providing the legally required amount of support to these children, but she doesn’t think they received enough individual help, she said.

“I know going into it, I am not meeting their needs,” she said.

One Brooklyn high school enrolled about 30 new immigrant students between February and April, causing classes for beginner-level English learners to fill up to the legal limit of 34, said Nathan, an ENL teacher at the school who asked only to use his first name.

The school, which is used to serving many English learners, is staying afloat for now. They’ve created new classes with existing staff, and they’re using some funding to pay one person overtime in order to be a “migrant students coordinator,” who is charged with creating resources for newcomer families.

But if they get another similar wave of students, he’s unsure if the school has enough funding to add another class for beginner-level English learners or even meet legal mandates.

“That would require a lot of creative budgeting,” Nathan said.

Asylum seekers are a ‘blessing’ for one Brooklyn school

Some schools, such as those with dual language programs, seem better set up to welcome newcomer immigrants.

Asylum-seeking families have “been a blessing” for one Spanish dual language program in Brooklyn, where the number of English language learners has doubled this year, said F.C., a teacher at the school who requested only her initials be used because she was not authorized to speak to the press. Typically, the school doesn’t attract many native Spanish speakers. This year, the surge in enrollment has given both English and Spanish speakers a chance to learn from one another.

As a former newcomer immigrant herself, F.C. has used her experience to connect with students. She comforted a student who would occasionally cry because he was struggling in class and missed home. She told him once, “I used to cry, too, because I didn’t understand what everyone was saying, and that motivated me to learn.’” He gave her a hug.

Most schools don’t have dual language programs. There are 245 such programs across all grades for general education students, covering 13 different languages.

While those programs are “set up well” for English learners, they don’t exist everywhere, said Councilmember Rita Joseph, chair of the council’s education committee, who used to be an ENL teacher. Looking ahead, she thinks the education department will have to “pivot” as more asylum-seeking families make New York City their new home.

“We’re gonna have so much that we can no longer have part-time [ENL] teachers,” she said. “That’s the only way you can stay in compliance.”

Sicherman’s school recently launched an after-school program for English learners, which doesn’t count toward their legally required support but is helpful, she said. Her principal also bought each teacher a pocket translator, which Sicherman has found more useful than Google Translate. Sometimes students use it to talk with each other while she uses her phone app.

Five days after Chalkbeat reached out to the education department about the issues at Sicherman’s school, she discovered that their part-time ENL teacher would soon be working with them full time.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC’s education budget could drop by $960M next year under mayor’s proposal

2023-04-27T00:19:25+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to keep up with NYC’s public schools.

The city’s education department budget would drop by nearly $960 million next school year under a more detailed budget proposal released by Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday, though city officials did not offer specifics about the impact on individual campuses.

Two-thirds of that cut, or $652 million, is the result of Adams’ decision to reduce the city’s contribution to the education department. Another $297 million is from a drop in federal funding, which is drying up as pandemic relief programs end.

Part of the city’s cut is tied to a mandate from the mayor earlier this month calling on city agencies to cut spending, including at the education department. That raised questions about whether schools would take a hit, but on Wednesday, Adams vowed that this specific cost-saving measure “will not take a dime from classrooms.”

Instead, that reduction — totaling $325 million — will largely come from recalculations on how much the city spends in fringe benefits, such as health insurance for teachers. (Officials emphasized this would not result in a loss of benefits or other services.)

“We had to make tough choices in this budget,” Adams said Wednesday. “We had to negotiate competing needs. We realize that not everyone will be happy but that is okay because that is how you get stuff done.”

The education department’s operating budget would total about $30.5 billion next year under the mayor’s plan, down by about 3%.

Some of the cuts were previously announced, including the elimination of a planned expansion of prekindergarten for 3-year-olds. Other impacts of the cuts may come into focus in the coming days as experts and journalists pore over reams of budget documents, which were released late Wednesday afternoon.

Adams has argued school budgets should reflect falling enrollment, but city officials declined to say what overall change they expect to individual school budgets next year. That question is likely to draw intense scrutiny after the City Council was heavily criticized last year for approving a budget that resulted in cuts to many campuses.

After the pandemic hit, Mayor Bill de Blasio used federal relief money to keep school budgets steady even as enrollment plunged. But as the spigot of federal money is drying up, Adams has started reducing budgets to line up with the number of students enrolled at each school, resulting in cuts on the majority of campuses. (Since the start of the pandemic, enrollment dropped about 11% in K-12.)

Next year, Adams plans to use $160 million of federal money to avoid deeper cuts to school budgets. Officials anticipate a much smaller enrollment decline than in recent years, which could insulate schools to some degree.

The budget is not final and must still be negotiated with the City Council. A final deal is due by July 1.

The proposed budget also includes funding for various other items, including services that advocates had been pushing for the mayor to include. Those are:

$3.3 million for keeping a chunk of the city’s new shelter-based coordinators, who are supposed to help families and children who are homeless navigate school enrollment and transportation. The funding for these coordinators was set to run out this June.
$9 million for a telehealth program for high school students who need mental health support.
$2 million for training up to 1,000 teachers in climate education.

The mayor’s budget received a mixed reception from advocates, union officials, and budget experts. Kim Sweet, executive director at the nonprofit Advocates for Children, praised the funding for shelter coordinators, but raised alarms about broader spending cuts — including to a program that provides extra mental health services to students at 50 high-need high schools, and another that provides free child care for undocumented families.

“We are concerned that the Mayor is proposing to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from our City’s schools at a time when there are so many unmet needs,” Sweet said in a statement, including high rates of chronic absenteeism and shortages in services for students with disabilities.

Still, Adams has argued that the city needs to tighten its belt due to costs associated with serving an influx of asylum seekers and potential economic headwinds.

Ana Champeny, vice president for research at the budget watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission, said her organization is worried the city isn’t properly planning now for big budget shortfalls that are expected in future years. That includes hundreds of millions of dollars of federal relief funding for the education department that will disappear in 2024 and could leave several programs and services unfunded.

“From our point of view there is still a major challenge fiscally for the city that’s not far off,” Champeny said. “We really should be taking action now.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Summer Rising applications are now open. Here’s everything you need to know.

2023-04-14T20:30:55+00:00

Applications open Monday for New York City’s free, sprawling summer program for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The program was first launched in 2021 under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, using federal COVID relief money, as a way to help children ease into school following remote learning. The rollout of the program was bumpy, but for the first time, it provided a mix of academics and enrichment activities to many children beyond those who are mandated to attend summer school.

In its third year, the program will again have 110,000 spots and will be open to any child in New York City, including children who are home-schooled or attend charter or private schools.

But a couple things will be different from last year, including the application process. Spots won’t be assigned on a first come, first served basis this year; instead, parents will rank multiple choices. In another change, students who already attend a school associated with a Summer Rising site will be added to the list of groups receiving priority in selection for that site.

Parents who want to apply should visit this website when the application opens on Monday.

Here’s what you should know about this year’s Summer Rising program:

Where are the programs, and when will Summer Rising start?

Programs won’t be in every school. Rather, each school will be associated with one of 374 sites across the five boroughs.

The program length will depend on a few things. Programs will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from July 5 to Aug. 18 for children in kindergarten through fifth grade and until Aug. 11 for middle schoolers.

Students with disabilities who have yearlong individualized education programs, or IEPs, will attend programs from July 5 to Aug. 14, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Students at District 75 schools, which serve children with the most challenging disabilities, will attend programs that run from July 6 to Aug. 15, also from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Students in Nest and Horizon programs, which serve students with autism, who have 12-month IEPs, will attend a monthlong program from July 5 to Aug. 1, from 8 a.m. to noon.

What will my children do?

Generally, students will spend the morning on academics and then in the afternoons participate in enrichment activities, such as sports, arts and crafts or going on field trips. Elementary-age children will spend the last week of their program on enrichment activities and trips, according to the education department website. (Enrichment activities are run by community-based organizations.)

Students with disabilities will receive extra services that are mandated in their IEPs, including services from health and behavioral paraprofessionals, according to the department’s website. For these students, their school will create an accommodation plan for the summer that will be provided to their parents and the Summer Rising site before their program begins.

Students with disabilities are supposed to receive services “as needed” during the enrichment portion of the day, according to the department’s website. If a family doesn’t want the enrichment portion, they should contact their child’s school instead of using the online application. These children can choose on the application to participate in extended-day enrichment programming until 6 p.m.

Last year, several families reported that their children did not have special education support by the start of Summer Rising, said Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children. She said it’s “important that planning begin early” so that students aren’t left without the services they need.

Will my child get transportation to the program?

Generally, students who are already eligible for busing during the school year — typically in grades K-6 — will receive busing to their summer program but not past 3 p.m. This includes students with disabilities whose IEPs recommend busing, as well as students in temporary housing and students in foster care who are more than a half-mile away from their Summer Rising site.

For children who want to participate in programming until 6 p.m. and need transportation, families will have the option of a prepaid rideshare service. However, a caregiver must take the rideshare service to and from the summer site to pick up their child, which some advocates have said is not manageable for working parents.

Eligible students who receive MetroCards during the school year can also get MetroCards from their Summer Rising site, or if their site is more than a half-mile from their home.

Students who are not eligible for busing during the school year could receive transportation if their regular school is not open for Summer Rising and their site is more than a half-mile away.

How will the application work?

Seats rapidly filled up last year, quickly elbowing out many families who wanted to apply, according to some advocacy and community-based organizations.

This year, instead of the first come, first served model, families will be asked to rank up to 12 choices for program sites, “ensuring that more families receive placements that work for them,” according to a news release.

Like last year, priority will be offered to students in temporary housing, in foster care, who are mandated for summer school, and with disabilities who have year-round individualized education programs. But also, students who have a “local connection” to their school will also be prioritized, such as if they attend the school during the year. Last month, city officials said students who attend city subsidized after-school programs will also be prioritized.

Asked how these groups will be ranked, an education department spokesperson said they’re aiming to give every child in a priority group access to their first choice.

The application will close May 1, and families should be notified the following week of where their child will attend the program, according to the department website.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

As NYC is expected to spend $38K per student, budget watchdog calls for prioritizing ‘critical services’

2023-04-11T04:01:00+00:00

Buoyed in recent years by billions in federal stimulus dollars, New York City is slated to spend about $38,000 per student next school year — the most in recent history — as enrollment is again expected to drop, according to a new report published Tuesday.

The report, from Citizens Budget Commission, or CBC, a budget watchdog group, comes as the education department faces 3% in cuts for next year. Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council are in the middle of budget planning for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

Many of the CBC’s findings focus on the period from fiscal year 2016 through 2022, since the current fiscal year, 2023, isn’t over yet. Some of the report’s highlights include:

In that time period, the education department’s spending per pupil has increased by 47%, in large part due to the $7 billion in federal COVID aid the district received as enrollment has dipped. Three school years from now, in fiscal year 2026, CBC projects the city could be spending as much as $44,000 per student.
Spending grew the most in three areas: early childhood education, at 65%, covering private school tuition, such as for students with disabilities, by 79%, and for charter schools, by 84%. This was fueled by enrollment growth in these specific areas.
Spending related to schools, such as for instruction, grew by about 34%. Spending on school services, such as transportation, food, and safety, grew at a similar rate.
Spending on school support, such as special education instructional costs, grew by about 15%. And spending on central costs, including central administration, fringe benefits, pension contributions, and debt service, saw the slowest growth – by 8%.

CBC called for officials to prioritize programs and services for next year that are most effective and shed others. It also notes that the city faces financial pressures over the next several years, which the Adams administration has also emphasized as they’ve imposed stricter savings targets on city agencies. Those challenges include labor costs that will stem from new union contracts, including with the United Federation of Teachers, and a potential recession.

“We can’t do everything for everyone, so we need to start focusing on the most impactful interventions,” said Ana Champeny, the vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission.

New York City spends the most per pupil among the nation’s largest school districts. That cost grew as federal dollars were poured into the school system and enrollment dropped significantly after the onset of the pandemic. Dips in enrollment are likely due to several factors, including demographic changes and the cost of living in New York, which are leading many families to find homes elsewhere.

Roughly one-third of the department’s spending growth between 2016 and 2022 was due to federal pandemic aid, which is set to run out by 2024, CBC’s report found.

Advocates and educators have decried the potential cuts to the education department — amounting up to $421 million — as students continue to struggle with a host of challenges, including mental health, chronic absenteeism, and recovering academically after remote learning. Cuts to school budgets this school year resulted in some schools losing teachers, having larger class sizes, and cutting some programming, such as art and music classes.

Research has found that more money usually leads to better schools. New York, however, is in a puzzling situation: Despite being the leading state in spending per pupil, students score in the middle of the pack on national math and reading tests.

It’s possible to make cuts through central or support costs, such as through transportation contracts, and “avoid cuts to school budgets,” the CBC report notes.

While CBC doesn’t make specific recommendations, Champeny said such cuts could mean negotiating cheaper transportation-related contracts. The department could also look for ways to reduce private school placements for children with disabilities, commonly known as “Carter Cases,” a cost that ballooned under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and continues to grow.

More immediately, however, the group called on the department to be “transparent” about the future of a slate of programs that are currently relying on federal pandemic relief, which other organizations and advocates have also pressed for. These programs include expanded summer school, new prekindergarten seats for students with disabilities, and screening for dyslexia and other literacy programs – an area that Adams is increasingly making one of his signature projects.

Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said, “This Administration has been open and honest about the long-term combined challenges of declining enrollment, programs funded by one-time federal stimulus dollars, and rising costs tied to unfunded mandates from the State.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC parent coordinators are essential school workers. Many feel undervalued and underpaid.

2023-03-27T10:00:00+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for our free New York newsletter to keep up with NYC’s public schools.

“Family engagement” and “parent empowerment” are not mere buzzwords to Ana Maria Aguilar.

They are her touchstones as parent coordinator at a Brooklyn elementary school, where she sees the faces of her own parents — immigrants from Mexico — reflected in many of the families at drop-off and pickup.

“They come in with such fear. I try to make them feel welcome,” Aguilar said. “As a brown woman, who is also an immigrant, I can relate to their stories.”

That kind of connection drew Aguilar to become parent coordinator at Sunset Park’s P.S. 24 in the fall of 2020, a decision rooted in her desire to give back to her community after losing loved ones to the pandemic. But she found a job remade in many ways by COVID, which caused some parents and students to fear being back in school and ushered in a host of new challenges for staff.

New York City schools created the parent coordinator position 20 years ago as a way to connect families to their children’s schools after then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg assumed control of the nation’s largest school system, abolishing the local school boards that had given parents some direct decision-making power.

The role, which typically varies from school to school, has become more critical — and stressful —during the pandemic. Nearly a dozen parent coordinators described how they became their school’s tech support, public health workers, and family therapists. They doled out devices and got families logged onto school accounts. They communicated with families about COVID-related protocols and quarantines, and were often the ones standing outside of schools each morning taking students’ temperatures and collecting health screeners. They fielded calls from families with concerns about returning to buildings and were the ones reaching out to parents when kids went missing from classrooms for prolonged periods of time.

And many are now charged with helping the thousands of migrant families that have entered the public school system.

Parent coordinator salaries, however, have not kept pace with the job’s demands, staffers say, or with inflation. Starting salaries for parent coordinators two decades ago were between $30,000 and $39,000 a year. That would be about $49,400 to $64,200 in today’s dollars.

New hires for parent coordinators start at $38,235, according to current job postings.

It’s not uncommon for parent coordinators to turn to public assistance or take on additional jobs, several school staffers told Chalkbeat. And unlike teachers, parent coordinators are required to work some weekends and nights, getting comp time rather than extra pay. They also must work summers and during school breaks, where they have to report in person to borough offices.

Ana Maria Aguilar (center), the parent coordinator at P.S. 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, helps organize events celebrating families’ culture.

“We’re helping struggling parents, but we’re also struggling parents,” said Aguilar, herself a graduate of Brooklyn public schools and a former parent/teacher association head of her childrens’ school. For the upcoming spring break, she will likely have to take personal days since she doesn’t have child care for her first and fourth graders.

The city recently reached a tentative deal with District Council 37, the union representing parent coordinators, along with other city workers, including school aides, cafeteria workers, and other staffers critical to the day-to-day functioning of schools.

Under the deal, union members will get a one-time $3,000 signing bonus and four years of 3% annual raises, with a 3.25% bump in the fifth year. The deal, which runs retroactive to May 2021, remains below the pace of inflation, which hit 6% last year. But it was higher than Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed 1.25% increase in his preliminary budget.

Members have until the end of the month to vote on the deal, which is largely expected to be ratified. Many parent coordinators, however, remain upset that the contract doesn’t address certain issues like their in-person work requirements during school holidays.

Parent coordinators are helping families process trauma

Though COVID protocols are no longer as time-consuming, parent coordinators are still helping families whose lives have been profoundly impacted by the pandemic over the past few years. They are also on the frontline working with the families of the 14,000 asylum-seeking students who have enrolled this school year, many of whom arrived with few belongings, a lot of trauma, and little English.

Parent coordinators are often part of a school’s team focused on tackling chronic absenteeism, which has become a major problem, with about 40% of children last year missing at least a month of school. And they continue to have other duties, including marketing their schools — which has become more important as enrollment has dropped. They organize school tours and help families with admissions questions, both those interested in coming to their schools as well as those who are graduating.

At the start of this year, before the city lifted vaccination requirements for parents to enter the building, de-escalating tense situations often fell to parent coordinators, said Jonathan Figueroa, who started in the role at P.S. 59 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, two days before the pandemic closed down campuses.

“I do feel like the job has taken on more. I see the burnout is real,” said Figueroa, who hopes to finish his bachelor’s degree and become a social worker. “But for me, it’s about being involved and advocating for my community.”

Aguilar began building routines during the pandemic that have continued to serve her school community this year, as it welcomed an influx of migrant students.

Her Mondays focus on community resources, providing information about food pantries or rent relief. Tuesdays touch on self-care: A recent workshop with New York University’s ParentCorps discussed the importance of helping kids hold onto their roots after coming to a new country. On Fridays, she leads “community walks” to sites such as the large manufacturing and shopping complex at Industry City or the office of their local City Council member. Weekends are for coat and food drives as well as “family fun” activities.

Like Aguilar and Figueroa, Erica Ramos became a parent coordinator during the pandemic, where her ability to listen and her bilingual skills were a great asset. She let parents “release their stress,” and tried to help them manage their fears and frustrations as the various guidance from the education department shifted. With several families still too scared to send their children back, Ramos geared up with masks and face shields to do home visits with counselors.

“I spent hours and hours on the phone listening to parents just terrified,” said Ramos, parent coordinator at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts, a middle and high school in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights. “What was it going to look like? How were we going to keep students socially distanced? And there were all these Catch 22s. We had the windows open, but it was freezing. So parents were calling to complain that their kids were too cold.”

She continues to help families in whatever way they need. Amid growing concerns about an uptick in marijuana use across city schools, she recently held a family workshop on drug use organized with her school’s substance abuse prevention counselor. She’s become the point person for a school-based pantry, ordering the food and reaching out to families to let them know about it.

Erica Ramos, the parent coordinator at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Her full-time job as parent coordinator isn’t enough for Ramos, a single mom who lives in Bushwick, to pay her bills. Her paycheck every two weeks of $1,500 covers her $1,900 a month rent in Brooklyn, but leaves little left for food and other necessities. Ramos recently reapplied for food stamps, but missed an enrollment call from the program. The process of starting over feels too daunting, she said. She also works at a restaurant on Thursdays nights and for Sunday brunch. On Friday evenings or Saturday mornings, she cleans houses.

She’s been eyeing other positions in the education department because her current one, she said, is “illogical” in terms of how much they get paid for the work and time they put in compared to other school staffers.

“Why am I working full time for the city of New York, and I can’t afford to live in the city of New York?” Ramos asked.

A wave of parent coordinator job openings on horizon

For some parent coordinators, the role is a stepping stone, while they finish degrees or get other higher-paying school secretarial jobs. For some, it’s a second career, which gives them a cushion of savings. But many have been doing the job for the long haul, and as the position reaches its second decade, schools are bracing for a wave of retirements.

As part of last June’s agreement in Albany to extend mayoral control over the city’s school system for another two years, the state tweaked the hiring process for parent coordinators, requiring that each district’s parent advisory boards, known as Community Education Councils, approve each new parent coordinator.

Rosa Diaz, president of District 4’s Community Education Council in East Harlem, said the change has been fruitful in building relationships with the new parent coordinators.

“I see it as another opportunity to work together,” Diaz said, explaining that they tell the new hires, “If you need any support, reach out to us.”

Sara Sloves was a teacher at a Harlem charter school before becoming the parent coordinator at the Upper West Side’s Computer School in 2007. The job took on a different “energy” during the pandemic, she said, as families eagerly awaited her weekly newsletters with updates on the city’s evolving COVID guidelines. She started hosting meetups at local parks to help them feel connected to the school. She still sets up time on Fridays to meet families at local coffee shops, but more recently has begun to host breakfasts again at school.

“You need to have a kind and understanding soul at the end of the day,” Sloves said. “You have to be able to connect with people and want to do that.”

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

What to know about the upcoming state tests for grades 3-8

2023-03-23T21:50:12+00:00

It’s testing season in New York once again.

Schools across the state will administer standardized reading and math exams for grades 3-8 in April and May, as well as science exams for eighth graders in June.

With the intense attention on the pandemic’s effect on students, some schools might be ramping up their focus on the state tests. Some districts have signed up their schools for computer-based programs for math and reading, according to Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the city education department. It’s part of a learning “acceleration” initiative launched earlier this year by the education department, Gothamist reported.

There might be more attention on this year’s state tests, following the spotlight on last year’s dip in national test scores, which also showed drops in fourth grade math scores in New York City.

But there’s a big caveat with the state tests: This year, the exams are based on new learning standards and can’t be compared to results from the last school year, when nearly half of students passed reading exams and 38% passed math.

Many educators and families argue that testing takes away classroom time and doesn’t tell the full story of how a student is doing — a viewpoint schools Chancellor David Banks has previously echoed. Others believe it is a useful tool.

State officials said the tests are just “one tool” that helps teachers understand their students’ academic needs.

Here are some things you should know about the upcoming exams:

When are the tests and how will they be administered at schools?

Schools will give the state English test over a consecutive, two-day period between April 19-21. If students are absent those days, they can make up the tests between April 24-28.

Two weeks later, students will take math tests from May 2-4 with make-up dates scheduled for May 5-11.

Eighth graders will take a science laboratory exam between May 23 and June 2 and a written exam on June 3. Make-up tests for the lab exam must happen sometime within that testing window, while make-up dates for the written exam take place between June 6-9. There will be no fourth grade science test as the state prepares to transition to a science test for fifth graders, beginning next spring.

Most New York City schools will give the exams on paper. So far, 130 schools plan to use computer-based testing, Styer said — which has sometimes come with technical issues across the state. For computer-based tests, the window for English exams will be April 19-26 and for math will be May 2-9.

While computer-based testing is currently optional, mandated computer-based state testing will begin next spring for grades 5 and 8. All schools will be required to give the exam on computers in the spring of 2026 for all grades.

How will the tests be different this year?

For the first time, this year’s state tests will be based on the “Next Generation Learning Standards,” a set of grade-level learning standards established in 2017 that were revised from the controversial Common Core standards.

The Next Gen standards, as they’re often called, were meant to clarify previously vague language from the Common Core. For example, whereas Common Core geometry standards simply stated that students must be able to “prove theorems about triangles,” Next Gen’s revisions detailed the specific theorems.

When the state’s Board of Regents adopted the new standards, some groups lauded them for not straying too far from Common Core, while other education organizations said the standards were too rigorous for early grades.

What do the new tests mean for scoring them?

New tests also mean that the state will determine new benchmarks of what makes a student proficient in reading, math, and science. This summer, teachers will participate in a process where they will decide what students need to know in order to demonstrate that they’re meeting grade-level standards – otherwise known as being proficient – on state exams. That process will impact scoring for this spring’s tests.

“It’s a matter of judgment to decide, ‘OK, we think a student who’s proficient should be able to answer this question correctly, say, two-thirds of the time,’” said Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, giving an example.

Can we compare scores to last year?

No. Because the tests are new, the results can’t be compared to last year’s scores. Studying scores from year to year is helpful for understanding progress students have made — especially amid the pandemic.

But because state officials have warned against comparing results to previous years whenever the test changes, it’s been impossible to consider trends over the better part of a decade.

In 2016, New York allowed students to have unlimited testing time and cut the number of questions. In 2018 the state went from three testing days to two. The exams were canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, and the following school year, a fraction of students took shortened exams with just a quarter in New York City — far less than 2019.

They advised against comparisons with last year’s scores because looking at a student’s performance in 2022 versus 2019 would “ignore the enormous and, in many cases, grievous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students, families, teachers, and entire school communities,” a spokesperson for the state education department said in a statement.

That may be frustrating to some educators, families, and researchers because it makes it impossible to see long-term trends of student performance and growth. These exams, however, are just one indicator of how well students are doing in New York, said Pallas, and should be viewed along with other metrics, such as graduation rates and college acceptance rates.

“The state testing system is just one piece of evidence that has to be put into relation to all the other things that are available,” Pallas said.

How are my child’s scores used?

Schools are federally required to administer these exams, and districts are required to assess 95% of their students.

In New York City, the exams are used to see where students are meeting grade-level expectations “as well as students that need academic intervention in literacy and math,” Styer said.

State officials have said that these scores are just one measure of how a student is doing in school. However, the scores don’t come back until the fall – meaning teachers can’t see them the year that children take the exams.

In New York City, high schools and middle schools that screen students for admission can no longer take state test scores into account.

Can I opt my child out?

Yes. While federal officials require schools to administer these tests, parents can pull their children out. New York City’s education department has previously advised parents to speak with their child’s principal if they’re interested in opting out.

Last year, 10% of students opted out of exams compared with 4% in 2019.

Federal law requires states to give assessments to at least 95% of students. If fewer students participate at a school, it could contribute to the school being labeled as struggling – which state officials define as needing “targeted” or “comprehensive” support. But generally, low test participation may only affect a school’s accountability status if it’s combined with bad results on other measures, such as chronic absenteeism, according to state education officials.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC’s Summer Rising program gets admissions overhaul

2023-03-22T21:41:27+00:00

As summer approaches, New York City families should expect changes in the sign-up process and who will be given priority for the city’s sprawling public summer enrichment program, which will again be open to 110,000 children.

Summer Rising — launched under former Mayor Bill de Blasio in the summer of 2021 with the help of federal COVID relief dollars — offers academic and enrichment programs to elementary and middle school students, even if they’re not mandated for summer school.

Last year’s program was offered on a first come, first served basis — leading to a mad rush of applications that filled up most school sites within a week of enrollment opening. In response to concerns about enrollment, this year the city will ditch the first come, first served model, said Keith Howard, commissioner of the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, or DYCD, during a City Council hearing on Wednesday.

Families, who will also be able to rank their preferences for school sites, can sign up during the whole enrollment period, which will open in early April, said Howard, whose agency partners with the education department on running Summer Rising. This suggests that there will be a lottery process though city officials declined to confirm that or share more details with Chalkbeat.

“We’ll have more to share in the coming days, and we are prioritizing getting the needed information to our families and school communities,” said Mark Zustovich, a DYCD spokesperson, in a statement.

In another significant change, students who are already attending one of the city’s hundreds of DYCD-run after-school programs will also receive priority at the schools where their after-school provider runs Summer Rising. This move is meant “to accommodate families who are accustomed to year round programming,” Howard told the City Council.

Like last year, seats will be prioritized for students in temporary housing, students mandated for summer school, and those with disabilities, though officials did not immediately share how many of these seats would be set aside or if the seats for students with disabilities would be separate from those who are mandated to attend school for 12 months on their individualized education programs, or IEPs.

Neither DYCD nor education department officials immediately shared how all of these priorities would be ranked.

Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children, said her group was happy about the end of the first come, first served enrollment process. She said many families who “needed more support to apply” didn’t get spots, including the very people who were supposed to be prioritized, such as children in shelters.

“We heard from families living in shelter and immigrant families that they did not know about Summer Rising in time to get seats for their children and heard from staff at shelters that when they went to help families enroll, the seats were already gone.”

At the same time, under the enrollment system last year, there weren’t many seats left for students who attended the school if they weren’t in one of the priority groups, said Erica N. Oquendo, division director of youth and family services for Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, which expects to oversee Summer Rising programs in at least eight schools this summer and also runs eight DYCD after-school programs.

Another issue for Oquendo: Sometimes last summer, she saw children sign up for seats but never show up. To her frustration, her organization didn’t have control over unenrolling that child and offering their seat to someone else in need — an issue that must still be addressed, she said.

While the changes announced Wednesday could mean more seats for students already attending a given school, Oquendo craved more details about how the various priorities would be ranked.

“That’s the hard part — I wouldn’t necessarily say I would want to prioritize an after-school student over a child in a homeless shelter,” Oquendo said. “How do we measure the level of care that’s needed?”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Hochul’s NYC charter school proposal rejected by Albany lawmakers

2023-03-14T23:22:27+00:00

New York’s state legislature formally rejected on Tuesday Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to allow more charter schools to open in New York City, an indication of the uphill battle ahead for proponents of expanding the sector.

In their official responses to Hochul’s January budget proposal, both the state Senate and Assembly called to remove the governor’s charter school proposal to allow New York City to open more than 100 new charter schools.

The rejection does not mean Hochul’s proposal is dead, since lawmakers will now negotiate with the governor’s office over the final budget, which is due April 1. However, the unified disapproval from both houses shows there is little support for her idea.

Hochul’s charter school proposal was unpopular with some lawmakers and teachers union officials from the start. While charter school advocates have long pushed the legislature to lift the New York City cap — which was reached in 2019 — there has been little support for it in the Democratic-controlled legislature.

“The Assembly’s focus really is about — has always been about — trying to take care of the needs of the traditional public schools,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, told reporters in February.

Hochul’s proposal calls for lifting the cap on charters in New York City, making operators eligible for remaining charters that have yet to be issued across the state. It also involves releasing so-called “zombie” charters, which are charters that were issued to schools that later closed or never opened.

The governor argues that allowing more charters to open in New York City is “common sense,” as the schools have historically been popular with Black and Latino families who have faced waitlists to enroll. The charter sector, which now educates more than 14% of the city’s public school students across 275 schools, has grown during the pandemic — far outpacing enrollment declines among district schools.

But a large swath of charters is also seeing enrollment sag, including some of the biggest networks, complicating the argument that there is still massive demand for new schools. Opening new campuses comes with tradeoffs, as a significant expansion of the sector would likely put pressure on existing schools, potentially leading to smaller budgets or even closures.

Still, charter school advocates contend that creating more school options is worthwhile.

Lawmakers “missed another opportunity” to support charters, said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, in a statement. With the session ongoing, he noted that budget negotiations will continue.

“We strongly urge them to listen to the voices of NYC families who want nothing more than an opportunity for their kids, and work with Governor Hochul to lift the regional cap and revive zombie charters,” Merriman said.

The state and city teachers unions cheered the legislature’s rejection.

“Parents, educators, and community leaders were very clear that they did not want more charter schools opening and draining resources from their local public schools,” said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, in a statement. “Legislators heard those concerns and protected our public schools.”

In her run-up for the governor’s race last fall, Hochul received donations from the city and state teachers unions, as well as the national American Federation of Teachers — totaling just over $191,000. She also received support from charter-aligned groups, including $40,000 from New Yorkers for Putting Students First, a political action committee, or PAC. The Great Public Schools PAC, created by Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz, gave Hochul another $30,000.

Assembly and Senate reject high-dosage tutoring

Separately, both chambers also rejected Hochul’s proposal to fund and require high-impact tutoring in schools by setting aside $250 million in Foundation Aid – the main formula used to provide state funding for New York school districts.

Research has found that students perform better in school when they’re tutored frequently in small groups. Hochul framed the proposal — meant for children in grades 3-8 — as a solution for pandemic-fueled academic recovery, after some New York students saw steep drops in math and reading scores on national tests last year.

It’s possible the proposal is unpopular among school leaders because it doesn’t add more money to budgets; rather, it would use a chunk of funding that’s already planned to go out to schools and mandates how they should use it.

Both houses also proposed adding $1 million to the budget for studying how to change and update Foundation Aid, an idea first floated by the state education department and its Board of Regents.

The governor and both houses did agree on one thing: increasing Foundation Aid overall by $2.7 billion next fiscal year, sealing the final planned increase to fully fund the formula.

Spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, and Heastie did not immediately return requests for comment.

Asked for comment on their rejection of both proposals, Hochul spokesperson Katy Zielinski said the governor “looks forward to working with the legislature on a final budget that meets the needs of all New Yorkers.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

With greater access to devices, NYC teachers are folding more tech into instruction

2023-03-13T18:49:10+00:00

Before the pandemic, U.S. history teacher Travis Malekpour hesitated assigning his students work in the classroom that required a computer. He knew not every student had a laptop or tablet.

Three years later, Malekpour, who teaches in Queens, doesn’t think twice about assigning and grading in-class work that requires a device.

After COVID shuttered campuses in March 2020, forcing schools to pivot to remote learning, the city spent more than $360 million to buy 725,000 iPads and Chromebooks. That seismic shift made devices more accessible to students than ever before — and has now pushed some teachers to fold technology more often into their lesson plans.

“Having students who now have tablets and laptops they bring to school definitely changes the game a little bit,” Malekpour said.

The city’s education department has embraced some virtual education models, including a hybrid high school program that mixes virtual instruction with in-person activities. They’ve also used federal relief dollars to fund virtual courses for students at small schools that can’t provide such classes. More recently, schools began using computer programs to prepare students for upcoming state English and math tests, angering some educators and families who want children to be interacting directly with instructors, Gothamist reported.

But there appears to be little official guidance from the department for schools navigating a post-remote learning world. A spokesperson said they encourage using “21st century teaching practices” and provide students with “personalized, flexible learning.”

Officials also offer professional learning for teachers on teaching in remote or hybrid environments.

Some students find reliance on technology frustrating

There is some evidence that older students prefer instruction that doesn’t lean on technology. Sixty-five percent of American teens ages 13-17 said they preferred returning to full in-person instruction after the pandemic, while 18% preferred a mix between in-person and online, according to a survey last year from Pew Research Centers.

Most of those surveyed didn’t seem to struggle profoundly when required to use technology: Of the 22% of teens who said they sometimes had to complete homework on their phones, just 1 in 5 said it made finishing assignments “a lot harder.”

But for some children, technology can make learning frustrating.

About half of Eva Lang’s classes at a Manhattan high school require using laptops daily. The 15-year-old said she finds it distracting when her classmates are playing video games instead of doing the assignment.

Submitting assignments online can be convenient, Eva said. However, when her teachers post homework to Google Classroom without first discussing it in class, she sometimes has to ask questions via email, which can go unanswered. Some teachers make online assignments due the night before the next class — meaning she can’t complete it on the way to school if she wanted to focus on more complicated homework the night before.

Other times, the due date is a Friday night.

“It’s never, like, a really long assignment, but you know Friday nights are when you’re done from school or [ready] for the weekend, and you don’t want to be worrying about homework,” Eva said.

Many parents, too, have expressed concerns about increased screen time during the pandemic. One 2021 study of more than 5,400 children, which looked at screen use during the pandemic, saw a link between more screen time and worsening mental health, including feelings of stress. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy noted in 2021 that while some studies have found that online platforms can lead to worsened mental health, there is not enough robust research to make a conclusion.

Some teachers find creative uses for technology

With more devices in students’ hands, Malekpour, the Queens teacher, feels comfortable asking them to complete online assignments for a grade while in class, such as answering a sample U.S. History Regents exam question using Google Form or typing up a short essay response to a prompt.

But if he’s teaching about political cartoons, he’d have them draw their own examples on paper.

Even before the pandemic, one Brooklyn science teacher knew of free, interactive lab activities available online that seemed useful when the school couldn’t afford materials for hands-on experiments, or for understanding more dangerous concepts, such as radioactivity.

But the teacher, who requested anonymity because she was not free to talk to the press, couldn’t always use those virtual labs because not all students had a laptop or a phone.

Now, for the first time in her two decades of teaching, she has a laptop cart in her classroom, meaning her students can do virtual labs in addition to hands-on experiments, she said. This week her students used a virtual lab to study different states of matter. With the click of a button, they could change matter from gas to liquid to solid by controlling the temperature.

“Before, you would just teach it,” she said. “This way, they find out for themselves — rather than just being told, they explore.”

Tom Liam Lynch, vice president of education at the United Way of NYC and a former education technology professor, said a “fundamental conversation” that needs to happen around the role of technology in schools must start with what high-quality instruction looks and feels like for students.

Frustrations like Eva’s, the Manhattan student, represent a situation where it might not be working well, Lynch said.

“In those moments [the teacher’s] focus is on getting an assignment up and getting into the classroom, and they’ve lost touch around the fundamental question of, ‘Why am I doing this in the first place? How is this going to make a child feel?’” he said.

For some teachers, remote learning didn’t impact how they teach now. Despite the education department’s investment in technology, there are still students who don’t have access to devices or the internet. The city is currently attempting to count up all devices that schools have in their possession.

Not every student has access to a laptop during the school day at the Bronx high school where Steve Swieciki teaches social studies. His use of computers in class has, in part, relied on whether he’s in a room with a laptop cart during that period.

When he does use computers, it’s for simpler work, such as reading a news article in class. He may toggle between having students read and discuss an excerpt from a textbook or providing that excerpt in Google Classroom and requiring students to answer questions about it as homework.

But that’s how he taught even before COVID.

He shared a recent example of how he lightly folds technology into a lesson: For an intro-to-law class, Swieciki recently had students use laptops to read two news articles about artificial intelligence. To pique their interest, he first had them read a New York Times story that detailed a conversation between a reporter and a Bing chatbot, who told the reporter it was in love with him — shocking and hooking the students to the topic.

Then, he had them pull up an Axios article about how lawmakers are seeking to regulate artificial intelligence.

Students spent the next class participating in a Socratic seminar, where they debated the role of government in regulating artificial intelligence.

The lesson went so well that Swieciki pivoted from what he had planned to teach in his following lesson.

“I’m actually putting off what I initially had planned for tomorrow and extending the discussion another day,” he said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

To boost enrollment, CUNY waives application fee for NYC high school seniors

2023-03-03T17:37:54+00:00

In an effort to encourage more students to apply to college, CUNY has waived the application fee for all New York City public high school seniors until April 15.

Students typically apply to college in the fall of their senior years. CUNY distributes a number of fee waiver codes to New York City public high schools, which school officials give to students, said Giulia Prestia, a spokesperson for CUNY. Just over 46,000 students used those codes between last spring and fall.

But the blanket waiver announced this week would benefit students who still haven’t decided whether to apply to college.

“We are trying to motivate seniors who may still be undecided about applying to college to take this important step toward their future at no cost,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez in a statement. “We are also removing a financial roadblock that has deterred many students from applying.”

The move could also boost enrollment at CUNY’s 23 undergraduate schools and programs as college enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels. Enrollment at CUNY dropped by roughly 10% in the fall of 2022 compared with 2021, helping to fuel a hiring freeze. Nationally, college enrollment has dipped during the public health crisis, but has started to stabilize, with just a 0.6% drop in fall undergraduate enrollment in 2022 compared with the previous year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, which collects enrollment data.

Across New York, undergraduate college enrollment — which was already dropping pre-pandemic — was down by 2% compared with 2021, according to the Clearinghouse.

The fee waiver comes as the cost of attending these schools could go up. Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed tuition hikes at both CUNY and SUNY campuses, a move that is supported by both systems’ chancellors. At CUNY, in-state undergraduate students pay $3,465 per semester at four year colleges. At community colleges, New York City residents pay $2,400 per semester. At SUNY, in-state residents were expected this school year to pay $7,070 for tuition at four-year colleges and $5,130 at community colleges.

Students can apply for state tuition assistance for up to $5,665 a year.

Some believe fee waivers can make a difference by removing one barrier to the college application process. Juanmy Moscoso, who graduated from a Brooklyn high school in 2021, said he used a school-issued CUNY application fee waiver. It saved him money, but it also saved him time in figuring out how he would pay the fee.

“I think it would have discouraged me a little, just because having to pay to get an education is something that is discouraging,” said Moscoso, who is now a sophomore at Brooklyn College.

However, the initiative is coming too late in the school year, said Carrie McCormack, a college and career counselor at East Bronx Academy for the Future. Nearly all of her school’s 76 seniors have already applied to college, using up the roughly 50 fee waiver codes the school received.

A blanket fee waiver may have been more beneficial in the fall when most students apply to school, McCormack said. Students who decide to apply this late in the process probably won’t get a spot at CUNY’s more high-profile schools, such as Hunter or City College, she said.

A more effective program might be to waive fees for students who previously applied to CUNY, but decided not to enroll, she said. For example, only 16 of her students who applied to college last year actually enrolled, McCormack said.

In general, McCormack has found a waning interest in college among her students since the pandemic. For example, she knows a handful of students who she would have expected to pursue college, but are more interested in various trade schools, she said.

“Our higher level, so to speak, students — the ones you think, ‘Oh, you’re definitely going to college,’ are not so excited about it,” she said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mental health safety net for youth: Adams outlines vision to catch kids in crisis

2023-03-02T22:07:21+00:00

If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please dial 988 for the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

As New York City continues to grapple with youth mental health challenges, Mayor Eric Adams laid out a sweeping vision on Thursday to help schools better recognize student mental health needs and create a safety net for kids in crisis.

The needs are high: About a fifth of children ages 3 to 13 had one or more mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral problems in 2021, according to health department data provided in the mayor’s new plan, called Care, Community, Action: A Mental Health Plan for New York City.

Rates of suicidal ideation jumped to nearly 16% from about 12% over the past decade, with more than 9% of the city’s high school students reporting they attempted suicide over the course of 2021.

“We’ve all seen the isolation and trauma that children have experienced over the past several years, along with the results: disappearing into screens, behavioral issues, and even suicide,” Adams said while revealing the plan.

Addressing the mental health needs of young people and their families was one of the three major focal points of Adams’ blueprint. The plan calls for several things, including opening more school-based mental health clinics, creating suicide prevention trainings for educators, and assessing the impacts of social media as possible “toxic exposure.”

Though most of the ideas lacked details in terms of timeline and cost, the mayor did add a price tag of $12 million for a previously announced telehealth hotline for high school students, which the city says will be the largest of its kind in the nation.

City officials said they will track certain data points to determine whether the plan is working, including the number of contacts made by or on behalf of youth through NYC Well (the city’s free, confidential support, crisis intervention, and information and referral service), and the percent of young people reporting feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

Here are four highlights from the plan that relates to youth and schools:

City taps telehealth to fill treatment gaps

The mayor initially announced in January that the city would launch a telehealth program for high schoolers, though has not said when the program will launch and how students can access it.

Officials said Thursday they are still working out details.

“Telehealth can improve access to care for young people and their families who cannot easily get around or meet the strict time or expenses of traveling to in-person appointments, especially when mental health provider locations might be far away from the child’s home,” the mayor’s plan stated. “In addition, many youth feel more comfortable using technology to connect, and technology offers new ways to stay connected outside of traditional therapy sessions.”

Other cities are leaning on telehealth for young people, as well, including Los Angeles.

Experts previously shared cautious optimism with Chalkbeat about the plan when Adams first announced it, while also raising questions about how it would work, including whether school staff will be monitoring sessions and get involved if a student’s needs are more serious.

School-based mental health clinics to expand

As of the 2020-21 school year, 162 schools had on-site mental health clinics, while another 238 had health clinics that offered some mental health services, according to a 2022 report from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

The mayor’s plan calls on expanding mental health clinics that exist inside of school buildings through a partnership with the city’s education department, health department, the state’s Office of Mental Health and community providers.

Asked how many more clinics the city wants to open and an estimated cost, a health department spokesperson said these “are active and ongoing discussions.”

Creating school-based mental health clinics, however, can be complicated, said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, executive director of Counseling in Schools, which partners with schools to offer counseling services. It involves getting approvals from the state, finding space inside of schools that would be eligible for such clinics, and setting up a financial structure to get reimbursed by Medicaid for the services, he said.

An easier lift, he suggested, might be to get more community organizations like his to offer services in schools. Those groups often operate with grants, thus cutting out complicated funding issues.

A push to train school staffers on suicide prevention

Adams wants schools staff to be trained on suicide prevention so that they can “respond appropriately to the needs of students,” the plan said.

Dahill-Fuchel praised such training, noting they could potentially help more students realize they need help.

“I think one of the things that is really gonna be useful is this idea of a public health approach to suicide prevention, which at its core really means demystifying it,” Dahill-Fuchel said. “It tends to be a word that, around children, people don’t like to use and that becomes part of the problem.”

City officials also plan to launch a program, called “Caring Transitions,” that would focus on preventing youth ages 5-17 in the Queens and Bronx who have been to the hospital for a suicide attempt from re-entering. Teams would be responsible for connecting these young people to follow-up services in their neighborhoods as well as “additional supports” for up to three months after they leave the hospital.

The plan also says it will launch a suicide prevention pilot program for young people of color ages 5 to 24. The goal is to bolster interventions that more effectively meet the needs of Black, Asian American, and Latino youth who face suicide-related risk “that includes or is intensified by racial inequities,” the plan said. The plan did not specify what those interventions might look like.

An attempt to address cyberbullying

Concerned with social media’s impact on youth mental health, the Adams administration plans to create a task force to study the issue and develop a public health approach to reduce exposure to harmful online content.

The plan noted that “there are few rules or regulations” on how social media companies interact with young people.

“We’re also going to examine the potential risks of social media to our children’s mental health and work to make sure tech companies are required to keep online spaces safe for our kids,” Adams said during his speech.

The group would include youth and families, according to the plan. It didn’t specify when the group would launch.

Federal officials have called for more rigorous research on how social media impacts youth mental health. In a 2021 advisory released by the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, officials note that while several studies have linked worsening mental health to online platforms, other researchers have argued that there is no clear relation between the two.

Seattle Public Schools recently filed a lawsuit against leading social media companies, alleging that students and schools were harmed by worsened mental health that stemmed from social media.

The surgeon general’s advisory also called for technology companies to make sure they were fostering “safe digital environments” for their youngest users.

Some of the pressure seems to be working: Tik Tok announced earlier this week it will set the default screen time limit to 60 minutes for users under 18, though kids can continue using the app with a passcode.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

NY’s budget has $100M for academic and mental health programs. Schools still don’t have the money.

2023-02-24T23:07:54+00:00

With growing concerns over youth mental health and academic recovery, New York’s state lawmakers included $100 million in the state budget last year for schools to spend on mental health resources or after-school programs.

But, with the majority of the school year now over, school districts haven’t been able to apply for the money.

“It is very disappointing that the money that was allocated for desperately needed services by children and adolescents is not getting to them,” said Dawn Yuster, director of the School Justice Project at Advocates for Children. “There is a lot of trauma, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideations that we continue to hear about from family after family.”

The idea was to let school districts apply for a chunk of the money, which would match whatever other dollars they planned to spend on such programs. Half of the money was to be used during this school year and the other half for the 2023-24 school year. Lawmakers envisioned the funds going toward hiring mental health professionals, expanding school-based mental health services, and creating summer, after-school and extended day and year programs.

State education officials, who are charged with planning the grant program, have blamed the delay on a lengthy process that involves getting approvals from the state’s budget division — which has not yet given its final sign off.

Justin Mason, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, said the process has been complex because it involves both mental health and education components. They now expect the money to be available for next school year, but declined to answer whether schools will get to use the money for any additional school years.

Asked whether Hochul finds the delay acceptable, Mason said it’s the result of a longstanding process that exists to “ensure state funding is allocated in a fair and transparent manner.”

Hochul proposes grant funds to bolster pandemic recovery

As calls grew nationally to address a youth mental health crisis fueled by widespread loss and grief from the pandemic, Hochul proposed last January to add $100 million to the state budget for this fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2022 to this upcoming March 31, and touted the money in a press release when it made it into the final budget.

At the time of Hochul’s proposal, students had returned to campuses full time for the first time since the pandemic. Many educators had reported students struggling with behavioral, social, and mental health issues. Social workers and counselors reported being inundated with student referrals.

In New York City, one in every 200 children has lost a caregiver to COVID. More than 40% of students nationally reported feeling persistent sadness in 2021, compared to about 25% ten years before that, according to a recently released survey.

Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy and communication at the state’s Council of School Superintendents, said his organization has seen a need for more dedicated mental health resources in New York’s schools since at least 2017, based on an annual survey of superintendents across New York.

They were thrilled when Hochul highlighted it as a priority. He said that they are “surprised” and “disappointed” that this $100 million has still failed to reach schools.

It’s possible many districts are still busy spending billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief aid, potentially making this grant less of a need at the moment, advocates said.

Still, districts likely would have jumped at the money had it been available, Lowry said. Those matching funds could have helped districts launch or expand initiatives that they’d already been working on, such as New York City’s pilot effort to pour more mental health resources into 50 high-need schools in order to minimize the use of police intervention, Yuster said.

Getting grant money to school districts can take almost a year

Education officials said it usually takes nine to 10 months to issue a request for proposals, or RFP, which lays out the parameters of the funds and is what districts must respond to when applying for grant money.

For grant programs, education officials are typically tasked with creating the RFP, which other agencies, such as the state’s budget division, must then approve. That can lead to monthslong delays from when the money is available to when schools can use it, advocates said.

“I think mental health was something that was underinvested in prior to the pandemic [and] the pandemic exposed this is actually a high-need area,” said Jasmine Gripper, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group that has pushed for more school funding. “We needed to double down, and the delay in that process just kinda signals how we don’t take our children’s mental health needs as a priority.”

A timeline provided by the education department shows how the process played out with this $100 million pot of funds: Education officials first sent a summary of a possible RFP last June to the budget office. They spent July reworking their proposal in response to feedback from the budget and governor’s offices, but by August budget officials asked the education department to create an RFP based on what they had originally proposed.

In November, two months after the school year had started in New York City, education officials sent over a completed draft of the RFP. They received more feedback right before winter break, which required “substantial” changes, according to education officials, who sent another revised version back to budget officials earlier this month.

As of Friday, the education department was awaiting final approval to release the RFP to school districts.

“The field is looking at us and saying, ‘We desperately need this,’” State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said during a legislative budget hearing earlier this month, where she was asked about the delay in distributing the funding.

“We have to streamline it,” Rosa said of the RFP approval process. “We have to get to a point that… we do it and make sure that if they have 27-30 questions, let’s sit at the table, let’s get the questions done, let’s get this money into the hands of our school districts and our schools and our agencies, where it’s needed,” Rosa said.

Hochul is still interested in these issues: Her budget proposal this year calls for making mental health services more accessible for students and directing a chunk of Foundation Aid, the state’s main formula for school funding, toward high-dosage tutoring.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC bought 725K devices for remote learning. Now they’re trying to count them — and all school tech.

2023-02-16T21:30:24+00:00

When the COVID pandemic started about three years ago, New York City scrambled to get hundreds of thousands of students connected to the internet, buying iPads and Chromebook laptops, so students could learn from home.

The education department struggled for months to get enough devices for students and continued to purchase more. City officials ultimately bought 550,000 internet-enabled iPads, as well as 175,000 Chromebook laptops, costing roughly $360 million, according to the education department.

Now the education department has set out to find and track all of its technology, including the devices purchased during the pandemic. Although schools keep a record of devices, city watchdogs have criticized the education department for having no centralized system. The “Central Inventory Project” will log all technology at schools and central offices, including other kinds of tablets and laptops, desktop computers, printers and smartboards, according to a department spokesperson.

The department’s inventory project — which began last June and is expected to be completed this summer — is large. Twenty-six teams of five people each plan to visit all district and charter schools, as well as all central offices. So far, they’ve covered 660 schools and offices in 519 buildings.

A spokesperson declined to share takeaways from their inquiry so far, saying that they’re still collecting data from the inventory sweeps.

City officials are hoping to tally up how many devices are located in schools and central offices, as well as how many of those they’ve assigned to students for use at both school and home, according to a spokesperson.

Officials said they’re attempting to follow city, state, and federal guidelines for tracking devices. But they also appear to be addressing an issue raised years ago by former Comptroller Scott Stringer, who noted in multiple reports that there was no centralized system for tracking computer hardware.

A 2017 audit, for example, found that the department was missing more than 1,800 computers, laptops, and tablets. (At the time, the education department disputed the comptroller’s methodology and rejected most of Stringer’s recommendations, including his call for a systemwide inventory count.)

And a 2021 audit found that the education department had logged iPads for 5,000 students who were not also marked as having received those devices.

Some educators, who praised the scope of the project, said it is highlighting how difficult it can be to account for school devices, including computers purchased during the pandemic.

Eighth grade social studies teacher Nate Stripp, who is also the technology coordinator at Brooklyn’s M.S. 50, said their inventory process was straightforward and happened over a two-day period last month, when 10 technicians came in to count devices. In preparation for the visit, education department officials asked the school to remind students to bring in any school-issued devices they had at home. Officials also provided an estimate of how many devices they believe the school should have in hand.

There were some hiccups. In a majority of cases where iPads were missing during the inventory process, students had forgotten to bring them to school, Stripp said. There were several cases where students didn’t know where their devices were.

Stripp has come across students who were supposed to bring their remote-learning iPad to M.S. 50 from their old elementary school but claimed that they no longer have it in their possession — leading to a complicated scramble to figure out where the device is.

“I have enough technological competence to be able to run my own internal spreadsheets,” Stripp said. “But to really keep track of devices, we need a person who, at least part of their job, is paid to keep track of and maintain the technology inventory in the building.”

Officials hope to use this project to improve the process for when schools do a required annual device inventory, which is supposed to happen each spring, a spokesperson said.

Stripp said the centralized process last month was the first time he had seen such an effort in his five years at M.S. 50.

Some schools may do a better job than others of tracking their inventory, said a teacher at a Brooklyn high school, who went through the inventory process in December. For example, his school had a technology coordinator who kept a detailed spreadsheet of all their computers – but since she left, no one has taken over her responsibilities.

“It’s something that’s needed,” said the teacher, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press. “There are definitely ways that things can go missing without accountability.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Adams creates new City Hall office for child care, early childhood education

2023-02-10T22:19:43+00:00

This story has been updated to reflect Robin Hood’s involvement.

As New York City’s early childhood sector faces upheaval, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday the creation of a new office to oversee child care and early childhood education.

The new office, which will be housed within City Hall, was months in the making. It’s charged with overseeing strategy and planning with city agencies that touch early childhood education, including the education department and the Administration for Children’s Services, officials said.

The office’s creation comes as the education department’s own early childhood office has faced intense scrutiny over the past several months under Adams’ leadership.

The city has failed to pay preschool providers on time, leading some to shutter, while Adams has shelved plans to further expand preschool for 3-year-olds as some programs have gone unfilled while others are oversubscribed. The shift spurred City Council hearings and backlash from elected officials and education advocates who had supported the push for universal pre-K for 3-year-olds.

Additionally, Chancellor David Banks’ plan last fall to move hundreds of early childhood workers into new positions — which has so far been paused — resulted in chaos and confusion across the division.

At the same time, the city recently announced an ambitious effort to provide preschool seats for every student with a disability, an issue that former Mayor Bill de Blasio was unable to solve.

The new office is meant to help child care providers cut through so-called red tape, according to a statement from Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.

It will be led by Michelle Paige, who was chief program and equity officer for University Settlement, which focuses on creating programs, including daycares and preschools, aimed at fighting poverty and inequality on the Lower East Side and Brooklyn. Paige has also worked for Children’s Aid and was an early childhood teacher at the start of her career, according to city officials.

Asked how many people will work under Paige, a City Hall spokesperson said officials are still developing the office’s structure.

The plan to create this new office was nestled into Adams’ “blueprint” for early childhood education published in June. At the time, officials wrote that the office would create “responsive systems that are centered on parent choice, supporting providers, and delivering high-quality options for families” with support from Robin Hood, an anti-poverty nonprofit organization.

Last April, Robin Hood provided a 21-month, $847,000 grant that is supposed to help hire staff and cover other costs for this project, according to a spokesperson with the organization.

Early childhood education organizations applauded the decision to hire Paige and create a new office to oversee the sector.

“With this new office, we hope to see the long-waited-for thoughtful and effective coordination of New York City’s child care sector, ensuring responsive access and support for the city’s families and child care programs,” said Ramon Peguero, president and CEO of The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, in a statement.

The idea to create the office is “very much needed,” according to a former staffer of the education department’s early childhood division. It’s important for city agencies to coordinate with each other to pull off successful early childhood education programs, since they intersect with multiple offices, said the ex-staffer, who requested anonymity.

Still, details remained murky.

“Obviously, all of us have read the blueprint, but I dont think it’s super clear,” the former staffer said. “What does ‘reaffirming New York City’s commitment to families’ mean? What does it mean for child care, what does it mean for universal child care?”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

COVID vaccine mandate dropped for city employees, visitors to NYC public schools

2023-02-06T19:29:10+00:00

Chalkbeat New York is a nonprofit newsroom covering New York City’s public schools. Subscribe to our free newsletter to follow our reporting: ckbe.at/subscribe-ny

Visitors to New York City’s public schools will no longer have to be vaccinated, ending a year-and-a-half-old rule that had kept some parents out of school functions, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

Adams also announced that COVID vaccines will no longer be required of city workers. That means that more than 1,700 employees who were fired for not complying with vaccine mandates can apply for open positions. As of last March, about 900 education department employees had been fired; a spokesperson did not provide a more recent figure.

That rule had invited various legal challenges and pressure from unions, including the United Federation of Teachers. Judges in several of these cases have sided with those who argued that the city’s rule was unlawful.

Vaccine requirements will also be lifted for private schools, early childhood programs, and daycare staff.

The changes will go into effect Feb. 10, after a vote from the city’s Board of Health, which is expected to approve the changes.

“With more than 96 percent of city workers and more than 80 percent of New Yorkers having received their primary COVID-19 series and more tools readily available to keep us healthy, this is the right moment for this decision,” Adams said in a statement. “I continue to urge every New Yorker to get vaccinated, get boosted, and take the necessary steps to protect themselves and those around them from COVID-19.”

Monday’s announcement represents the Adams administration’s gradual unpeeling of COVID-related rules established under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. And for schools, it marks the end of any major remaining COVID mitigations. Prior to this, Adams had ended masking rules, vaccine mandates for student athletes and prom attendees, daily health screenings and in-school COVID testing for students and staff, and had disbanded the city’s so-called Situation Room, which informed school communities of positive COVID cases.

Many parents have petitioned the city to end its vaccine requirement for school visitors. One parent previously told Chalkbeat that the inability to attend her child’s school was one of several factors that drove her family out of New York City.

NeQuan McLean, president of Brooklyn’s District 16 parent council, said he supports COVID shots, noting that he and his family members are fully vaccinated. But he felt the mandate made it hard for schools to “really engage with families like they needed to,” for parents and guardians who chose not to get their vaccines.

“This is really a move back to real, authentic parent engagement because you can’t really engage over a computer,” McLean said.

Earlier this school year, officials said parent-teacher conferences would happen virtually, but parents could request in-person meetings (though those had to happen during teachers’ contractual work days). Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the education department, said conferences will continue to be virtual by default “for the time being.”

Last month, Chancellor David Banks signaled that based on the advice of health officials, he could support lifting the requirement for school building visitors, such as parents, to be vaccinated.

Some are already criticizing the move. Dr. Jay Varma, an advisor for de Blasio during the pandemic, wrote that he was “shocked” at the news. He argued that as new people enter the workforce and unvaccinated teenagers get older, this change will mean more “illness, deaths, and costs,” since vaccination helps stem severe and fatal illness, as well as hospitalization.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mayor Eric Adams promises mental telehealth support for all NYC high school students

2023-01-26T22:20:22+00:00

All New York City high school students will have access to mental health support through telehealth programs, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday, his first major effort to address growing concerns about student wellbeing.

“This year we’re rolling out the biggest student mental health program in the country,” Adams said during his annual State of the City speech at the Queens Theatre. “We will provide our high school students with everything from telehealth care to community-based counseling depending on their individual needs.”

Many students experienced trauma during the pandemic, including the loss of loved ones and frayed social bonds during long periods of isolation. Mental health professionals have seen increases in anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and behavior challenges, trends that have raised alarms.

School districts across the country are increasingly leaning on telehealth, which may help ease some barriers to mental health care and could make students or families more likely to attend sessions. Still, telehealth requires access to devices, internet, and private space, which may be difficult to guarantee depending on whether students will be expected to access services from home.

City officials did not immediately provide details about how the program will work, but some experts said they were cautiously optimistic about the announcement.

“I appreciate that the city is responding to really apparent needs of children and teenagers,” said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, the executive director of Counseling in Schools, an organization that partners with about 70 schools across the city to provide mental health services. The schools his organization works with typically have more students in need of mental health support than Counseling in Schools can provide in a given year.

Dahill-Fuchel said there are a number of details that need to be filled in to properly understand how the telehealth program will work. Will the telehealth sessions operate as virtual drop-in centers where students can share their feelings or more traditional counseling sessions? What is the mechanism for students to access those programs, and will students participate from school? Will school staff be involved in monitoring it and potentially get involved if students have more serious needs?

“It raises lots of procedural questions which maybe they will fill in later, but it’s hard for me not to focus on those right away,” Dahill-Fuchel said.

The city is still exploring how to deliver telehealth services, a spokesperson for the city’s health department wrote in an email, offering no further comment about how the program will work.

The mayor’s mental health push included a few other components as well, including “daily breathing and mindfulness exercises.”

Jelena Obradović, a researcher at Stanford University who has studied breathing exercises, said those techniques can help students regulate their physiology, but little research has been conducted on whether those exercises improve learning outcomes.

“Teachers and students need effective strategies for responding to stressful lived experiences,” Obradović wrote in an email. “Deep breathing exercises could be incorporated in schools alongside a full [social emotional learning] curriculum, but shouldn’t be used as a replacement for it.”

City officials have not responded to questions about whether the breathing exercises will be tied to a formal curriculum.

Here are other education initiatives Adams highlighted during his speech:

Adams touted some of his early literacy efforts, including a move to require elementary schools use a phonics program. He also vowed to expand screening for dyslexia to all campuses and open a school specifically dedicated for dyslexic students. That commitment has previously garnered mixed reactions from experts who argue all schools should be able to educate students with reading challenges.
Up to 35,000 middle school students in the city’s summer school program will get “career exposure” and access to college visits. (Under the previous administration, the city’s College Access for All program aimed to give all middle school students access to college visits.)
Adams said about 90 schools and 7,000 students will participate in a program called FutureReadyNYC, which is designed to expose students to possible career interests in high school, earn college credit, or receive industry credentials. Previously, 30 high schools and 5,000 students were expected to participate.
The mayor said he plans to “expand nutrition education standards and plant-powered menus in our schools.” The city has already begun transitioning to vegan lunches in school cafeterias on Fridays, though some students have been reluctant to eat them. “Our children may hate me today but they will love me tomorrow,” Adams said.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Thousands of NYC students lost parents to COVID. Many aren’t getting the help they need.

2023-01-26T19:50:04+00:00

This story was produced in collaboration with THE CITY, Columbia Journalism Investigations, Type Investigations and City Limits as part of “MISSING THEM,” THE CITY’s COVID memorial and journalism project. Do you know a child who has lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19? Tell us more here. If you know someone who died due to COVID, share their story here or email us at memorial@thecity.nyc.

This story was originally published on Jan. 16 by THE CITY.

In April 2020, as the death toll from COVID mounted across New York City, an elementary school teacher at the Children’s Lab School, in Sunnyside, Queens, organized a virtual dance party to give her second-grade class some levity. One student, 8-year-old Yarely, had trouble signing on to the remote classroom.

“My dad is the one who is good with computers,” she told her teacher, “but he’s sick in bed.”

The student’s father, 32-year-old Diego Vintimilla, was a fixture at parent-teacher conferences and often helped Yarely with her classwork. That day, Vintimilla, an immigrant from Ecuador, managed to fix his daughter’s computer connection from his bed. He was hospitalized with COVID the next day.

Vintimilla died two weeks later.

Yarely returned to school the day after she was told of her father’s death, confused by what had happened to him. She asked her teacher where her father was.

Wanting to support her student, Yarely’s teacher met on video calls with the school social worker, parent coordinator and principal, but no one knew what to do, she recalls. She searched online, using phrases like “how to help grieving students” and cobbled together handouts. But she found herself struggling to help.

The Queens school building that houses P.S. 343.

Yarely is one of more than 8,700 children in New York City who have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020, nearly double the national rate.

These losses, like the coronavirus itself, have disproportionately struck families of color and immigrants. Black, Hispanic and Asian children in the city were roughly three times more likely to lose a caregiver in the home to COVID compared to white children, according to an analysis done in May by the COVID Collaborative, a public health effort to address the pandemic.

THE CITY, Columbia Journalism Investigations, Type Investigations and City Limits have spent a year documenting the NYC Department of Education’s response to COVID-bereaved children in public schools. We discovered that decades of underfunding mental health care left schools unprepared to handle the spike in needs during the pandemic. Amid that crisis, grieving students were largely overlooked and often didn’t get the help they needed.

Grief at school

We contacted dozens of immigrant families with children who lost parents or caregivers to COVID, using THE CITY’s Missing Them project and the GoFundMe pages that friends and families set up for funeral expenses. Of the 10 families we interviewed, roughly half said they had little to no grief-related support from their schools. Some sought help and didn’t receive it. Others were provided with counseling through their school, only to lose it a few months later.

Still others said they did not inform their schools of the loss because they doubted that they would get any support. Children who did find support, including Yarely, relied on individual teachers and school staff who used their own resources and personal time to tend to their grieving students.

A parent’s death is a monumental event in a child’s life. Research shows that most children can cope if they have support from their family and community. But for some children, losing a caregiver will have long-term consequences. They may struggle to stay in school, or face depression and anxiety as adults.

Experts say that schools can help mitigate such harms by providing immediate care and access to clinical assistance. Noting that schools are a “nearly universal touchpoint for school-aged children,” a December 2021 report from the COVID Collaborative recommends that schools be part of a “coordinated strategy” to identify and support COVID-grieving students.

New York City schools have yet to do that. In a recent interview with THE CITY and its partners, former mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged that the Department of Education didn’t try to distinguish these students’ mental health needs from those of their peers at first.

“The situation was so profoundly troubling across the board,” de Blasio said. “The idea was that the need was so great: set up a system for everyone, and then individualize the solutions.”

But it’s not clear that an individualized response ever materialized. In interviews and survey responses, more than a dozen public school teachers, social workers and administrators described inadequate staffing for mental health support, limited training and a lack of clear guidance from the department. Many said the problems persist even now, nearly three years later.

Still lacking social workers

The dearth of care for grieving students partly stems from an overall shortage of mental health support in New York City schools. Before the pandemic, the DOE employed only one full-time social worker for every 648 students attending public schools, a ratio more than twice as high as what is recommended by the National Association of Social Workers.

When the pandemic hit, zip codes with high concentrations of people of color and immigrants bore the brunt, seeing more cases of COVID illness ending in death than elsewhere, our analysis of city health and demographic data shows. And many schools in these areas were among those with inadequate staffing.

Western Queens, where the Children’s Lab School is located, had one of the highest COVID death rates in the city, and the worst ratio of school social workers to students in the city, before the pandemic. Across the city, 40% of traditional public schools had no full-time social worker, city data shows.

De Blasio said he knew about these deficiencies. As COVID-19 continued to spread, it became even more apparent to him and DOE officials. “Everyone was already perfectly [aware] that we were sitting on top of a huge problem,” he said.

In April 2021, a full year into the pandemic, he announced measures to tackle this shortfall. His administration budgeted approximately $300 million in COVID-relief federal funding over four years for school-based mental health services that could help all pandemic-impacted children. The DOE promised to hire 500 additional social workers and conduct social-emotional screenings of students.

Despite hiring hundreds of social workers in the fall of 2021, however, the ratio is still significantly higher than recommended. The number of bilingual-licensed social workers employed by the DOE has actually declined slightly during the pandemic even as the number of English language learners increased.

Recent reports reinforce our findings. An August 2022 audit by the New York state comptroller’s office found DOE officials haven’t hired enough mental health professionals or provided adequate training to school staff to address New York City students’ mental health issues.

Bereaved but unknown

Tamara Mair, a senior director with the department, said DOE officials worked to tailor mental health support for grieving children to address what she calls “the tremendous amount of loss that was happening through the pandemic.” In an interview, the department highlighted the presence of crisis teams and voluntary teacher and staff trainings on grief sensitivity.

But crisis teams and other school staff can’t respond to grieving children if they aren’t identified. Crucially, the DOE did not implement universal screenings to identify bereaved students.

“I know that the Department of Education cares deeply about figuring out how to identify and serve these children,” said Catherine Jaynes, a senior director with the COVID Collaborative. “But they have to know about them to serve them.”

For some families we interviewed, children fell through the cracks due to this lack of screening. These families said they were reluctant to confide in school staff and received little encouragement to do so.

One mother from Queens, whose family is from Mexico, said her 17-year-old son floundered in his studies after his grandfather and two great-uncles died from the coronavirus over a span of months in 2020. She noticed her son growing more aloof and withdrawn at home; he had trouble concentrating on school work and his grades dropped. Yet she avoided telling his teachers about the deaths, she said, partly because she felt that educators at the Richmond Hill high school were overwhelmed by the challenges of remote learning and gave no indication of offering any resources to COVID-bereaved students.

“The schools did not give any emotional support to the children who lost family members,” she said. “They didn’t send emails or anything. There was no communication.”

Grasping for support

In cases where the schools did know about the students’ losses, some families said staff failed to respond in a sensitive way.

Eleven-year-old Ibrahim started acting out in school after his mother, Fatma Atia, died of COVID in April 2020. He became loud and disruptive in class and got into arguments with other kids. At times, he felt the need to get out of his chair. “I would just think of my mom and just have a little mental breakdown,” said Ibrahim, who was born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from Egypt.

The staff at his South Bronx middle school often complained about his behavior, said his father, Ashraf. A guidance counselor suggested counseling off-site, but the recommended psychologist had a wait list.

Ibrahim, who lives in the South Bronx, struggled to cope after his mother died of COVID in 2020.

Ibrahim began counseling four months later and was prescribed medication. Since then, he has had fewer behavioral issues at school, Ashraf said, but the family is still struggling. “We try to live, we try to keep up with schoolwork,” he said, “but deep inside we’re all destroyed.”

Other families who did receive mental health support at school had trouble maintaining it.

Fourteen-year-old Carol had trouble sleeping for almost two months after her stepfather died from COVID in April 2020. She spent her days and nights watching TV with her mother, an immigrant from Ecuador, making sure that her mother ate. “I don’t remember cooking for a long time,” said Margarita Rivas, Carol’s mother. “She was the one giving me spaghetti. And she told me: ‘Eat. I prepared this for you.’”

Carol saw a counselor through her high school in Fresh Meadows, Queens, Rivas said. But the arrangement only lasted a few months. When the sessions ended, Rivas struggled to find a private therapist that took her insurance. Carol saw a string of different therapists but gave up, Rivas said, because she was tired of “repeating the same thing every single time.”

Thirteen-year-old Joshua had been visiting a guidance counselor at his Washington Heights middle school every week to help him adjust to seventh grade. But Joshua lost his regular sessions when his counselor took a leave of absence — just before his stepfather died of COVID in April 2020. “He was distant,” said his mother, Charlene Budreau Simon. Joshua often skipped out on remote learning or refused to turn on his web camera when his teachers asked. “He was just like, ‘I can’t function like this right now.’”

The school’s only other counselor reached out to Joshua a few times, Budreau Simon said. But Joshua found it hard to communicate with her, and the school had no social workers on staff. Neither his school nor the others referenced above responded to requests for comment.

After Joshua finished eighth grade, the family moved to New Jersey where Budreau Simon said Joshua has access to a guidance counselor, a social worker, and a caseworker. “It’s so different from New York.”

Training educators

The last time New York City schools faced widespread grief among students was after 9/11, when about 3,000 children, many of whom lived in the city, experienced the death of a parent.

The city moved quickly. In Staten Island, for instance, schools were told to report the names of children who lost someone close, according to Dominick Nigro, former director of the Office of Student Services for Staten Island Public Schools, who managed the borough’s response after the attacks. Those families were then offered individual and group grief counseling at school or within the DOE, Nigro said.

DOE also commissioned Dr. David Schonfeld, a pediatric bereavement specialist, to hold more than 50 full-day crisis response trainings for superintendents and other DOE staff members over the next two and a half years.

“I remember somebody came up to me and said, ‘We really should give this training for all the educators in the school system,’” Schonfeld said.

For a moment, given the sheer scale of 9/11, it seemed like that might come to pass, but DOE didn’t offer widespread grief-sensitivity training until more than a decade later.

In 2018, some city schools began to participate in the “Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative,” a national program to train educators to recognize signs of grief and potential triggers, and improve access to relevant services. In 2019, it tapped Schonfeld and the New York Life Foundation to offer that training to all city schools.

Then in early 2020, New York City quickly became the epicenter of the COVID pandemic. With DOE’s blessing, Schonfeld adjusted the trainings to focus on pandemic-related stress and grief. He said his work was particularly challenging at a time when children were attending school remotely, and when people dying of COVID or other conditions were isolated from their family members, putting traditional mourning rituals on hold.

More than 6,500 DOE staff members participated in the trainings between March 2020 and June 2022, according to the department. The DOE also has offered professional development seminars for school staff on how to support students coping with grief and loss, a spokesperson said. The agency estimates that approximately 75,000 staff and community members participated in those sessions from 2021-2022. (It declined to specify how many of those were school staff.)

Yet trainings like these are optional — a problem highlighted in the comptroller’s report, which recommended mandatory mental health training for all school staff members who interact with students daily.

Even Schonfeld’s initiative has failed to reach most staff, a disappointing coda to a bold plan. The organizers reported that just over 1,000 city schools underwent the training between April 2020 and June 2021, but only 20% of participating schools managed to train five or more employees.

‘Our kids are all in crisis’

Many school staff members say their struggles to help COVID-grieving students were compounded by the education department’s failure to supply clear guidelines. No one we spoke with expected to see such standards handed down during the pandemic’s early days. But as it dragged on, the continued lack of guidance felt more surprising, they said.

DOE confirmed that it has avoided what it calls a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Instead, it noted that crisis teams, composed of school social workers, counselors and administrators, often are a “first line of defense” for grieving students.

In interviews and survey responses, more than a dozen public school teachers, social workers and administrators described inadequate staffing for mental health support, limited training, and a lack of clear guidance from the Department of Education.

Emily George, a former school social worker, remembers school social workers turning to the professional listserv that she moderates to find help during the pandemic. Many sought to fulfill urgent requests from their students’ families for food, housing and funeral assistance. Some wanted advice on legal services for immigrants; others on grief counseling for teens.

“Once the pandemic hit, everyone was like ‘Oh, mental health, what are we going to do?’” George said. “Our kids are all in crisis.”

Among the families we interviewed, 8-year-old Alejandro’s experience represented a rare example of a student who got adequate and consistent support at school. Alejandro lost his uncle, Victor Humberto Heras, to COVID-19 in April 2020. They were close: Humberto dropped him off at school every day and would make meals for him.

Alejandro has been receiving counseling through his elementary school in Washington Heights — individual sessions two times a week at first, and now group sessions. The sessions have helped him manage his grief and anger and come to terms with his uncle’s death, he said.

Alejandro visits his late uncle’s home in Washington Heights, Dec. 6, 2022.

Most families who had a positive experience, however, attributed it to a teacher or social worker who extended themselves personally, often outside of regular working hours.

At the Children’s Lab School, Yarely’s teacher said she tried her best to help. After her father’s death, Yarely often showed up early to her online classes, clutching a stuffed animal. Frequently, she asked her teacher to stay behind after lessons had ended.

“Usually we would talk about my dad and how I felt about all that,” said Yarely.

Yarely took her teacher on virtual tours of her home, pointing the camera toward candles and photos in memory of her dad. She worried about how her mother would manage family finances, including payments for her father’s truck. “She was clearly just soaking up all kinds of fears and worries and concerns from everyone around her,” said Yarely’s teacher.

Yarely was obviously suffering. With her father gone and her mother working full time, she struggled to understand her schoolwork and stay motivated, said her mother, Adriana Culcay. The situation became dire in the summer of 2020, when a relative told her mother that Yarely had threatened to jump out the window to be with her father.

“She was just crying, crying, crying,” Culcay said.

Speaking your language

Not long after that incident, Culcay arranged virtual counseling sessions for Yarely through school. At the time, our analysis shows, the Children’s Lab School had one full-time social worker on staff — relatively uncommon among its west Queens counterparts. In the 2020-21 school year, DOE data shows that more than a quarter of traditional public schools did not have full-time or part-time social workers; another 11% of schools only had access to a part-time social worker.

In March 2021, de Blasio appointed Meisha Porter — a former Bronx teacher, principal and administrator — as education chancellor. In an interview, Porter said she had seen how COVID losses overwhelmed schools in her district and felt strongly about incorporating mental health support into DOE’s reopening plan.

Under Porter’s guidance, the department rolled out a plan to hire the 500 social workers, targeting schools hardest-hit by the pandemic.

By December 2021, eight months into the plan, around a third of public schools in neighborhoods hit hardest by COVID still did not have a full-time social worker, according to our analysis of DOE data.

Others had social workers but struggled to meet the needs of non-English speaking families. Studies show counseling is twice as effective if it’s in the language of the person seeking it.

DOE offers comprehensive translation services by phone that allowed social worker Jessica Chock-Goldman, who worked at Stuyvesant High School until July 2021, to communicate with non-English speaking parents about getting support for their children. But speaking through a translator makes it harder to talk about sensitive topics, like grief. “I remember in the beginning, we had so many kids who lost parents” to COVID, Chock-Goldman said, but she found it difficult to help them.

Typically, she arranges for clinicians with a shared ethnicity to talk with parent groups about ways their kids can work through stigmas related to mental health.

“A lot of these families, in their country of origin for the parents, therapy is not the norm,” she said.

Carolina Nudo, the former social worker at Yarely’s school, has seen the benefits of language-specific counseling firsthand. At Children’s Lab School, more than half of the nearly 450 students are Latino and around a quarter are learning English. Nudo speaks Spanish and was able to communicate with Yarely’s family directly, including her mother Culcay, whose primary language is Spanish.

Yarely remembers learning breathing exercises during counseling sessions and being encouraged to do something that she loved as a way to feel better. She enjoys painting, so she recreated a beach sunset that she once watched with her father.

But Yarely missed some counseling sessions and her grades dropped while her mother worked at a new job for nearly 12 hours a day to make up for her late husband’s income. “I hardly paid attention,” Culcay said.

For grieving children from undocumented families, it can be harder to get help, said Jeanette Rodriguez, a counselor through a partner organization at I.S. 145 in Jackson Heights, where more than 90 percent of students are Hispanic. At least five of her students lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, she said. Undocumented parents may not know how to access health insurance, for instance, and can be too afraid to enroll their children in public services, for fear that the information might be shared with authorities.

“We tell them, ‘When you come here, you’re protected,’” Rodriguez said of undocumented parents. “We want them to feel safe.”

‘Grief is not a behavioral problem’

Though some families we spoke with had positive encounters with their schools, others say they encountered obstacles that left them feeling stigmatized for seeking grief support.

Veronica Fletcher lost her husband, Joseph Trevor Fletcher, an MTA worker and immigrant from Grenada, to COVID in April 2020. When her three children returned to their Brooklyn public schools for in-person learning more than a year later, they each demonstrated signs of trouble.

Veronica Fletcher holds a portrait of her late husband, Joseph Trevor Fletcher.

Her oldest, Joshua, then 16, became hyper-focused on his studies, determined to graduate high school early. His brother, Ziggy, then 13, had nearly failed a class soon after their father’s death, and continued to be sad and distracted in school. And Maddie, then 9, seemed increasingly lonely. Frequently, she visited the schoolyard’s “buddy bench” to signal that she wanted company.

In October 2021, just weeks into the new academic year, Fletcher received a phone call from her younger children’s school, P.S. 207 in southeast Brooklyn, where COVID deaths have ranked among the highest in the city. She learned that Maddie had started crying during recess and, hours later, was still inconsolable. The teacher advised her to wait until pick-up to see her daughter, which struck Fletcher as insensitive. “When she came in the car, I just held her,” said Fletcher. “Her body was just racking with sobs.”

The school counselor referred Fletcher to a nonprofit that offers bereavement support and held a virtual meeting with Maddie in fall 2020. But for the sessions to continue, Fletcher said she was asked to submit a letter stating that her children needed “at-risk” support. Concerned that could harm her children’s school records, Fletcher said she was reluctant to do it.

In April 2022, she wrote to P.S. 207 Principal Neil McNeill, again asking about bereavement support. “Please, let me know what programs are in place at either the school or with DOE for my grieving children,” she wrote in the April 14 email. “If full grown adults often have difficulty with grieving a lost parent, imagine how much more traumatic it is for children to do so in a pandemic.”

In response, McNeill reminded Fletcher that she had effectively declined “at-risk grief counseling.” He invited her to tell him if the children wanted to speak with the school counselor or needed to walk out of their classrooms for a break. “We are here to support the kids in any way that we can,” he wrote. (The DOE declined to make McNeill available for an interview or respond to questions about the policy.)

But Fletcher’s position wouldn’t change. “Grief is not a behavioral problem,” she said, explaining why she objected to submitting an official request. “It’s not a mental illness.”

Fletcher had similar concerns when she heard about a new multimillion-dollar screening tool being used to evaluate children for mental health needs, known as the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment or DESSA.

Launched in 2021, the social-emotional assessment consisted of teachers filling out an online questionnaire using a five-measure scale from “never” to “very frequently” to rate a child’s behavior in roughly 40 scenarios. The questions include things like: “During the last four weeks, how often did the child carry himself/herself with confidence?” and “How often did the child show good judgment?”

But teachers and parents say these types of questions can fail to identify students who are experiencing the unique struggle of grieving a family loss. Instead, the COVID Collaborative recommends screenings designed specifically to find children who are bereaved.

De Blasio noted that the DESSA screener was always meant to be only one step in the process. “There was not an assumption that a single universal screener would answer all questions, but it would be the beginning of identifying who needed further evaluation,” he said.

Former schools Chancellor Porter defends the DESSA, noting that she chose it, in part, because it emphasized positive traits like confidence and self-esteem rather than negative behaviors. But she said that schools could have used more support in implementing it. “It was a lot that had to happen,” she said.

New administration slashes school budgets

Since Eric Adams took over as mayor in January 2022 and appointed David Banks as education chancellor, the two have said little about how the new administration will address the city’s COVID-grieving schoolchildren. The Department of Education declined to make Banks available for an interview for this story.

In September, Adams and Banks announced that 110 social workers would be reassigned from the early childhood division to the city’s public schools, a DOE spokesperson said. It is unclear what, if any, impact the move will have on schools in the neighborhoods hit hardest by COVID-19.

Last fall, Yarely started fifth grade. She enjoys math, she said — it reminds her of how her father used to help her with homework.

Culcay said her daughter’s academic performance is still not at the level it was at before her husband died. And since social worker Nudo has retired, Yarely stopped receiving any counseling in school. “I only tell her the stuff,” Yarely said.

But she has grown to accept her father’s death — something Culcay credits the school with helping her realize.

In February 2021, Yarely and one of her father’s cousins traveled back to Ecuador with her father’s ashes. Recently, Yarely has learned to cook rice with sausage and eggs and fold her laundry while her mother is at work. People comment on how mature she’s become, Culcay said. “I say, ‘Yes because [her] father is no longer there and it’s just me.’”

Veronica Fletcher says her children are beginning to adjust to life without their father. She moved to Georgia in August. When the new school learned that their father had died, the counselor recommended a weekend-long grief camp, which her kids all attended in October. “I had to move to another state for someone to offer my children an opportunity that I asked for in New York.”

Fletcher still feels disappointed by the lack of support she received from the city’s school system. “They are children who have suffered loss. They get through it with support,” she said, “and the support should not be absent in a place where they spend most of their day.”

Liz Donovan and Fazil Khan produced this story as reporters, respectively, for City Limits and Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School. It was produced in partnership with THE CITY and Type Investigations, two nonprofit newsrooms that provided reporting, editing, fact-checking and other support.

Type Investigations freelance reporter Muriel Alarcón and CJI reporting fellow Chris Riotta contributed reporting. Research by Columbia Journalism School’s Shannon Rose Geary, Shelby Jouppi, Amanda Torres and Jessica Vadillo and THE CITY’s intern Emi Tuyetnhi Tran. Translation by freelance journalist Lila Hassan and City Limits reporter Daniel Parra. Fact-checking by Paco Alvarez and Ethan Corey for Type Investigations.

THE CITY’s MISSING THEM project is supported, in part, by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia Journalism School.

After COVID paused Regents exams, graduation rates for NYC’s English language learners surged

2023-01-19T19:31:54+00:00

Arnulfo Toribio was ready to drop out of high school.

It was 2020, and Toribio felt exhausted from learning years’ worth of material while balancing school with a full-time restaurant job. Before immigrating to New York City a few years earlier, he had spent much of his childhood working on a Mexican farm to support his family after his father died, missing at least six years of formal schooling.

A guidance counselor persuaded him to stay on track for a diploma, and Toribio got an additional boost just months before graduation: In response to the pandemic, the state canceled New York’s Regents exams, five of which students are required to pass in order to graduate. Students would still need to pass their courses. Toribio, who hadn’t passed his English or Algebra Regents after a couple attempts, graduated later that year.

“I benefited from that policy,” Toribio explained in Spanish through a translator. “It honestly helped me graduate.”

Bucking national trends, graduation rates rose across the state in the 2020-21 school year. Even more surprising, the rate catapulted for the city’s English language learners — rising by 14 percentage points to 60%, the largest increase on record for those students and a greater rise than other student groups.

The graduation rate spike seemed counterintuitive given that low-income immigrant communities had been severely affected by the pandemic, and many English learners found it more difficult to learn remotely. (Educators also found it difficult to teach remotely.)

Data obtained by Chalkbeat suggests that the temporary policy change — first canceling the English Regents and then not requiring a passing score on it to graduate in 2020-21 — removed a hurdle for English language learners trying to earn their diplomas. More English learners graduated during that time period, far fewer of whom passed the English Regents exam.

State officials acknowledged the spike could have been connected to the temporary cancellation of the Regents exams, and specifically the English exam, but they couldn’t say to what extent.

The effects of that policy could become clearer soon, as the state prepares to release graduation rates from the 2021-22 school year, when Regents exams resumed. The data could help inform a commission tasked with recommending changes to the state’s graduation requirements in 2024, including whether the Regents exams should still be required for students to graduate.

More English language learners take advantage of the Regents cancellation

Students typically take the English Regents exam at some point between freshman and senior year — with some taking it multiple times in hopes of eventually passing so they can get their diplomas. (Some students can appeal their scores and still graduate.)

In the 2018-19 school year, nearly 3,000 English language learners graduated from city public schools within four years, and roughly 67% of them had passed their English Regents at some point. In comparison, nearly all students who graduated and were not learning English as a new language had passed their English exams.

By 2020-21, when the English Regents was optional, the number of English language learners who earned diplomas rose to nearly 4,900, while just 8% passed their exams. (Pass rates also fell for other students who graduated, as more of them earned diplomas. Still, more than three-quarters of non-English learners had passed the test.)

The data doesn’t prove that English Regents exams are the source of low graduation rates among English learners because other factors could have influenced the recent rise, multiple policy experts who reviewed the data said.

Still, there’s “pretty good evidence” that canceling the exams was “one of the things that caused kids to be able to graduate,” said Julie Sugarman, senior policy analyst for K-12 education who focuses on English learners at the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigration Integration Policy.

Sugarman also noted that counselors could have encouraged more students to graduate, or looser grading policies could have helped students. (In Toribio’s case, he said his teachers were also flexible with his assignment deadlines as he searched for a new job during the start of the pandemic.)

Still, the data shows strong signs that “students who disproportionately struggle with high stakes standardized tests are disproportionately impacted” when those exams are no longer required to graduate, Sarah Part, a senior policy analyst with Advocates For Children, which has been advocating to remove Regents as a graduation requirement, said in an email.

English language learners typically don’t graduate on time

Graduation rates for English learners have been historically low — 46% graduated on time in 2020 in New York City, compared with 79% of all students citywide. Advocates and policy experts have cited many reasons, including that newer immigrant students might juggle work with school and lack of enough support in classrooms as they’re still learning the language.

Those rates have steadily grown since 2016 by an average of roughly 4 percentage points annually. But the 14-point jump in the 2020-21 school year was an anomaly. It was so high, that for the first time in eight years, English learners no longer had the lowest four-year graduation rate among the city’s major student groups, surpassing children with disabilities.

Research has found little evidence that requiring high-stakes graduation exams improves student achievement, and doing so may actually increase dropout rates for struggling students. The English exams can be particularly hard on English learners, advocates and researchers said. Sugarman said she often hears from educators about students who have passed all of their classes, but can’t pass the English Regents exam.

Just 3% of the city’s English learners who graduated last year did so without using any exemptions from Regents exams, compared to 28% of non-English learners, according to an analysis from The Education Trust-New York.

That organization described their findings as a “signal that students may be underprepared for postsecondary opportunities.”

At the same time, the data is likely fodder for advocates who have called for the state to stop requiring the Regents exams to graduate.

“What are more meaningful measures that can still capture the student’s learning and still give them different possibilities in different ways, so that their ability to graduate doesn’t depend on one test they take on one day for a few hours out of the four years plus of their high school career?” said Juliet Eisenstein, senior staff attorney with Advocates For Children who sits on the state’s commission that is reviewing graduation requirements.

Juanmy Moscoso, an English learner who graduated in 2021, took the English Regents exam five times before passing it, finally succeeding his junior year of high school, three years after he first moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He was part of the minority of English learners who passed the exam prior to graduating in 2021.

He felt that his teachers had done all they could to prepare him, but it was tough to pass the exam while also juggling a challenging course load, including several Advanced Placement classes.

“The problem is me not knowing the language as I wanted,” Moscoso said.

Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, an associate professor of international education at NYU, who has studied English language learners, has raised the larger question of why officials expect newcomer English learners to graduate on time to begin with — an argument other policy researchers have also made.

Those students are acclimating to a new country, as well as a new language, and could benefit from extra support and more time instead of “getting them out as quickly as possible,” he said. He said that many newer immigrants don’t pursue college and wondered if that would be different if they received more support in school.

There are signs that English learners who get more time to learn the language perform well academically. The graduation rates for students who are former English learners typically outpace their peers.

Toribio, the student who graduated in 2020, went on to attend community college. But he stopped attending because he was struggling to pay for school, according to an advocate who has helped him in the past. He hopes to go back soon.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC is using one-time COVID money for a lot of education programs. What happens when it dries up?

2023-01-19T10:00:00+00:00

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City’s education department received a massive windfall: more than $7 billion in federal relief funding to help reopen school buildings and address lost instruction.

But city officials have used a significant chunk of that one-time relief on initiatives that have recurring costs. What happens to those efforts when the spigot of federal dollars dries up in 2024? That’s the question posed by a report released Thursday by Advocates for Children, which highlights hundreds of millions worth of programs that are currently being supported by federal funds.

The report is a “call to action” to draw attention to initiatives that could face cuts if the city doesn’t find a way to replace federal dollars, said Randi Levine, the policy director at Advocates for Children. “We want to make sure policymakers are aware of the wide range of important education initiatives that are currently being funded by expiring federal COVID-19 relief funding.”

A range of programs are receiving one-time federal money, including expanded summer school ($236 million), hundreds of new prekindergarten seats for students with disabilities ($88 million), screening for students with dyslexia and other literacy programs ($7.4 million), and a raft of hiring including new social workers and nurses (roughly $135 million).

City officials declined to say whether they plan to slash any of those programs or, if not, where the funding will come from.

“We are working closely with City Hall and our agency partners to find ways to sustain and build on the work we have done to lift up our students and schools,” education department spokesperson Jenna Lyle wrote in an email.

The programs are not necessarily at immediate risk, since the federal funding runs until the 2024-25 school year, though advocates argue the city should make plans to address the looming fiscal cliff now. Once the federal funding runs out, the city will have to either cut or find other money to replace about $881 million in annual spending on recurring programs that are currently receiving federal dollars, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office.

“I don’t think the intent [of the federal funding] was to support ongoing costs — these funds were clearly one-time,” said Ana Champeny, the vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission, a watchdog group. “The city, the City Council, and the advocacy community is going to have to address [that] and make hard choices.”

The report does not document every example of the education department’s use of one-time relief money on recurring programs. But it highlights several high-profile examples. Here are five of them:

Preschool for 3-year-olds: $100 million

Mayor Eric Adams made waves when his administration rolled back plans to make 3-K universal, a major goal of his predecessor who intended to use more than half a billion dollars of federal money for that purpose. Officials redirected much of that funding to “central costs.” But even without the planned expansion, city officials will still need to find about $100 million each year to keep the program going at its current size, according to the Advocates for Children report.

Expanding 3-K was “built on recovery dollars that are running out,” schools Chancellor David Banks said at an event hosted by Educators for Excellence Wednesday evening. “We’ve got major issues that we’re going to have to deal with financially in terms of paying for that as well as other programs.”

More social workers, nurses, and staff to help homeless students: about $135 million

The education department hired a slew of people for non-teaching positions, including enough nurses to ensure every school had access to one, 500 social workers, and psychologists to speed up evaluations and the creation of individualized education programs for students with disabilities. The city also used the funding for 75 coordinators to help homeless families navigate the education system, though the hiring process has been slow.

Preschool for students with disabilities: $88 million

Many students with disabilities who are legally entitled to preschool seats have instead been forced to stay home because the city doesn’t have enough seats to meet demand. The problem was long considered a stain on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promise of universal pre-K and the current administration has vowed to create enough seats for every child with a disability who is entitled to one. But that promise is being delivered with one-time relief money, raising questions about how the city will follow through on that goal after this school year.

Community schools: $60 million

Under de Blasio, there was steady growth in the number of schools that embedded wraparound services into school buildings through partnerships with nonprofit providers — including dental clinics, mental health services, and food pantries. The city has dedicated about $70 million over the last two years to increase the number of those schools from 266 to over 400 and reverse cuts that had been planned to those schools, according to the report.

Keeping school budgets steady: $160 million

City officials have kept school budgets higher than they would have been based on enrollment declines, a policy meant to stave off dramatic budget cuts while schools are trying to catch students up from pandemic disruptions.

Although Adams began the process of cutting school budgets this school year, a move that drew intense criticism, he reversed plans to make another round of cuts next school year – using relief funding to plug the gap. That move means that schools may face even more dramatic cuts down the line, as officials contend that school budgets will eventually need to be brought back in line with enrollment, though city officials have not released detailed plans.

“That’s a looming problem and it will be a bigger problem than it was last year,” Champeny said. “When those funds run out, how are we going to fund the schools and at what level?”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

NYC schools still require visitors to be vaccinated. Could that soon change?

2023-01-12T22:50:20+00:00

Though parents and other visitors to New York City school buildings still must show proof of vaccination to enter, schools Chancellor David Banks signaled that he might support relaxing the rule.

On Thursday, a Staten Island mom who sits on the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council asked the schools chief if the city would consider dropping the vaccine requirement, perhaps requiring a negative test instead. Banks responded that it was an “interesting point, and it’s one that we should be considering instead of being so, so final.”

The decision ultimately rests with Mayor Eric Adams and health officials, the chancellor said. But Banks vowed to set up a meeting with the city’s health commissioner to discuss it.

“Let’s raise this issue and see if there’s a middle ground,” he said.

The requirement that caregivers and other school visitors show proof of at least one vaccine dose to visit school buildings is one of a dwindling set of virus mitigation measures that officials have kept in place. Although school staff still must be vaccinated, the city has dropped mask mandates, no longer requires student athletes or prom attendees to be vaccinated, and does not conduct daily health screenings for students and staff entering school buildings.

The current rule prevents unvaccinated caregivers from entering school buildings to meet with teachers or attend school events. (Some schools appear to enforce the rule more vigorously than others.) It may also complicate participation in a variety of parent councils and public meetings, which are increasingly being held in person. By contrast, parent teacher conferences remain virtual this year.

New York City appears to be an outlier in requiring school visitors to show proof of vaccination.

Dennis Roche, the co-founder of Burbio, a company that compiled data on school health policies, said vaccine requirements for students and staff have largely disappeared, though the organization did not track vaccine policies for visitors. The organization recently stopped tabulating school COVID measures because few districts have mitigation policies in place at this point, Roche said.

The vast majority of adult New York City residents have already received at least one vaccine dose, according to city statistics, though disparities exist by race and neighborhood. Roughly three-quarters of Black adults have at least one vaccine dose, followed by 78% for white adults. Over 97% of Hispanic and Asian adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, according to city data.

Meanwhile, 53% of public school students ages 5 and up are fully vaccinated, while 59% have received one dose, according to city data from November, the most recent figures that have been publicly released.

NeQuan McLean, a parent and president of Community Education Council 16 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, said he’s glad that Banks is open to reconsidering the vaccination policy.

“We have parents who weren’t able to go to Christmas shows or Thanksgiving feasts or can’t see their kids perform because they’re not vaccinated,” he said, though some schools have taken steps to stream events online so unvaccinated community members can participate.

McLean said he’s worried some unvaccinated members of his community education council won’t be able to participate in their meeting later this month at a school building, the first time the group is meeting face-to-face in nearly three years.

“We want to make it so that everyone is protected but that we’re not excluding folks,” he said.

Some public health experts said nixing the vaccine requirement for visitors would be unlikely to cause harm to school communities. Since a single dose of the vaccine is not likely to prevent transmission, the benefit is largely to prevent serious illness or hospitalization rather than protecting the wider school community from infection.

If the goal is to prevent infections, “it would be better having [unvaccinated visitors] mask — or have them do a negative rapid test before they come in,” said Susan Hassig, assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University.

The other benefit of the vaccine requirement is to spur people to get vaccinated who might not otherwise consider it, though public health experts said the impact on vaccine uptake was not likely to be substantial.

Patrick Gallahue, a spokesperson for the city’s health department, did not explain the city’s rationale for the vaccine mandate for school visitors. But he indicated that the city may consider a change to the policy.

“As we’ve said many times before, we will always follow the science,” Gallahue wrote in an email. “We’re reviewing all options, and we will share any updates.”

Patrick Wall contributed.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Hochul’s 2023 education agenda: high-dosage tutoring, college access, student mental health

2023-01-10T18:14:53+00:00

Improving access to student mental health services, boosting school funding, and creating high-dosage tutoring programs figure prominently in New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s education agenda, according to her annual State of the State address on Tuesday.

Hochul’s speech — which governors use to signal their priorities for the coming year — outlined issues she’s shown interest in before, such as improving college access.

Her proposals, which come two months after significant drops on national reading and math exams, also show a deeper commitment to addressing how the pandemic impacted students both academically and mentally.

Still, her proposals don’t include some items that advocates were hoping to address this year in Albany, including hiring shortages, which Hochul prioritized last year.

Here are highlights from Hochul’s education policy proposals:

Hochul keeps pledge to fully fund Foundation Aid

As part of her budget proposal, Hochul confirmed that she will include a $2.7 billion increase in school funding for districts across New York under the Foundation Aid formula, which sends more money to high-needs districts.

Last year, state lawmakers had promised to spend billions of more dollars over three years to fully fund the long-debated formula, which accounts for most of the dollars that schools receive from the state.

This upcoming budget will represent the final phase-in of that money, and Hochul’s commitment to spend an additional $2.7 billion matches the funding request from the state’s Board of Regents, as well as a coalition of education-focused organizations called the Educational Conference Board.

High inflation rates ballooned the cost for this year from a $1.9 billion increase to $2.7 billion — raising concerns among some advocates about whether Hochul would stick to her word as the country is at risk for a recession.

“This historic level of financial support for New York public schools will reverberate for generations to come, broadening access to opportunity and enabling New York to build the education system of the future,” said Hochul’s book of policy proposals.

Several education organizations applauded Hochul’s plan. In a statement, Alliance for Quality Education, a school funding advocacy group, called it a “historic milestone for New York State’s public schools.”

Plans to make student mental health needs more accessible

As part of a broader effort to address mental health needs, Hochul has proposed to make school-based services more accessible to students and less expensive to open and run such programs in the first place.

Student mental health needs have been a large focus for educators and advocates since the onset of the pandemic. While many New York City schools offer some level of help to those with behavioral or mental health needs, educators and families report that the needs outpace what’s available, and many students are unable to access those resources.

More than one-third of New York City public schools have none of the six mental health programs that the education department touts on its website, according to an audit conducted last year by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Hochul wants to increase the rate at which school-based clinics and other wraparound services are reimbursed by Medicaid, hoping that this will encourage providers to open more such clinics. She would also create annual grants that would help cover the costs of creating school-based services. Her proposal did not include more specific details, including how much money would be available for the grants.

Hochul also wants to introduce legislation that would require private insurance to pay the Medicaid rate for school-based services that students receive, since those insurance companies typically pay below the Medicaid rate, according to a spokesperson for the governor.

Charles Dedrick, executive director of the state Council of School Superintendents, applauded the proposal and described it as a “comprehensive plan” to expand and provide coverage for these services.

Hochul wants to invest in high-dosage tutoring

In order to address the academic effects of the pandemic, Hochul plans to invest $250 million of Foundation Aid money for districts to create high-impact tutoring programs, where students are tutored multiple times a week.

Mirroring national trends, New York saw steep drops in fourth grade math and reading scores, as well as eighth grade math, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams, given for the first time last year since 2019.

Districts would use the money to establish the programs on their own or in partnership with an outside provider. These programs would specifically tutor students in grades 3-8 on reading and math.

Officials did not immediately respond to say how the money would be distributed or how much New York City would receive.

Researchers have found that students can do better in school when they’re tutored frequently in small groups. The endeavor is expensive, but an investment from the state could inject a boost to create such programs in New York City and elsewhere. Hochul’s policy book says that such programs “deliver increased instructional time and customized student learning, and establish meaningful relationships between tutors and students.”

One possible model in New York City is a CUNY-run tutoring program, where 800 of the school’s students studying to become teachers are working with struggling readers in first and second grade.

Creating a pipeline to higher education and the workforce

Hochul pitched a slew of proposals aimed to get more students into college and the workforce.

Under her plan, New York’s graduating high school seniors would receive admission to their local SUNY community college. Additionally, students who aren’t admitted to their SUNY school of choice would automatically be considered for admission at another SUNY campus.

She’s proposing to spend $20 million in grants for districts to create college-level courses in high school, through which students can earn college credit. The money would also go toward technology-focused programs – both in school districts and colleges – with the goal of preparing more students for such careers after graduation.

Priority for the grant money will be given to programs in high-needs school districts, as well as districts that plan to create programs focused on computer science and computer and software engineering pathways “with an eye toward the technology jobs of the present and future,” according to the proposal book.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Education issues to watch in Albany: School funding, mental health, future of mayoral control

2023-01-03T16:30:16+00:00

As districts continue to recover from the academic and social-emotional impacts of the pandemic, New York state lawmakers will be pressed to address several issues facing schools during the new legislative session.

Inflation has driven up the cost of finishing the long-awaited process of fully funding Foundation Aid, the state’s main school aid formula. As the country faces the risk of a recession, advocates worry about whether lawmakers will fulfill their promise to finish funding the formula.

Advocates also say they will push for solutions to issues that have become more pressing during the pandemic, including hiring challenges and student mental health, while others will continue a yearslong push for the state to raise the charter school cap.

Here are some of the education issues that may come up in the new legislative session, which is set to start Wednesday:

Inflation adds pressure to cost of funding schools

Last year, state lawmakers promised to spend billions of more dollars to fully fund Foundation Aid, which accounts for the bulk of financial support that school districts receive from the state. They agreed to fund the formula over three years, with the final phase-in scheduled for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

However, high inflation rates have pushed the projected cost for the final phase-in of the money from a $1.9 billion increase to about $2.7 billion.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who agreed to fulfill the formula last year as part of a legal settlement, has declined to say whether she will include this final, larger payment in next year’s budget. Both advocates and lawmakers say they’re concerned, but they haven’t yet heard any reneging on Hochul’s promise.

“There is a very high level of commitment on the part of my fellow legislators to see that this Foundation Aid promise is completely followed through on and fulfilled,” said Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat who oversees the Senate’s New York City education committee. “It should be the governor’s self-imposed mandate as well.”

Separately, state policymakers are also asking for $1 million to hire researchers who will review and create models to update the 15-year-old Foundation Aid formula. State officials and advocates contend the formula needs an update because it has outdated measures, such as for calculating student poverty, which is currently based in part on 2000 Census data.

“Let’s get recommendations from experts to make it more equitable,” said Jasmine Gripper, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education.

Will Hochul try to lift the cap on charter schools?

One question is whether the governor will actively seek to lift the cap on how many charter schools can open in New York. After silence on the issue on the campaign trail, Hochul said she supported lifting the cap when asked about it during a gubernatorial debate with Republican opponent Lee Zeldin.

Under the cap, 460 charter schools are allowed to operate in New York, including 290 in New York City, which was reached in 2019. Overall, enrollment has grown in New York City’s charter sector while enrollment has dropped in traditional public schools. But the picture is more complicated: Nearly 60% of individual charter schools have enrolled fewer students during the pandemic.

Hochul’s office declined to say whether she will push to lift the cap this year. Some charter advocates, who have pushed for it for years, are hoping she does.

In a statement after the election, James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter Center, said the organization was looking forward to “supporting her efforts to lift the cap.”

Hochul’s campaign received at least $70,000 in campaign donations across two pro-charter political action committees. However, she also received more than $186,000 across the city, state, and national teachers unions, which generally oppose the expansion of charter schools.

Liu said he doesn’t expect her to touch the issue, noting that she simply replied “yes,” to the debate question of whether she supports lifting the cap, which is different from actively pursuing the issue.

Even if she does, it’s not likely she’ll find considerable support in the legislature, as the issue has not gained traction in recent years.

Schools continue to struggle with hiring and student mental health

Some advocates are hoping for solutions to the hiring challenges that many schools are facing.

Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy and communication at the state’s Council of School Superintendents, said it has been one of the biggest issues that school leaders have reported to his organization during the pandemic. The issue came up during a recent state Assembly hearing and has plagued districts nationally, too.

“We hear from districts, ‘We’d like to hire more mental health professionals to help, but we can’t find people,’” Lowry said.

Lawmakers have floated a tax incentive for school employees as one way to attract people to school districts, NY1 reported. Lowry pointed to “useful steps” that have already taken place, such as the state education department ending the controversial edTPA certification exam that was previously required of teaching candidates in New York. Separately, Hochul successfully proposed lifting the cap on how much retired school staffers could earn without losing their pensions if they returned to schools, but Lowry noted that law is only in effect for this school year.

“It’s a huge issue — [we’re] not completely sure what to do about it, but continuing the exemption for retirees to work without losing pension benefits is kind of a simple straightforward step to take,” Lowry said.

School leaders also continue to report big challenges in dealing with student mental health, Lowry said, and they’re hoping for more targeted funding to address those concerns.

Federal relief money likely helped districts address some of these issues, but these funds will sunset next year. It’s possible that increases in Foundation Aid can also help. Last year’s budget included $100 million over two years that would be available to school districts as grants to address mental health issues in schools. State officials plan to award those funds through a competitive process they will launch this year, according to a spokesperson for the state education department.

“We don’t see the mental health issues diminishing any time soon,” Lowry said. “We think there will be a need for continuing, targeted funding for schools to help with mental health concerns.”

State looks to compare NYC’s mayoral control to other districts

Last legislative session, lawmakers extended New York City’s mayoral control system of schools — where the mayor effectively has control over policy decisions instead of a school board — by another two years.

This year, Liu said lawmakers will begin looking at how other school governance systems across the nation operate and compare that to “20 years of [mayoral] control experience in New York City and see how to best bring schools forward.”

Liu declined to share more details, including whether there would be public hearings or some sort of formal review. But his comments indicate that lawmakers are interested in potential changes to the city’s governance system when they must again decide in 2024 whether to extend mayoral control.

Their decision this year to extend mayoral control by two years — half of what Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul requested – came with tweaks meant to add more parent representation to the system.

“This year, we have a little bit more breathing space,” Liu said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Half of NYC students are behind in reading. Hundreds of CUNY tutors aim to change that.

2022-12-07T22:09:59+00:00

Just after the school day winds down, a group of three students at Brooklyn’s P.S. 40 sit in a semicircle and crack open “Looking for Lunch,” an illustrated book with large print. With help from a tutor, they begin reading aloud in unison, running their fingers along words like “hungry” and “animals” as they go.

Next door, a student is working with a one-on-one tutor and struggling with a more basic task: forming the word “tan” using small wooden blocks to represent individual sounds. He’s just beginning to grasp the relationships between sounds and letters.

In both classrooms, these first graders are behind their peers and at risk of joining the roughly 50% of city students who are not proficient readers by the time they reach third grade. To help catch them up, P.S. 40 is leaning on an intensive strategy: individualized tutoring at least three times a week.

The program pairs CUNY students studying education with New York City public school children who are struggling to master literacy skills. Known as the CUNY Reading Corps, the effort has grown into one of the largest tutoring initiatives involving pre-service teachers. This year, it’s projected to include more than 800 tutors and reach roughly 2,700 of the city’s public school children, primarily first and second graders.

Researchers have pointed to high-dosage tutoring as a tried-and-true method of reaching students who are struggling or were derailed by the pandemic. Catching up students who are behind — but still at widely varying skill levels — is a significant challenge in a typical classroom with dozens of students. Tutoring in small groups or one-on-one is one way of making that task more manageable, though it can be expensive and challenging to pull off on a large scale.

The Reading Corps program, launched in fall 2020, has helped ease some of those barriers. The idea came from Katie Pace Miles, a Brooklyn College professor and literacy expert who had two main concerns. For one, hands-on teaching opportunities for her education students were upended.

She also worried that more affluent families were able to marshal their own resources, launching learning pods or hiring tutors, creating even larger opportunity gaps compared with thousands of low-income children, many of whom struggled to access remote learning.

“Some children maintained, or gained, or accelerated,” Miles said. “And other children were left with shuttered school buildings and hybrid learning that wasn’t really working for them — and no additional support.”

A high-dosage tutoring program shows promise

The Reading Corps program helped address both of those problems, paying tutors in graduate or undergraduate education programs between $20 to $25 an hour to work with public school children for three to five sessions a week over about 13 weeks.

Before they begin working with children, the tutors receive between six and 12 hours of training in one of two reading programs, both of which include phonics lessons. Reading Ready, which Miles developed herself, is designed for students who are furthest behind, training them how to recognize foundational letter-sound relationships, form words by blending different sounds, and read basic sentences. The lessons typically last about 20 to 30 minutes.

The other program, Reading Rescue, is used across the city and is meant for students who can already recognize letters but are still below grade level. During the 30- to 45-minute sessions, children participate in step-by-step phonics lessons, read texts out loud, and respond to questions about what they’re reading. The lessons are typically delivered individually but sometimes include groups of up to three students.

Since the program launched in 2020, it has grown from 275 tutors to more than 800 at a cost of about $2.9 million for this school year and next summer, an effort that is largely foundation funded.

“Schools were very responsive” to the program, Miles said. “This really started out of urgency and need — and we were trying to go big.”

They initially provided lessons remotely, as the program launched when school buildings were still mostly empty. Even though campuses are now open, the majority of students still participate virtually, logging in from school buildings or from their homes outside of regular school hours.

A P.S. 40 student logs into a virtual tutoring session.

Still, there have been some challenges. Schools aren’t always excited about adding a virtual tutoring program, though Miles said it can be as effective as in-person tutoring. Online sessions also make it easier for tutors to arrive on time and reduce opportunities for viruses to spread. At P.S. 40, the school’s principal pays a teacher to help supervise the students who participate remotely.

Student attendance is not always high, a common stumbling block for tutoring programs. When the Reading Corps first launched, attendance was in the mid 60% range. Last year, attendance was closer to 70% and is now consistently above 70%.

“It takes some students longer to get through the program, just because they’re not always able to make their sessions,” said Erin Croke, CUNY’s director of literacy initiatives. “We really want to get them in and out,” she added, “so that we can then serve more students.”

City officials have said they want more students to receive the kind of systematic reading instruction offered through the Reading Corps program, and are requiring elementary schools to adopt phonics programs approved by the city. But those efforts to improve instruction will likely take time, necessitating remedial strategies in the interim.

“While we spend the time figuring that out, we need to provide students with this service,” Miles said.

CUNY officials say the program is showing signs of effectiveness. However, the tutoring program has not yet been studied rigorously, making it impossible to definitively say how effective it is. Miles said she is in the process of collecting data from student assessments to understand the program’s impact.

Outside experts who are familiar with the research on tutoring said the program is promising and should be studied carefully.

“The CUNY Reading Corps has all the design features that set a tutoring program up to succeed,” said Matthew Kraft, a professor of education and economics at Brown University who called for a national expansion of tutoring to help address learning disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Not all tutoring programs are created equal

At P.S. 40, an elementary school in Bedford-Stuyvesant where more than 90% of students are Black or Latino and 89% come from low-income families, the need for individualized help was clear, Principal Louise Antoine said.

Although challenges with teaching students to read are nothing new, kindergartners have been arriving further behind, unable to identify their letters. Fewer arriving kindergarten students had attended prekindergarten during the pandemic, one reason the principal surmised they were further behind.

“We noticed that a lot of our students are coming in, and they’re not ready to read,” Antoine said.

Antoine previously had mixed experiences with tutoring. The school experimented with a virtual program that students completed from home, but it was costly, the tutors didn’t have much training, and attendance among both students and tutors was spotty. But the Reading Corps program, she said, has been much more effective.

“The tutor has to be invested,” Antoine said. “The tutor has to be trained in how to support children in reading. I learned not every program has those qualities.”

Mary Escobar, an undergraduate student at Hunter College who is tutoring at P.S. 40, said she became interested in teaching literacy skills after helping a child with dyslexia she was babysitting. The CUNY Reading Corps jumped out to her as a chance to receive more formal training and practice in a public school setting.

Even though the Reading Ready lessons she’s delivering are highly regimented, not all of the sessions are a breeze. During a recent afternoon, a student named Kyrie was struggling to focus, squirming in his seat and playfully tossing tiny wooden cubes meant to represent sounds.

After some sessions, “I don’t get that feeling that we actually made progress” Escobar said, “and that’s a tough feeling.” But the goal isn’t just to deliver instruction — it’s also to help her figure out how to adjust and be a more effective teacher once she’s in the classroom full time.

CUNY student Mary Escobar embraces a student at the end of a recent tutoring session.

“I’ve wrestled with how important it is to get the kids focused and believing in themselves and getting positive reinforcement for their effort rather than just trying to get something done,” she said. “What I’m doing with these kids is going to help me down the line with so many other kids.”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

58% of NYC charter schools shrank during COVID, even as the sector grew overall

2022-12-05T11:00:00+00:00

Before the pandemic, Principal Laurie Midgette’s Brooklyn charter school maintained a waitlist 300 names deep. But over the past three years, demand has receded, and her school’s enrollment has dropped by 16%.

It’s forced her to dial up recruitment efforts, advertising in movie theaters and on bus stops. With more open seats, the school is in the process of enrolling about 35 asylum-seeking students who recently arrived in New York.

“This is definitely, for us, a new phenomena,” said Midgette, who runs Cultural Arts Academy Charter School in Brownsville, referring to enrollment drops.

For years, New York City’s charter schools have been known for their steady growth and long waitlists. Even as the number of K-12 students in the city’s district schools plunged about 9% since 2019, charter schools grew by 8% over the same period.

But that overall growth obscures an important part of the story: 58% of the city’s charter schools shrank over the past three years, not including schools that opened or closed during that time. (The official enrollment data sometimes groups multiple campuses under the same charter school.) Some of the city’s flagship networks are also struggling to fill all their campuses, including Uncommon Schools and Success Academy, the city’s largest charter operator.

“There’s a misconception that charter schools aren’t getting hurt by enrollment during the pandemic. But we clearly, clearly did — no question,” said Ron Tabano, the principal and CEO of John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School, which saw its enrollment decline 26% over the past three years. (Tabano said enrollment rebounded somewhat this year, though official counts are not yet available for the 2022-23 school year.)

The declines on many campuses also may complicate the sector’s push to lift the current state cap on charter schools in New York City, as new schools would compete to attract a shrinking student population.

The reasons for enrollment declines are complex, and there likely is not one cause. Multiple charter leaders said they’ve seen an increase in families leaving the city, a claim consistent with district data that showed a spike in the number of students who left last year. Others pointed to broader demographic trends, including falling birth rates, and even competition from new charters in certain neighborhoods.

Principal Laurie Midgette

Midgette, the charter school principal, said her staff surveyed the families who left during the pandemic. The same answer came up again and again: The high cost of living, especially rent, “is driving people away,” she said.

Still, the charter sector — which educates about 14% of the city’s public school students — is adding students overall. One source of that growth are grade expansions, such as a K-5 school that launches with kindergarten and adds a new grade each year. Charters that have added grades or opened have seen enrollment increase 37% since 2019, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of state data. About 4 in 10 charter schools expanded or opened over that period.

Among charter schools that are fully built out, however, enrollment has contracted by 4% over the same time frame. (Unlike charters, few district schools are adding new grade levels. But even among those that are, enrollment has fallen overall.)

Falling enrollment can have financial consequences — forcing staff layoffs or cuts to other programs such as clubs or extracurriculars. Charters are privately managed and typically fundraise, sometimes commanding hefty donations, but they depend on public funding that is largely tied to enrollment.

James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, said maintaining enrollment is crucial, noting that the city’s education department kept school budgets steady for much of the pandemic despite enrollment declines, a boost that charters generally did not have.

“Enrollment is especially important in the charter sector, because in our world there are no hold harmless clauses, supplemental appropriations and legislators won’t be riding over the hill to save us,” Merriman wrote in a statement. Still, he added, “despite the challenging environment, the fact is that charter enrollment grew overall.”

Some NYC charter school networks struggle with enrollment declines

Some of the city’s largest charter networks, which have helped propel the sector’s growth, are also grappling with cooling demand and enrollment declines.

Uncommon Schools, which operates 24 schools in Brooklyn, has seen its enrollment fall by nearly 4% since the 2019-2020 school year. Barbara Martinez, a spokesperson for the network, said that families leaving the city was a “primary reason” for the drop.

“We have seen declines in enrollment like most other NYC schools,” Martinez said in a statement. “We are hopeful that as the world returns to ‘normal,’ that we will see enrollment figures stabilize.”

Success Academy, the city’s largest network with 47 schools, saw enrollment dip about 1% last school year, a notable decline for a network that often boasts of its lengthy waiting lists and whose leaders have previously outlined ambitious plans to reach 100 schools. Still, Success’ enrollment over the past three years has increased nearly 12%, according to state figures. (Success officials said the state data differed from the network’s own enrollment tallies. The network’s data, which Chalkbeat could not verify in state or city reports, still shows a 1% enrollment dip last year and a 9% gain over the last three years.)

“We’ve seen demand slacken in some areas, but we have many schools that are wildly oversubscribed such as our schools in Queens, Bensonhurst and areas of the Bronx,” Ann Powell, a Success Academy spokesperson, wrote in an email. “We intend to expand in those areas.”

In a significant change, Success is also altering its admissions policies next year in ways that could help fill more seats. For the first time, officials are allowing new students from other schools to transfer to Success in the fifth and sixth grades. Network officials previously argued they could not accommodate new students beyond the fourth grade because they might be too far behind.

Powell said the network is making the admissions change because “we’ve gotten more skilled at remediating” and noted that the network has incrementally expanded its backfill policies, though Success remains an outlier as other networks typically backfill across most grade levels.

Ray Domanico, a senior fellow and director of education policy at the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute, said tweaks to admission policies on top of aggressive recruitment weeks after the school year started indicates that charters are competing for a shrinking pool of students, especially as birth rates have declined.

“They’re getting fewer kids and they want to maintain the size of their network and they want to get the funding they need to keep their teachers in place,” Domanico said. “It suggests that something has changed in the environment, which is that there are fewer kids to go around.”

Enrollment drops raise questions about the NYC charter school cap

Loosening demand for seats complicates a long-simmering argument about whether charter schools should be allowed to continue adding campuses in New York City. Opening new charters while the number of students stagnates or shrinks could create significant financial pressure on existing schools or even lead to closures.

For now, the sector is constrained by a quota on the number of charters that can be issued — 290 — which was reached in 2019. But many charter leaders and advocates have pushed to raise the limit, arguing that families should have many schools to choose from.

“Our goal is to provide an excellent education to the highest number of students possible — and in order to do that, we need to lift the cap,” wrote Jane Martinez Dowling, a spokesperson for KIPP, which has seen its enrollment grow during the pandemic and opened three new schools last year that were approved before the cap was reached.

That argument recently gained a powerful ally: Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a gubernatorial debate in October that she supports raising the cap, a position also held by her (since-defeated) Republican opponent, Lee Zeldin.

Raising the cap may still be a longshot, as many Democratic state lawmakers, who hold majorities in Albany and must approve the change, have resisted the idea. A spokesperson for Hochul did not respond to a request for comment about whether raising the cap is a priority.

Meanwhile, others in the charter sector have been more circumspect, including some small charter operators.

Franklin Headley, the principal of VOICE charter school in Queens, said demand for seats has become less predictable than in the past. With less certainty that all seats would be filled, the school admitted about 70 asylum-seeking children after the school year started.

Headley said it’s important that new charter schools continue to take into account where there is the most desire for seats in the application process.

“Is there parent demand for this?” Headley said. “Anybody who is considering lifting the cap, that’s the question they have to ask.”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Kae Petrin is a data & graphics reporter for Chalkbeat. Contact Kae at kpetrin@chalkbeat.org.

Manhattan charter school goes temporarily remote because too many staffers out sick

2022-11-16T23:02:31+00:00

A Manhattan charter school is temporarily switching to remote learning because 17 of its 54 staff members were out sick Tuesday, according to school officials.

Administrators at KIPP Washington Heights Middle School told families in an email Tuesday that the school would go virtual Wednesday through Friday “due to staff shortages associated with staff quarantining and testing positive for COVID,” principal Eric Cato wrote.

The school has a previously scheduled Thanksgiving break for all of next week, meaning in-person classes will resume Nov. 29.

A KIPP spokesperson said the Washington Heights school is the only one in the network to temporarily go remote over health-related staffing issues.

“With COVID-19, RSV and the flu on the rise and impacting numerous staff members at this location, we have made the necessary decision to temporarily go remote to ensure we can maintain a safe level of staffing, with no disruption to learning,” the spokesperson said.

Katrice Bryson, the parent of a seventh grader at the school, said she got several notices of teachers out with COVID in quick succession last week, and wasn’t surprised the school had to temporarily close its building.

Bryson said she had “no problems” with the school’s decision. “I am afraid as an immune-compromised person what that virus can do to me alone.”

Still, even a temporary return to remote learning felt like “deja vu all over again” more than two-and-a-half years into the pandemic, she said.

The KIPP school closure comes as some kids, parents, and educators are grappling with a citywide rise in respiratory illness, especially among children.

The number of student and staff COVID-19 cases reported in city public and charter schools so far this month is up slightly over last month, according to education department data tallied by the group PRESS NYC, though reported cases are still lower than in September, and far lower than during last year’s winter surge driven by the omicron variant.

Last week, a total of 2,925 cases were tallied, compared to 884 during the same week last November, according to the PRESS NYC tabulation. During the peak of last winter’s omicron surge, nearly 70,000 cases were tallied during one week in January.

But it’s not only COVID-19 keeping kids and teachers out of class across the city.

City health officials have recorded a rise in influenza cases, and hospitals have reported more kids filling pediatric beds with respiratory illness.

“This is the first winter since the pandemic began where you have not just COVID to worry about but other respiratory viruses that produce similar illness,” said Jay Varma, the director of the Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response and a former health adviser to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The respiratory viruses have hit all age groups, but particularly children, Varma said. The likeliest explanation for the surge is that COVID-19 mitigation measures had the secondary effect of slowing the spread of the flu and RSV, keeping those viruses at bay for much of the pandemic and halting the short-term immunity that comes with being exposed, he added. Now that those mitigation measures are largely relaxed, the respiratory illnesses are coming back with a vengeance.

That can cause major headaches for both families and schools.

More parents reported missing work last month because of childcare problems than at any other point in the pandemic, according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported by the Washington Post.

So far, citywide student and staff attendance haven’t budged much overall.

Student attendance clocked in at around 88% on both Monday and Tuesday of this week – similar to the yearly average, and an education department spokesperson said staff absences have remained stable since the start of the school year.

Several principals told Chalkbeat they’ve seen elevated student and staff absences in recent days, while others said they haven’t noticed any big differences.

Thanksgiving break for city public schools begins next Thursday.

Some city educators and parents are still heading cautiously into the winter months with the memories of last year’s omicron surge in their minds. That surge in cases drove record levels of student absences and upended school operations.

Varma said it’s still unclear what course the three colliding viruses will take in the coming weeks and months, but said that masking and ventilation are still the most effective tools for schools to help prevent spread.

“If you can make them [high-quality masks] widely available, you can encourage people to use them without mandating them,” he said. “That to me is the appropriate middle ground.”

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.

Where do Hochul and Zeldin stand on education?

2022-11-07T17:29:07+00:00

On the surface, New Yorkers might assume that the state’s candidates for governor — Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Lee Zeldin — would have polar opposite approaches to education if they were elected.

And while that likely holds true in several ways, there are still many open questions about how both would craft policy for schools.

Hochul has not focused much at all on education on the campaign trail, and while her time in office so far provides some clues, her campaign website has no details about her goals for the state’s K-12 schools beyond wanting to invest more money in them.

“As a frontrunner she has little incentive to take sharp or even very precise and specific positions, particularly on policies that are at all controversial, particularly policies that are controversial in suburbs,” said Jeffrey Henig, professor of political science and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

In contrast, Zeldin is “throwing everything at the wall that Republicans are trying in lots of places,” Henig said.

The congressman has proposed several priorities, such as banning “divisive concepts” from being taught in schools related to race — a talking point that conservatives across the country have embraced — but he has not provided more specifics on many of his ideas. Some of his proposals are self explanatory, such as wanting to lift the cap on how many charter schools can open in New York.

Zeldin’s campaign did not respond to questions asking to elaborate on his positions or provide more details.

As the governor’s race nears this fall, here’s what we know about where both fall on education issues:

Curriculum

Zeldin has said he would ban “divisive curriculum that pits children against one another based on race and other factors” — language that’s similar to what conservative lawmakers in other states have pushed for.

His platform does not explicitly talk about critical race theory, or CRT, which is an academic framework for studying systemic racism but has been used by Republicans as an umbrella term for diversity and inclusion efforts. Both city and state officials have said critical race theory is not taught in the city’s and state’s public schools. Both locally and statewide, officials have encouraged schools to teach culturally responsive lessons.

But Zeldin wrote in an opinion article last year that CRT was politicizing education. In it, he blasted a lengthy framework released by the state education department that encourages — but does not mandate — districts to teach culturally responsive lessons, or lessons that relate to and affirm various students’ backgrounds. The department also wants districts to consider acknowledging the role of racism in American history and create lessons that empower students to be “agents of change.”

Zeldin’s platform also calls for restricting “age-inappropriate” sex education, though it does not detail what that means, requiring financial literacy courses in public schools, and civics lessons that “teach students about how and why they get to live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.”

Still, if Zeldin were elected, it’s unlikely that he would be able to successfully ban schools from teaching about race since the state legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic and unsupportive of such policies. For example, a bill seeking to ban critical race theory in schools didn’t make it out of committee last year.

“You may see outside money and national organizations try to come in and really sort of add amplitude to those messages around parental rights and critical race theory and gender identity issues,” Henig said. “I don’t want to discount the importance of how people talk about things, but the impact on actual policy would be delayed, at best.”

So far, Hochul has not taken a strong position on what sorts of curriculum or learning standards she supports in schools. When pressed about a New York Times investigation that revealed a lack of basic lessons in core subjects, such as English, in Hasidic yeshivas, Hochul said responsibility over those private religious schools fell to the state education department, not her office. (Zeldin has been supportive of the Hasidic yeshivas, and has been courting the vote of the Orthodox and Hasidic communities, the New York Times reported.)

Asked where Hochul stands on curriculum, her campaign pointed to an ABC 7 story from May, where she said she supported a bill that would have required New York schools to teach about Asian American history. (The bill did not move out of committee.) They also pointed to a bill she signed that requires the state education department to ensure school districts are meeting requirements to teach children about the Holocaust — an idea that Zeldin also supports.

Traditional public schools vs. charter schools

Zeldin has expressed substantial support for school choice and charter schools. In fact, he first announced his education agenda last spring outside of a Success Academy school in Queens.

Zeldin supports lifting the cap on how many charter schools can open in New York, which was reached in the city in 2019. He also wants to establish “tax credits for school choice” and create education savings accounts, but doesn’t provide more details. With an education savings account, parents can withdraw their children from public schools and receive tax dollars in a restricted-use account to pay for private school or other educational options like therapy.

The state legislature so far has not supported lifting the charter cap.

Zeldin’s platform online says he wants more options for “technical grade school level learning, experience and certification,” though it’s unclear if he’s referring to career preparation programs or something else.

On the city level, Zeldin saw eye to eye with Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul on extending mayoral control of schools. And, like Adams, Zeldin also supports keeping the controversial admissions exam in place for the city’s specialized high schools, as well as “advanced and specialized” academics. He’s earned the support of some parents who favor screened admissions to the city’s public middle and high schools and “gifted and talented” programs.

During a debate with Zeldin on Oct. 25, Hochul also said she supported lifting the charter school cap, which seemed to be the first time she said that publicly. [Note: This story originally published before the debate and was updated to reflect her comment.] She’s repeatedly touted overseeing a budget that sent more state money to school districts as the result of an agreement to fully fund Foundation Aid, the state funding formula that sends more money to higher needs districts.

Hochul has taken an interest in boosting mental health resources for students, ensuring more children go to college, specifically by expanding college tuition assistance to part-time students in New York, and has attempted to address the teacher shortage by expanding alternative teacher certification programs and temporarily waiving an income cap for teacher retirees who want to return to the profession.

She also signed a popular bill that requires lower class sizes in New York City, which was celebrated by many families, the teachers union, and advocates. City officials and some conservative parent groups pushed back, arguing the mandate would pull money away from other services for students.

School budgets and enrollment

Neither Hochul nor Zeldin have addressed one of the most critical issues facing public schools: dipping enrollment.

Enrollment in traditional public schools has dropped by more than 2% nationwide since the onset of the pandemic, and by about 9.5% in New York City public schools. Changes in enrollment have big implications for school budgets that are closely tied to the number of students in classrooms. That issue is already playing out in New York City, where three-quarters of schools saw cuts in the funding that pays for staff and programs for students.

Zeldin’s education platform doesn’t address the issue. While Hochul has touted her commitment to boosting funding for public schools, she has not addressed what to do about enrollment changes across the state.

“What you see on the Hochul side is, ‘Yes, we support education, we are willing to spend more on it,’ but kind of resisting what progressive forces might want to see on the campaign, in terms of challenging basic funding formulas in ways that might not play well in wealthy or more affluent communities that would see this as redirecting state monies away from them and towards lower-income communities,” Henig said.

COVID policies

Most COVID mitigations for schools have ended, so it’s not likely that the election of either candidate would drastically change that.

Both Zeldin and Hochul have supported peeling back COVID mitigations, such as masking, with Hochul recently calling remote learning a “mistake.” But Zeldin has pushed harder to remove all sorts of mandates.

While Hochul ended mask mandates, she also oversaw sending at-home COVID tests to schools and has touted keeping schools open during a major surge in infections last winter, though in-person instruction was still severely disrupted. (She’s come under fire in recent weeks for a deal she made when choosing a vendor for those tests.)

Zeldin has opposed COVID vaccine and mask mandates. If elected, he may press Adams to drop a vaccine mandate in place for New York City schools staff. At one point, Hochul expressed support for requiring children to get COVID vaccines. The state legislature would have to pass a bill that added COVID vaccines to the list of already required shots for school children, according to the New York Times.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Facing enrollment drop, one Bronx middle school tries its hand at marketing

2022-11-02T22:33:36+00:00

Will Frackelton held a microphone in front of dozens of his seventh and eighth graders, wriggling in their seats in the auditorium that they share with two other Bronx schools.

Students and staff from Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship, where Frackelton is the principal, had gathered for a town hall last month that covered school safety, high school applications, and other topics. Before dismissing them, Frackelton made an unusual request: Would they help market the school over the next two weeks?

“I know you know kids that are in middle schools that are not happy, that don’t treat them like kids,” the middle school’s leader told the students. “I got 25 spots in the sixth grade, 25 spots in the seventh grade, 25 spots in the eighth grade, and if I don’t fill them with kids in 18 days, they’re gonna ask me this summer to let a bunch of teachers go.”

Frackelton’s request reflects a precarious budget situation facing many schools in a system where school funding is largely tied to enrollment, and enrollment has been plunging.

At the end of September, higher-ups at the education department informed Frackelton that they overestimated their enrollment projections used to calculate his school’s budget this year. With 75 fewer students than projected, his school owed the department about $750,000. If his roster didn’t grow by Oct. 31, he would either have to let go of several new teachers, or put the debt off until next year.

But Frackelton saw a third choice: Enroll 75 children before the deadline.

By the middle of the month, Frackelton had created a flier and a video to share on social media to entice families to enroll their children at Soundview, with the help of a former colleague who specializes in video production. Now, he was asking parents, staff and students, if they liked the school, to share the material everywhere.

Frackelton made this plea: “Find a kid, save a teacher.”

Enrollment declines put schools in tight spot

Many schools across New York City are facing enrollment declines. With 9.5% fewer students since the pandemic, most schools have seen budget cuts. As a result, many have larger class sizes and cuts to enrichment activities or extra programs for students.

During the pandemic, schools were held harmless for losing more students than projected. Now, schools are once again facing what is known as the “mid-year adjustment” — owing money if your roster is less than projected, or getting more if your numbers are higher. Department officials did not answer questions about how many schools fell below projections and owed money.

At the start of this school year, Soundview Academy enrolled just under 300 students, hitting a decade low. Though enrollment has dropped across the city since 2015, Soundview’s student body had been growing — until the pandemic.

Education department enrollment projections are rarely an exact science. Over the past decade, Soundview typically enrolled more students than projected. This year, they signed up 350 students by summertime. By September, staff were surprised that 75 of those children failed to show up. Frackelton assumed most had fled to charters, but found out only 11% of them did so. Nearly 60% left New York City. About 20% enrolled in other schools within Soundview’s district. The rest went to other district schools.

“In a post-pandemic New York public school reality, there’s just less kids, right, and there was no strategic plan,” for how schools like his should respond, Frackelton said. “So I decided, I’m just going to go for broke and see if we can come up with our own marketing strategy.”

Soundview Academy gets creative

By the day of the student town hall on Oct. 14, Frackelton’s school had enrolled roughly 10 more kids since he got the warning letter from the education department. That left 65 to go.

Kevin Lopez, a former staffer under Frackelton who is now an assistant principal at Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design, filmed footage for a 15-second promotional video at no cost to the school. It features Frackelton’s voice and clips of a couple of students talking about the school, as well as clips of students in classrooms.

It ends with an overhead shot of the school building and the school’s official seal, with the words, “WE CHOOSE YOU, ENROLL NOW!”

All fifth graders must apply to get into middle school in New York City. Like most city middle schools now, Soundview doesn’t screen elementary school students who want to enroll. It is also a community school this year, meaning that, because they serve a large share of high-needs students, the school partners with a nonprofit organization to provide wraparound support for children.

On the day before the student town hall, Frackelton’s team shared the promotional video on Instagram. During a parent association meeting that same evening, he pleaded with parents to spread the word on social media.

“I need you to come in tomorrow and grab some fliers, go to the buses, go to the trains, go down to that school, Bronx Charter [School] For The Arts, and get our kids back,” Frackelton told the group. (Bronx Charter School For the Arts did not immediately respond for comment.)

One of those new teachers is ErrDaisha Floyd, who teaches seventh grade social studies and is in her first year of teaching. Students are struggling more than she anticipated with reading difficult texts and staying focused. It’s been easier to help children one-on-one during periods when she has a special education teacher assist her class.

If there are big cuts to staff next year, it’s going to make school even harder, she believes.

“It’s just not fair for the students or the teachers because there will be a lot of students whose needs are not being met,” Floyd said.

Choosing to let go of teachers now would destroy the school’s programming, Frackelton said, right as staff is trying to help get students on grade level in reading and math, including through special periods dedicated to improving phonics and reading skills. Just under 6% of Soundview students passed state math tests last school year, compared with about 27% before the pandemic, but reading proficiency levels stayed about the same, with about 30% of students passing, according to data from the city and state. However, far fewer children took the tests last school year compared with 2019, making it difficult to make comparisons.

While Frackelton doesn’t believe the cuts would directly affect core instruction in reading and math, it’s likely that class sizes would grow. And funding cuts would mean paring back their dual language program — the only such middle school program in their district — far less arts and dance programming and courses in the school’s new technology lab that has 3D printers. Those are activities that the school pushes children to get involved in so that they can “find motivation” beyond academics, he said.

Cuts could also hamper the school’s efforts to pair students with teacher mentors. Those mentors currently have 10-15 students each and check in with them three times a day, but cuts to funding would mean cuts to staff, making it harder for teachers to build those connections. Many of the school’s children, 83% of whom are living in poverty and several of whom are transferring in from another school for safety reasons, benefit from having someone to talk to, Frackelton said.

Soundview’s focus on things beyond academics is what first attracted Farah Despeignes, the president of the parent association, to the school a few years ago. Her son didn’t want to attend their zoned school, so he applied to Soundview. He began pursuing dance, gymnastics, and cooking— activities he used to think of as reserved for girls — and began questioning traditional gender roles and stereotypes.

“It actually helped him to grow quite a bit,” Despeignes said of her son, now in high school.

He started at Townsend Harris High School in Queens this year, and her younger son is now an eighth grader at Soundview after they were both home-schooled last year.

Despeignes worried her children would get sick and that there were not enough social-emotional resources for students and staff — not just at Soundview, but citywide.

She sensed many families felt the same last school year and wondered if that’s why people left.

“We didn’t see that support network and those wraparound services,” Despeignes said. “For those reasons, I think that’s what created the situation we are seeing now.”

She also spread the word about the school, but she knew it would be hard to attract families who had already settled into their choices for the year. She’s hoping to share her view that things have been going well for her eighth grader.

“So far, so good,” she said.

Efforts fall short

By Oct. 25 — six days until the deadline — the school had enrolled about 15 new students.

But five had left.

Still the debt to the education department dropped significantly. The school now owes $490,000, Frackelton said.

His new goal is to get more students enrolled by next fall.

One day past the deadline, on Nov. 1, the school held its middle school fair. Frackelton said many people attended, and they handed out fliers left and right.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Nearly 10% of NYC students were homeless last year, according to report

2022-10-26T10:00:00+00:00

Nearly 1 in 10 students in New York City public schools were homeless last school year, a rate that has stayed largely unchanged for the past six years, even as enrollment has dropped, according to new data released Wednesday.

A total 104,383 children lacked permanent housing last school year across district and charter schools, according to an annual report released by Advocates For Children New York, an organization that advocates on behalf of the city’s highest needs students.

Of those children, about two-thirds were “doubled up,” which means they shared a home with relatives or others because of financial challenges that prevented them from having their own home. Another 28% of these students were living in city shelters, while 5% of students were completely unsheltered — living in places like cars, parks, and abandoned buildings, according to the report. Nearly 360 children lived in hotels or motels.

The share of students who are homeless has largely not budged even as public school enrollment has dipped by 9.5% since the pandemic. This school year, schools also are facing a new challenge: enrolling and supporting thousands of new students in shelters, who are largely believed to be asylum-seeking children from South American countries.

“If these 100,000 children made up their own school district, it would be a district larger than 99.5% of all other districts nationwide,” Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children, said in a statement. “While the city works to address the underlying issue of homelessness, we also must ensure that students who are homeless get to class every day and receive the targeted supports they need to succeed in school.”

The increase comes as New York City has seen a steep rise in the number of homeless families with children entering shelters every night, according to city data. Rising housing costs and inflation have likely strained families across the five boroughs.

The number of students without stable housing grew by more than 3% across district and charter schools last school year, when children returned to classrooms full time for the first time since the pandemic hit. The data released Wednesday represents last school year. It follows a 9.5% dip during the 2020-21 school year — but advocates warned that could have been an undercount since most students were learning remotely at the time, making it tougher for educators to identify homeless students.

The rates of homeless students vary widely across different boroughs and community school districts. More than 20% of students were homeless in Bronx’s District 9, the highest rate of any of the city’s 32 districts. In contrast, just under 4% of Staten Island students lacked permanent housing.

Boroughs that tend to enroll a lower share of homeless students saw some of the largest increases last year. Queens saw the highest, with a 12% increase in homeless students, followed by a 7.1% increase in Staten Island.

It’s not clear why those boroughs saw such a steep rise, said Jennifer Pringle, director of Project Learning in Temporary Housing for Advocates for Children. She noted that the pandemic severely impacted Queens, in terms of illness, deaths and job losses. For example, Queens saw job losses at a rate higher than any other borough when the pandemic first hit, according to a report by the state comptroller.

Homeless students face transportation hurdles

Students who are homeless can face many challenges getting to school. In New York City, homeless students in grades K-6 are entitled to transportation to their schools, but families have often struggled to secure reliable busing. When they do get transportation, students in shelters that are far from their schools may face an hours-long commute.

Sometimes families opt to transfer their children’s schools to ease the commute, but that can also have significant drawbacks. One study from 2015 found that New York City students who transferred schools, which occurred more frequently among homeless students, were more likely to be chronically absent. Homeless students who were chronically absent, or missed at least 10% of school days, were three times more likely to repeat the same grade, compared to their homeless peers who missed fewer than five days of school, that report found.

While graduation data for last school year is not yet available, in the 2020-21 school year, just 70% of students who were homeless graduated, compared with 81% of all students. Twelve percent of those students dropped out, compared with 5% of all children.

This summer, Tanika Lashley was placed in a Manhattan shelter despite sharing with Department of Homeless Services staff that her son attends school in Williamsburg. When school started, his father would pick him up daily, following an overnight work shift, and drive him to school during rush hour, Lashley said. During the two weeks that it took for the education department to set up a bus route, Lashley’s son would arrive at school at 11 a.m., missing morning English lessons and earning low marks in the subject on his progress reports, Lashley said.

In the meantime, Lashley was written up at work for lateness because she had to wait for her son to be picked up before she could leave. She didn’t want to transfer her son to another school because she didn’t want to cause more disruption.

“Why should I have to pull him out of a school that he loves?” Lashley said.

A social worker at her son’s school connected her to Advocates For Children, which helped her request a shelter transfer. She entered the new shelter last week, located 20 minutes away from his school, and is waiting for officials to set up a new route for her son. But since they’re closer, her son is getting there on time with the help of his father.

“It’s really hard for mothers, especially single mothers, who are doing it on their own,” Lashley said. “This should not be interfering with a kid’s situation — they’re already going through homelessness.”

The data comes as the city has seen an influx of students seeking asylum from South American countries who are living in shelters, posing a new challenge for schools.

Helping asylum-seeking students in shelters

Schools this year have already enrolled roughly 6,000 new students living in shelters, largely believed to be asylum-seeking students. On top of the extra support that students in shelters need, many of these children are also learning English as a new language and need access to teachers and social workers who speak Spanish — something some schools have struggled to provide this year as they faced budget cuts.

For months, advocates have called for the city to begin hiring 100 shelter-based community coordinators, who are supposed to help families navigate the school system. The education department has not yet hired any of these staffers but has “begun the hiring process” and expects to hire people “soon,” said spokesperson Suzan Sumer.

There are currently 117 shelter-based “family assistants” who are supposed to ensure that families are getting help with enrollment, transportation, and other school-related issues, according to the department. There are also 107 school-based staffers who are tasked with identifying homeless students and ensuring they’re attending school.

In some school communities, parent volunteers are banding together to collect basic supplies for the new asylum-seeking families. At 75 Morton middle school in Greenwich Village, where about 45 newcomers have enrolled, the parent-teacher association has arranged a clothing drive and collected toiletries, backpacks and school supplies for new students and families, said Rebecca Lupardo, co-president of the PTA.

The school librarian created an Amazon wishlist for Spanish texts and, within three days, received 75 books, Lupardo said.

“They may stay in New York City, or they may find a home elsewhere or a better situation, or someone they know in another state even,” Lupardo said. “We’re providing for them in the best possible way we can.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NAEP scores show record drop in math for New York City’s fourth graders, but not in reading

2022-10-24T04:01:00+00:00

Frequent disruptions during the past few school years have left parents and educators questioning how much New York City children have fallen behind academically during the pandemic.

New results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP — given to a random sampling of fourth and eighth graders — provide a complicated answer.

Math scores for the city’s fourth graders fell by a record 9 points compared with 2019, the last time the exam was administered, while the 4-point drop for eighth graders was not considered a significant change by researchers. Perhaps surprisingly, fourth and eighth grade reading scores stayed about the same.

Fourth grade math scores on the exam known as the “nation’s report card” mirrored trends across the United States, showing historic drops in the subject. But results from the five boroughs did not line up with the national dip in reading scores.

Still, New York City’s scores on math and reading remained below national and New York state averages.

Though the state’s trends were similar to national ones, New York still has “work to do to get students to where they need to be, not just academically but social emotionally as well,” said Emily DeSantis, a spokesperson for the state education department.

The pandemic exacerbated many of the inequities that already pervaded the school system. It left students, families, and teachers dealing with multiple crises, including the deaths of loved ones, illness and long stretches of isolation. And even as campuses reopened last year, learning continued to be interrupted for many children. More than 40% of students were chronically absent last year, missing at least 18 days of school.

The NAEP results provide the first authoritative insight on where students may need extra help and where districts should consider dedicating their resources, such as federal relief dollars that are set to run out in 2024.

“We have to be committed for the long haul to get students the support they need, to make sure schools have the resources and training they need to be able to provide that support, and not to just expect that in 2024, we’re done with this,” said Sarah Part, policy analyst for Advocates For Children New York, which supports the city’s highest need students.

“There will be rippled effects for the next decade, probably,” she said.

Just 18% of the city’s fourth graders were proficient in math, compared with 24% in 2019. Levels that low in New York City have not been seen for nearly 20 years, according to the results.

Compared to other urban districts, the city’s results were mixed. For example, eighth grade math and fourth grade reading scores were slightly higher than other urban districts, while eighth grade reading was on par with others.

NAEP scores, unlike state tests, haven’t changed over time, making it possible to compare scores over the years and compare students across different states. But one complicating factor for many districts is declining enrollment: if a different pool of students takes the tests, it could affect scores.

Racial disparities in NAEP scores

There were large disparities among white and Asian American students compared with their Black and Hispanic peers. In fourth grade math, for instance, just 11% of Black and Hispanic students scored proficiently, compared with 39% of white students and 48% of Asian American students. In eighth grade math, just 6% of Black students were proficient, compared with 12% of Hispanic students, 46% of white students and 58% of those who are Asian American.

New York City schools Chancellor David Banks highlighted these disparities and said the results show “far too many of our students are not achieving proficiency” in math and reading.

“I firmly believe that every student can achieve excellence and every school has the capacity to make that happen — we just need to support them getting there,” Banks said in a statement.

Students of color, especially those who are immigrants and come from low-income families, were more likely to lose loved ones, have parents who lost work, or be charged with extra responsibilities, such as caring for younger siblings, said Part, of Advocates for Children.

One federal report found that half of low-income families reported someone in their household losing work or getting a pay cut in 2020. In New York City, Black and Hispanic workers were more likely to be required to work in person, increasing their risk for becoming infected with COVID, according to the report.

“Even if the kid is very young and doesn’t totally understand the details of what’s going on, they sense that their parents are super stressed out and things are not good,” Part said. “All of that affects their ability to learn and focus and get the most out of instruction.”

To help students recover academically from the pandemic, city officials had dedicated more than $750 million toward academic recovery programs and extra services for students with disabilities to be used through 2024, including sending hundreds of millions of dollars directly to schools to create tutoring and enrichment programs. Schools struggled to spend that money last year.

Part’s organization has called on the city’s education department to use COVID dollars for more targeted academic interventions, such as more evidence-based reading interventions. City officials have plans to screen every child for reading challenges and have required schools to spend a portion of their relief dollars on literacy efforts.

What is NAEP?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, pronounced nape) is a test administered by an arm of the U.S. Department of Education. It’s given periodically to a representative subset of American students in math and reading in grades four and eight. Scores are broken down by state and for a select handful of cities, too. The latest results are based on tests given between January and March 2022. The previous test was given in 2019, before the pandemic. Unlike state exams or tests students might take for a regular class, these tests are low stakes for individual students, teachers, and schools. In other words, results aren’t used to, say, evaluate teachers or grade students. Scores from a separate NAEP exam that has been given to 9-year-olds for many decades were previously released in September.

How should I interpret the results?

Results are based on a sample of students, so there is a margin of error — or uncertainty — in the scores. This is particularly important for reading the state and city scores, which have higher margins of error than the country as a whole. This margin of error also determines whether a score change is statistically “significant.” A score change is considered statistically significant when the increase or decrease exceeds the margin of error — that is, when researchers are confident that the change is different than zero.

- Matt Barnum

Hurdles in catching kids up

Though the city’s eighth graders didn’t see statistically significant changes in reading or math scores on NAEP, along with fourth grade reading scores, state tests point to more concerning declines.

Unlike NAEP, eighth grade math scores fell significantly, by 11 percentage points.

In line with the NAEP scores, however, reading scores grew slightly for eighth graders on their state tests.

(Education officials said it’s difficult to compare state test scores to 2019, since about 20% fewer city students took state exams last year due to enrollment declines, as well as children opting out of the tests.)

New York City has also administered its own school-based assessments for core subjects, but has refused to publicly release those results.

This year, schools are facing new challenges. Due to declining enrollment, city officials cut budgets at three-quarters of city schools. Many were forced to let go of teachers, increase class sizes, and cut back on enrichment. Despite pressure from City Council and advocates, Mayor Eric Adams declined to use billions of remaining COVID dollars to cover these cuts.

Many educators argue that those cuts have made it tough for schools to help students recover, both academically and socially. The department also has sent less money directly to schools this year for academic recovery and pared back its program for students with disabilities.

At one Bronx middle school whose students were part of the NAEP testing pool, the job of teaching has become especially tough, said art teacher Jake Jacobs.

Last school year, following multiple resignations, the school was short two science teachers. Educators licensed in other subjects, such as math, had to fill in, meaning they didn’t always have enough time to plan lessons for their other courses, said Jacobs.

“I just think it is really unfair to those kids,” said Jacobs, who was among the teachers filling in.

About 90% of their students come from low-income families. One in five has a disability, while another quarter are learning English as a new language. Educators charged with helping these children have felt stretched thin. Many students were below grade level even before the pandemic, and many didn’t show up during remote learning, Jacobs said.

Educators have been assessing students and meeting to determine how to best use those results. For Jacobs, the efforts feel like an uphill battle: They’re spending days preparing children for various assessments, but he wants more time helping children one-on-one and getting them more interested in school.

“On the ground, when you’re an actual teacher in the classroom, it’s really intrusive to take so many tests,” Jacobs said.

For Elisa Capers’ fifth-grade daughter, who enjoys reading but struggles with math, it was tough “getting back into the groove” after spending part of second grade and all of third grade in remote learning. Returning last year, she felt overwhelmed by worksheets and more challenging lessons.

“It was right back into it,” said Capers, an East Harlem mom who works as an educational consultant. “The kids developmentally and socially just weren’t there yet. I think that turned a lot of the kids off.”

Like most city students, her daughter did not score proficient on state reading or math exams.

Capers thinks her daughter is in a better place now, after a full year of in-person learning. There are some signs of progress. Her school-based assessments show that she’s reading on grade level, and she’s regularly thumbing through comics and graphic novels on her tablet. She’s one grade level behind in math, and Capers has signed her up for math tutoring with Kumon.

Still, Capers has emphasized to her daughter that her scores on state tests or other standardized exams doesn’t mean she’s failed.

“I tried to make light of it and told her this doesn’t define you, I know what you’re able to do,” Capers said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NY state officials seek to ‘shift the narrative’ around struggling schools

2022-10-03T23:30:04+00:00

After a two-year pause brought on by the pandemic, New York state officials are restarting their system for identifying struggling schools.

In doing so, officials want to begin to “shift the narrative” about how low-performing schools are viewed by the public, state officials said Monday during the Board of Regents meeting.

“When we talk about a ‘good school,’ who are we including and who are we excluding?” asked State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa.

As part of the shift, officials this year plan to relabel schools considered in good standing as “schools identified for Local Support and Improvement, or LSI.” The label is similar to those used for struggling schools. For example, the lowest-performing schools used to be called Comprehensive Support and Improvement schools, or CSI, but will now be called “schools identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement.”

The changes are supposed to be reflective of a system that pushes for improvements and support for all students, officials said, referring to the model as “continuous improvement.”

Asked if parents could get confused, officials said they’re planning to share more resources with families that clarify the changes, though they did not provide specifics.

The Board of Regents is set to pass the tweaked plan on Tuesday. The plan will then go out for public comment, which officials said they will review and could potentially propose additional changes later this winter. School accountability determinations won’t be released before that process is done.

Officials determine whether a school is struggling based on information from previous school years. For this school year, the metrics that officials began using in 2019 will be tweaked or paused altogether, officials said, citing the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

The state education department will use state test scores or Regents exam results from 2021-22 to look at student performance in math, reading and science, but they won’t measure student growth because there isn’t more complete data from before last school year.

Officials will, however, use older data to look at trends in graduation rates, which have risen during the pandemic as the state paused Regents exams. They will also look at older data to measure English proficiency rates among students who are learning English as a new language.

Additionally, at high schools, officials won’t measure college and career readiness, which previously was determined by looking at how many students earned advanced diplomas, career certificates or took accelerated classes.

Accountability measures for a school’s graduation rate and chronic absenteeism – defined as a student missing 10% or more school days — will be considered through percentile rankings, meaning officials will study how students in specific subgroups compare to each other.

While these changes will be temporary and will only be in effect for this school year, officials signaled they could be the start of more permanent tweaks to how the state labels schools.

“The plan approved by [the U.S. Department of Education] lays the groundwork for systemic changes to our state’s accountability plan to make it more responsive to our parents and communities while meeting the needs of all New York State students,” said Chancellor Lester Young Jr. in a statement. “Our accountability system builds on our work to improve academic achievement, provide equitable support systems, and enhance customer service.”

Measuring how well schools are doing is required by the federal government. Specifically, at least 5% of the state’s Title I schools, or those that serve a large share of low-income students, must be identified as needing extra support.

But as the pandemic took hold and state assessments were paused, such requirements were waived. New York state officials tried to get another waiver for this school year, but federal officials denied that request. Instead, state officials proposed a modified accountability plan, which federal officials approved last week.

In 2019, New York officials created a new accountability system that, most significantly, took into account whether students were growing in reading and math. The system still used state test scores and graduation rates as ways to determine academic progress at schools, but they also measured college and career readiness and chronic absenteeism.

Even before the pandemic, state officials did not aggressively intervene in schools they determined to be struggling. As required by the federal government, those schools are required to create plans for how they’ll improve.

Jeff Smink, deputy director of Education Trust New York, said his organization is glad the state is restarting the accountability system, and much of the tweaks presented Monday appear to be technical changes due to the lack of data from the last couple of years.

While Smink acknowledged that graduation rates must be one of the indicators for high school, he’s worried that it won’t be a very accurate measure, given that the state waived Regents exams as the public health crisis wore on — making it easier to graduate. Smink is also concerned that the state hasn’t yet released statewide test scores so that schools have “baseline data” on reading and math. Schools also need context on how they compare to other districts, Smink said.

“Not having any data for the last two years made it clear how important it is to have assessment data because it feels like the public is flying blind without it,” Smink said.

The temporary changes rolled out on Monday made sense to Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College and an expert in testing because the pandemic made it impossible to look at student growth before last school year. Few students actually took state exams in 2020-21; just one-fifth of children took the tests in New York City at the time.

Many other states are “probably all in the same boat,” Pallas added.

The “narrative shift” also is reflective of this newer Board of Regents and state education department, which has seen some turnover in recent years and does not like to focus heavily on test scores, Pallas said.

“All of that suggests wanting to come up with terminology that doesn’t stigmatize those schools,” Pallas said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC test scores drop in math, increase in reading

2022-09-28T17:53:55+00:00

Nearly half of New York City’s third through eighth graders passed their state reading tests last school year, while about 38% passed math, according to scores released by city officials Wednesday.

The scores are the first measure of how students across the five boroughs have fared in reading and math since the coronavirus pandemic upended in-person schooling and left many children grappling with isolation and grief. Though schools gave students other city-mandated assessments last year, officials have refused to publicly release the results.

“During the pandemic, kids went through all kinds of challenges that they’re still recovering from,” schools Chancellor David Banks told reporters Wednesday. “No matter what the latest test results tell you, I can tell you the system is broken in far too many ways. We are trying to create a new way forward.”

Overall reading scores increased slightly, up 1.6 percentage points from 2019, while math scores dropped significantly, down 7.6 percentage points. The city didn’t release results for charter schools.

Looking at grade-by-grade data, however, provides a different picture for reading scores: For the youngest students, third and fourth graders, scores fell by 4 percentage points and 6 percentage points respectively.

City officials compared the scores to 2019 results, noting the past two years of disruptions. The state canceled the exams in 2020. The following year, the state allowed families to opt into taking them the following year. Just one-fifth of city students took them.

State officials, however, cautioned against comparing the test results to 2019 because of the ongoing effects of the pandemic and the “different rates of participation among students.” Roughly 10% of city students opted out of either reading or math exams, compared with 4% in 2019, education department officials said.

The percentage of children who passed math tests dropped for every major student group, with the largest decline among Latino students, by 10 percentage points. In contrast, passing rates for reading grew for every student group, with the largest increase among students known as “ever ELLs,” or students who were once considered learning English as a new language but are not anymore.

Disparities remained between white and Asian American students compared with their Black and Latino peers. About 70.5% of Asian American and 67% of white students passed reading exams, compared with 35.8% of students who are Black and 36.8% who are Latino. For math, 68.3% of Asian American students and 58.5% of white students passed compared with 20.6% of Black children and 23.3% of Latino students.

Disparities also persisted among students with higher needs. Among students with disabilities, 18.3% passed reading and 14.4% passed math. Among students learning English as a new language, 12.7% passed reading, while 15% scored proficient in math.

The scores could be one tool for schools to understand which students need more support this year. In response to the dip in national test scores, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said schools should be prioritizing COVID relief funds to boost academic support and extra tutoring.

However, as federal funds dry up, schools are receiving less money this year to create extra tutoring programs or provide extra support to students with disabilities. And unlike last year, schools can use that pool of money to hire staff as schools grapple with budget cuts, tied to projected declining enrollment.

Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College and an expert in testing, doesn’t believe the scores can be compared to 2019 because of declining enrollment and higher opt-out rates. Compared with 2019, 21% fewer children took math tests and 18% fewer children sat for reading tests, according to city data.

Pallas said he expects people to use the scores to bolster arguments that traditional public schools don’t work, as Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin has, but that there’s not enough information to make those conclusions.

“Quite honestly, I don’t really think [the scores are] that useful, certainly not for building level or district-level decisions about the allocation of resources,” Pallas said, adding that parents also won’t have the right context to understand their children’s results.

Some advocates said the scores signal that schools need more resources, particularly for younger children who were learning to read when the pandemic first hit, pointing to the dip in reading pass rates for third and fourth graders. Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children New York, said “it will be critical” to learn from new programs focused on improving literacy.

The scores could be a factor in middle and high school admissions this year. Schools that screen students were previously allowed to use test scores as one factor for admission, but that was paused during the pandemic and barred last year under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. City officials are expected to announce this year’s admissions criteria soon.

Banks has been critical of standardized testing, saying that schools that are laser-focused on exams can’t offer a “fully comprehensive learning experience.” On Wednesday, after touring classrooms at his alma mater, Hillcrest High School, Banks emphasized that the measure of student success is whether they’ll be prepared for quality jobs after they graduate.

“The return on investment is not the scores that they got on standardized exams,” Banks said. “Test scores are important, but they’re not everything.”

Unlike past years, Wednesday’s test scores could not immediately be compared to other New York districts or even statewide. In a departure, this year’s scores were released by New York City rather than the state, which has not yet released statewide results.

After initially barring districts from sharing the scores, state officials gave the OK last week for local districts.

Officials plan to release statewide scores sometime this fall, but have not said when, and blamed the delay on a cumbersome process for releasing both preliminary and final scores this year.

Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC plans to end school-based COVID testing program this fall, source says

2022-08-12T19:38:58+00:00

New York City is planning to end its program to administer weekly coronavirus tests to a random sample of students, Chalkbeat has learned, removing one of the last standing campus COVID safety measures.

The decision to discontinue on-site PCR testing after summer school ends was communicated internally last month, a source with knowledge of the program said.

“The city decided it was no longer necessary,” the source said, noting that a specific rationale wasn’t provided. Chalkbeat also reviewed communications that suggest the program is ending.

A City Hall spokesperson denied that the city’s plans for the fall have been finalized, but did not directly dispute that the city is moving away from in-school PCR testing.

“To be clear, no final decisions have been announced about testing in schools in the coming year,” wrote Amaris Cockfield, a mayoral spokesperson. “Anyone saying otherwise is speaking with absolutely no authority. We are still finalizing plans to keep schools safe and open this year, and will communicate our plan with families when there is an actual decision.”

One of the labs involved with the in-school testing program confirmed their contract is ending after this story initially published.

“NYC hasn’t renewed testing contracts with any of the providers it used the last two years,” wrote Nicole Borsje, a spokesperson for Fulgent Genetics, one of the four companies that helped run the random PCR testing program.

Launched in fall 2020 as the city reopened school buildings for the first time, the program aimed to detect large outbreaks in schools and offer big-picture data about whether mitigation measures such as masks and social distancing were keeping the virus in check.

But the pandemic’s course — and the city’s responses to it — has changed significantly since the testing program was first conceived. Some public health experts had previously questioned whether the testing program was worth the expense at upwards of $30 million a month. (The program was initially supported by a $251 million federal grant though city officials have not revealed the program’s total cost.)

City officials have not yet shared what COVID safety measures will be in place next school year or what the city’s testing strategy might be. Last school year, schools initially sent home rapid kits to students and staff when they were exposed to someone in their classroom who tested positive, and later sent them home to everyone as a preventive measure. The goal was to identify cases when someone wasn’t feeling well, as well as to help clear them to return to buildings faster.

Dr. Jay Varma, a top health advisor to former Mayor Bill de Blasio who designed the in-school testing program, said that it could be appropriate to end the testing program as long as the city supplies rapid tests. Gov. Kathy Hochul has indicated the state is planning to make millions of rapid tests available to schools this fall.

“If every kid is going to get a supply of them weekly, then I think the city does not need to continue routine PCR screening,” Varma wrote in a message to Chalkbeat.

The city’s teachers union has been a major advocate for expanding the in-school PCR program, which allowed up to 10% of staff to be tested weekly by the end of last school year, though educators said that in practice the testing companies sometimes declined to test them. The source familiar with the city’s decision said the in-school PCR testing would no longer be available to staff.

Alison Gendar, a spokesperson for the United Federation of Teachers, said the change needed to be negotiated with the union.

“The Department of Education cannot unilaterally change COVID protocols without engaging the UFT and the other unions representing school employees,” she wrote. “Those conversations have not taken place.”

Mayor Eric Adams, who has pushed for the city to return to pre-pandemic life, rolled back other school safety measures last year, including universal masking and social distancing rules. And some experts argued the testing program may not be delivering many concrete benefits.

The city did not clearly explain how it was using the testing data to drive big-picture policy decisions such as whether to institute universal masking. Officials generally stopped closing classrooms or school buildings when positive cases arose, though students and staff were still required to stay home if they tested positive.

There were also questions about the quality of the data. Although the program’s goal was to sample a random group of students, that’s not how it worked in practice. The program involved pulling students out of class, sometimes for up to 30 minutes — but the majority of students did not consent to testing, which left some children getting swabbed repeatedly. By the end of last school year, the city was aiming to test at least 10% of students each week.

Still other experts previously said the program may also provide some peace of mind to parents, educators, and students that the virus is not running rampant in school buildings. The lab tests are generally more accurate than rapid tests, though they take longer to return results, making them less useful as a strategy for quickly isolating students.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

What is going on with NYC’s public school enrollment? We explain.

2022-08-09T22:19:26+00:00

New York City’s fight over school budget cuts has dominated the news. But at the heart of that debate is declining student enrollment.

Overall, K-12 enrollment has dropped by 9.5% since the pandemic began. Officials are expecting 30,000 fewer K-12 students to be on the rolls this fall compared to last year.

In this most recent school year, three-quarters of schools saw fewer students, a Chalkbeat analysis previously found. Enrollment of Black and white students dropped by 7.5% each, while it dropped by 5% for Asian American students and 4.5% for Latino students.

Enrollment numbers have been declining steadily since the 2015-16 school year – before the steep drops during the pandemic, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office, or IBO.

But there’s also little evidence that families are fleeing traditional public schools for charters or private schools.

Student enrollment has big implications for public schools. Projected declines have already impacted school funding this year. And fewer students could mean tough decisions about school closures and mergers, which education officials have not yet discussed.

Here’s an overview of what is happening with enrollment in New York City:

How does NYC’s enrollment drop compare to the rest of the country?

Enrollment in public schools nationwide dropped by 1.2 million students, or about 2%, between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020, according to the Return to Learn Tracker, which collects state level data. (This figure does not include prekindergarten).

That tracker shows an additional 91,000 students did not show up to public schools in the fall of 2021. That would put the total drop in enrollment at 1.27 million children nationwide since the pandemic started.

Compared to the national numbers, New York City’s declines are striking and likely have led to the state’s dubious distinction: With 6% fewer students in schools statewide since the pandemic began, New York has seen the biggest declines of any state, according to the tracker.

Enrollment is not dipping evenly across all grades.

To understand why enrollment may be dropping, it’s first important to know which grades are seeing fewer students.

In the 2020-21 school year, most grades in the city’s traditional public schools saw enrollment declines, except for eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th, according to the IBO. The most steep drop was in pre-K for 4-year-olds and kindergarten.

Then, last school year, every grade saw fewer students except the city’s free preschool program for 3-year-olds, which more than doubled as seats have expanded. The biggest decreases were in third grade, followed by sixth grade. First and fifth grades were next. In turn, some of the smallest declines were among pre-K for 4-year-olds, kindergarten, and high school grades except for tenth grade.

However, when comparing to pre-COVID, the largest enrollment drops last year were in pre-K for 4-year-olds, followed by second grade, then kindergarten, third grade and first grade. Nationwide, kindergarten enrollment dipped following the start of the pandemic, but districts began reporting some rebounds this past school year.

Enrollment in New York City’s pre-K and elementary grades ranged between 82% and 88.5% of what they were before the pandemic, the IBO found. Starting in seventh grade through senior year of high school, enrollment ranged between 89% to 99% of what it was pre-pandemic, with the highest levels in the high school years.

So, while enrollment has dipped across every grade since 2019, changes are more pronounced among early grades, despite the availability of free preschool in New York City.

Are students leaving the school system, or are parents choosing not to enroll their children?

The answer is probably both.

Last year, a team of researchers estimated that, after the first year of the pandemic, about a quarter of the nation’s enrollment loss was linked to schools that didn’t offer in-person learning. Remote learning policies specifically dissuaded families of younger children, while it had no significant impact on older students.

A Chalkbeat and Associated Press analysis also found that enrollment among white students dipped more in states where most students were learning virtually.

That could help explain some of the drop in New York City during the 2020-21 school year, when schools were not yet open full time.

“Parents demonstrated they didn’t want kids at that age sitting in front of a computer,” said Thomas Dee, a professor in Stanford’s Graduate School of Education who was part of the research team. He also noted that families wanted a safe in-person option. That could have meant families home-schooled or delayed enrolling their children in preschool or kindergarten.

So what accounts for another drop in enrollment this past school year, when buildings were open full time?

Parents again may have been delaying the start of school for preschool and kindergarten-age children, Dee said. Or parents may have felt more comfortable moving younger children to a new school. Some families might have moved because of the city’s rising cost of living.

City officials have previously linked enrollment declines, in part, to declining birth rates.

A Chalkbeat analysis found that the greatest drop in enrollment happened in schools with the smallest share of low-income students. But, the second biggest drop happened in schools where between three-quarters to all students were poor. Enrollment among low-income students fell nearly 7% this year, more than double that of students who are not considered low-income.

With the rise of remote work, it’s also possible that families are moving to a new place — perhaps to be closer to family or live somewhere more affordable.

Contrary to some theories, there’s no evidence that families are fleeing public schools in droves or for charters and private schools. While the city’s enrollment dropped by about 100,000 students since 2019 — not counting 3K — overall enrollment in city charter schools has grown by just over 10,000 students, or by 7.8%, since the pandemic started. And over that same time period, the city’s private schools actually saw a 3.6% drop in pre-K-12 enrollment, according to state data.

Dee said it’s also possible that more families are home-schooling, and not all of them have registered with the state. Homeschooling nearly doubled, to 14,000 students in New York City, with the largest increases in districts with higher shares of students living in poverty.

Demographic changes, Dee noted, may also play a big role. New York State had some of the largest population declines last year, particularly among school-age children, he said.

“No social behavior has only one cause, and I think as more data become available, we are starting to realize the broader trends that influence the character of enrollment decline and flight from places like New York City,” he said.

What can districts do to build up enrollment?

Mayor Eric Adams and schools Chancellor David Banks have raised alarms about the city’s enrollment numbers and have promised to entice families to choose public schools.

Asked how the administration is planning to do that, a spokesperson pointed to various initiatives the city has rolled out, including rethinking literacy instruction and programs for students with dyslexia, expanding gifted and talented programs, piloting a new Asian American and Pacific Islander curriculum and including parents in the hiring of superintendents, which had a bumpy rollout.

“Chancellor Banks, his leadership team, and every district superintendent is focused on reversing dropping enrollment in our public schools,” Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the education department, wrote in a statement. “This work is informed by listening to families and school communities as well as putting in place policies that will ensure our public schools are the destination of choice for all of our students and families.”

There are a few things that parents typically focus on when it comes to choosing schools for their children, Dee said.

First, parents are attracted to school quality. For many families, that can mean ensuring that schools have high-quality curriculum, well-trained and effective teachers, and often, smaller class sizes, which Dee noted can be a pricey endeavor.

Recent budget cuts due to declining enrollment will likely result in higher class sizes. State lawmakers passed a bill to reduce class sizes in the city’s public schools, but the Adams administration has opposed it, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to sign it.

Families also care that classrooms are “welcoming, inclusive, supportive spaces” for students, Dee said.

From his research, Dee found that parents of young children wanted safe in-person instruction, so he suggested improving COVID mitigations at schools. That includes ventilation and filtration. The city has been shedding safety measures, such as universal masking and social distancing, and city officials have not yet released their safety plans for this fall.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Amid budget battle, NYC OKs using stimulus dollars to cover teacher salaries

2022-08-03T20:03:57+00:00

New York City schools can now use $100 million of federal stimulus money to pay for school staff, city officials announced Wednesday, as the debate over school budget cuts roiled on.

The money is not new funding for schools. Rather, it’s a portion of stimulus dollars they’ve already received for “academic recovery” that the city is now allowing schools to use for teacher salaries. It was previously earmarked for various costs, such as overtime pay for tutoring or other extra support, but could not be used for teacher salaries since it’s temporary funding, set to run out in the 2024-25 school year.

Officials changed their tune after hearing from principals, teachers and families, schools Chancellor David Banks said in a statement. The move comes amid a battle over cuts to school budgets, which have resulted in many schools excessing staff or cutting back programs.

Mayor Eric Adams announced in February that school budgets would shrink by $215 million for the upcoming school year, in response to projected declining enrollment. (Comptroller Brad Lander has said the cut is even steeper than originally anticipated.) New York City schools have lost about 9.5% of their K-12 students since the start of the pandemic.

“This will help schools continue to serve our students as we work to transition to new enrollment levels,” Banks said. “We must still focus on reversing enrollment declines by winning back families, but that does not mean we cannot act today to provide more relief to our schools.”

Additionally, the city planned to distribute nearly 70% of $50 million in funding on Wednesday to schools that have appealed their budgets because they couldn’t meet the needs of their students. Officials had previously paused on distributing this funding because of a lawsuit filed seeking to invalidate the school budget cuts, according to a press release from City Hall.

Two teachers and two staffers filed the lawsuit against the city, claiming that officials didn’t follow proper procedure when approving the education department’s budget in June. The legal challenge is expected to be heard in a Manhattan court on Thursday.

Some schools last year struggled to use their “academic recovery” stimulus cash for after-school tutoring programs, in part because they couldn’t convince staff to work overtime.

And while principals may find it helpful that they can now use this cash to cover a teacher salary, it doesn’t address the budget cuts that are already in place, according to an education department employee who works closely with school budgets and was not authorized to speak to the press.

“It’s just rearranging money,” the employee said.

In a press release, the education department said that school leaders can use the money to hire back teachers they’ve excessed. However, that could be tough or even impossible if those staffers have received new jobs. The money may not even cover a full salary, officials from the teachers union said.

“If your staff found another school to take them and took another job, then it may be too late,” the education department employee said. “Then you’re starting from scratch, and you have to interview and hire.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC special education recovery services program to be scaled back this fall

2022-07-29T20:25:15+00:00

In response to pandemic disruptions, New York City officials required every school to offer special education services last year outside regular hours to any family who wanted them.

But that won’t be the case this coming school year, education officials said. Instead, the education department is vowing to determine what extra instruction or therapies children may need on an “individual basis” — decisions that will be left to the teams that set students’ individualized education programs, also known as IEPs.

Extra small group instruction or “related services” such as physical and occupational therapy, may be provided after school, on Saturdays, during the school day, or through a voucher for students the city determines need extra help, officials said. The city is also expanding a new program for students with significant sensory issues, which has been popular with some parents. It will launch at 70 sites this fall, up from 10.

The education department is setting aside $100 million for those extra services, down from roughly $200 million last year, according to city officials. Last year’s recovery program was delayed for months after the school year started. Schools struggled to attract staff to work the extra hours and the vast majority of students did not participate, though officials have yet to provide a final tally. The program earned mixed reviews from parents and educators.

There are many unanswered questions about how this year’s program will operate, including which students will be eligible, when parents will be informed of how they can access extra services, who will be responsible for providing them, and even when they’ll begin. City officials did not say if they will provide yellow bus service for programs that will be provided outside of the regular school day, a major roadblock to participation last school year.

“To the outward facing part of the world, it’s very last minute,” said Maggie Moroff, a special education policy expert at the nonprofit Advocates for Children. “It’s hard for me to imagine, if this hasn’t been communicated to the schools yet, how it’s going to play out successfully.”

Students with disabilities have a legal right to “compensatory services” if their school does not provide all of the specialized instruction or therapies included on their IEP. And a significant share of students with disabilities missed out on special education instruction or therapies that were difficult or impossible to provide during remote learning or as staff were stretched thin.

But successfully advocating for compensatory services can be time consuming and require legal help. If the district does not agree to provide those extra services, families can go through an administrative legal process to compel the city to provide them, though that process is complex and has faced extreme backlogs that often stretch many months. Advocates for Children filed a lawsuit in an effort to force the city to create a more streamlined process, though that suit has not been successful so far.

The city’s promise to assess whether students with disabilities need these extra compensatory services could signal that they will be easier to get without going through that cumbersome process, though it’s unclear how generous the city will be in recommending additional support.

“This administration is committed to course correcting any pandemic-related learning loss for our most vulnerable students and expanding access to critical programs that address unique, individual needs,” Nicole Brownstein, an education department spokesperson, wrote in an email. She added that extra services will be available on Saturdays at multiple sites in every borough.

Even if the city instructs schools to provide more compensatory services, Moroff noted that many students aren’t scheduled to have an IEP meeting until the spring, raising questions about how quickly students will have access to extra help.

“If a student’s last IEP happened last April, they’re not regularly scheduled for an IEP meeting until next April,” she said. “Sure, a family could ask, but that shifts the burden onto the family.”

Bronx mom Damaris Rodriguez said she is eager to know if her 12-year-old son Maliek, who is on the autism spectrum, might be eligible for services and when they may be provided.

Maliek missed some of his speech and occupational therapy sessions during the pandemic because they conflicted with remote instruction. She said extra services could help him self-regulate when he’s feeling antsy, work on reading comprehension skills, and even learn how to share his feelings with his peers and teachers.

Damaris Rodriguez with her son, Maliek.

“Maliek faced a lot of different challenges emotionally in terms of expressing himself,” Rogriguez said, “whereas pre-pandemic he was able to talk or open up.”

But she is also wary of the department’s special education recovery programs. Last year, she pulled Maliek out of the recovery program after a month because he wasn’t receiving the therapies she believed he needed. Figuring out transportation without yellow bus service was a challenge.

Rodroguez said she’s frustrated the city hasn’t communicated more clearly to parents what extra services to expect this school year and when they will be provided, as she is setting up extra activities like basketball that might conflict with Saturday special education programs.

“Will I have to tell my son he can’t play basketball because it falls on Saturdays?” Rodriguez wondered. “When are you going to let parents know?”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

‘Still hungry’: Struggling to feed NYC students as pandemic aid wanes

2022-07-08T10:00:00+00:00

Most NYC schools are losing funding. See what’s happening at your school.

2022-06-28T17:59:30+00:00

New York City educators and families are finishing this school year worried about how hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to school budgets will impact their classrooms in the fall. They’re hearing about rising class sizes, losing teachers, and cutting enrichment.

City lawmakers passed a budget deal earlier this month slashing school budgets based on declining enrollment projections: The city’s public schools (excluding charters) have lost 9.5% of their students since the pandemic began.

Mayor Eric Adams’ $215 million cut to schools was somewhat softened by federal coronavirus stimulus dollars. Without that federal funding, Adams would have cut budgets by $375 million, which he plans to do by the 2024-2025 school year.

Schools must typically return money if they enroll fewer students than projected midway through the school year. But Mayor Bill de Blasio held schools harmless from these cuts over the past two years, largely using COVID stimulus dollars. Adams’ plan reverses this policy and goes back to a funding system that’s more closely tied to enrollment.

To show how those cuts affect each school, Chalkbeat created a lookup tool examining changes to Fair Student Funding — the pot of money that makes up 65% of school budgets and is sent to schools months ahead of the next school year. It’s what principals use to hire staff and create programming. The formula provides more money to schools with higher shares of students with disabilities, those learning English as a new language and those struggling academically.

A majority of schools — just over 1,200 — will see cuts in Fair Student Funding, as high as $5 million at Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton High School, according to a Chalkbeat analysis. Close to 300 schools will see an increase, up to $2.5 million at Queens’ Thomas J. McCann Woodside Intermediate School.

Some education advocates have encouraged families to look up current school budgets and compare them to what’s posted online for schools for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. However, that won’t show an “apples-to-apples” comparison, since schools typically receive all kinds of funding throughout the course of the year.

“A true apples-to-apples comparison would be looking at preliminary budgets for this current school year compared with the preliminary budget for [next year], because that’s really what schools are using to plan for school opening,” said Sarita Subramanian, assistant director of education policy at the city’s Independent Budget Office.

To account for those discrepancies, this tool shows how much Fair Student Funding each school had as of June 2021, as principals planned for this current school year, and compares that to how much schools have right now, ahead of this fall. We included money that schools received to cover for enrollment losses, but excluded additional funding schools may have received for this halfway through this school year, since school leaders didn’t have that money when they planned for the year.

We also included forgiven debts related to enrollment losses that schools may have owed to the education department.

(Some programs and schools may not show up in our tool because there was no information posted for them in Galaxy, the public website where school budget allocations are posted.)

Numbers don’t add up

Education department officials at a Friday City Council budget hearing said about 400 schools are seeing increases, though did not share details on how they calculated those numbers. Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the education department, declined multiple requests for comment on Chalkbeat’s analysis methods.

While the city has said the cuts total $215 million, the actual blow to individual school budgets would have been closer to $132 million, since a chunk of the money was related to fringe benefits that are covered centrally, according to Comptroller Brad Lander. However, a new analysis by Lander found that the cuts this year will actually total nearly three times that amount, at about $372 million. Department officials did not immediately explain the discrepancy.

Schools may see cuts or increases based on rising or falling enrollment projections, but also based on how many high-needs students they are projected to enroll, since those students receive more money under the formula, Styer said.

On top of all of this, the city has reduced the amount of per-pupil funding it provides to schools through Fair Student Funding by about $25 per student, due to a drop in average teacher salaries across the whole system, as first reported by the New York Post.

Schools with veteran teachers earning higher than the citywide average get an extra cushion to help pay their salaries, Subramanian noted.

As they plan for next school year, principals and educators are reporting plans to excess staff and eliminate enrichment programs. While it’s true that fewer students may mean fewer teachers are needed, less funding could mean that principals can’t build out new programming or must increase class sizes — even as the city faces a potential new state law to shrink class sizes.

Additionally, principals have criticized the city for incorrect enrollment projections, resulting in fewer dollars than they’ll need next year. At Friday’s hearing, one City Council member said a principal in her district surveyed every family in her school and found enrollment would be dozens of students higher than the education department’s calculation.

Both City Hall and education department spokespeople have repeatedly refused to share how much enrollment is projected to drop next year. Schools could get money back if they enroll more students than expected, but that money typically arrives after schools have finished hiring for the school year.

Families and educators have forcefully protested the cuts and have questioned why the remaining $5 billion in unspent stimulus dollars can’t be used once again to protect school budgets.

Many City Council members pressed education department officials at Friday’s hearing about why these cuts are happening, in hopes of restoring the funding. The cuts briefly held up a final city budget deal, though all but six of the 51 council members approved the deal earlier this month.

Correction: An earlier version of the lookup table used an incorrect data point for fiscal year 2022. The table and story have been updated to reflect the correct figures, including new totals for schools with highest and lowest increases.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

‘Where did it all go?’: Four NYC high school seniors reflect and look ahead

2022-06-27T17:18:56+00:00

When the pandemic gripped New York City in March 2020, high school sophomores had no idea that their remaining two years would look nothing like they had imagined.

Many of those sophomores are graduating now, having navigated school closures and two unusual years marked with grief and isolation. City officials celebrated the full reopening of public schools last fall, but the year was not nearly as normal as anyone had hoped.

“It’s been weird because I don’t really feel like part of the school — like, I kinda had to remember where everything was again as a senior,” said 18-year-old Alexandra Cruz, who graduated this month from Millennium Brooklyn High School. “I think it would have felt like more of a community if I had been there for the full four years.”

Like students in other grades, some seniors worried about contracting COVID and infecting high-risk relatives at home, especially as a winter surge emptied schools for weeks in December and January. But on top of the anxiety of being around peers for the first time since the pandemic hit, seniors also had to decide on what came after high school.

For many others in the Class of 2022, returning to the building was a boon. It meant seeing their friends and teachers again and learning in a classroom instead of through a screen. And for some, it was why they made it to graduation.

We spoke to four high school seniors who graduated this month about their experiences and what they plan to do next.

Zhenghao Lin was anxious about a full return to school amid the pandemic, but now he says it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He is looking forward to college and making new friends.

ZHENGHAO LIN, 18, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLYN

Zhenghao Lin felt overwhelmed the moment he stepped into the crowded hallways of his school in September, his first time back since March 2020.

Fearing he would contract COVID, Zhenghao, one of about 3,000 students, wore a face shield over his mask. He was afraid to touch door handles or stand too close when talking with others. He worried his peers would judge him for feeling nervous. He feared he might be subjected to racist bullying as he had in the past, because of rising anti-Asian hate crimes.

“I was not really able to, like, learn things that first few months because I felt constantly distracted,” said Zhenghao, who was diagnosed with anxiety disorder in 2020.

The pace of instruction also frustrated him because it felt slower than his virtual classes from the previous year. Students rarely asked questions during virtual learning, but they frequently raised their hands in person.

School staffers often stopped him in the hallway to ask how he was. He would say he’s not OK.

They would refer him to a counselor, who typically had a packed schedule. Zhenghao, however, was already seeing a therapist in private practice. Those twice weekly sessions helped him turn a corner in March, when the city dropped the school mask mandate.

Zhenghao continued wearing his mask, but he found that seeing his classmates’ faces and working with them in groups helped him connect with them and read their facial expressions, which were friendlier than he’d expected. To his surprise, he didn’t experience any racist bullying or comments, which he credited to advocacy campaigns across the city raising awareness about anti-Asian hate crimes.

Through therapy, he began to understand that he was at low risk of becoming severely ill from COVID, having been fully vaccinated without any high-risk conditions.

Zhenghao stopped striving for 100’s in every class, he said, and allowed himself to miss some assignments. He also dropped his AP Chinese and physics classes. He didn’t need them to graduate, and he found them too stressful and difficult.

As Zhenghao gets ready to attend a small liberal arts college in Vermont in the fall, he already has an idea for his future career: He’s planning to become a therapist.

Kekeli Amekudzi, a Brooklyn Tech senior, had to balance in-person learning and taking care of her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer during her freshman year.

KEKELI AMEKUDZI, 18, BROOKLYN TECH HIGH SCHOOL

Kekeli Amekudzi missed 30 days of school this year.

Most of those days she was taking care of her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer before Kekeli’s freshman year and took a turn for the worse last year.

“There’s just, like, so many responsibilities that I have to take care of,” Kekeli said.

The city considers Kekeli someone who was “chronically absent,” for missing at least 10% of school days. More than a third of students citywide were on track to have missed at least a month of school this year.

During remote learning, Kekeli could help her mother get to doctor’s appointments and work on schoolwork from the waiting room. She had more time to cook and clean.

Returning to school this year meant Kekeli could see her friends more regularly, but it was challenging to balance in-person learning with responsibilities at home. Being inside the 6,000-student high school, the nation’s largest, also brought concerns about reinfecting her mother, who’d already had COVID while in the hospital.

Kekeli’s teachers met with her to catch her up on assignments, and some deadlines were extended. She found it helpful to vent to a teacher during office hours about the stress of school or her mom’s illness.

A sense of normalcy continued to feel out of grasp.

Kekeli plans on studying environmental science and international law at Emory University in Georgia.

COVID cases began rising in December and exploded in January with the omicron surge, causing stress and absences among students and teachers, prompting students to organize a walkout at Brooklyn Tech. Less than three-quarters of students were at Brooklyn Tech on the Friday after winter break ended, according to data compiled by PRESS NYC, a group advocating for stronger COVID protections in school.

Her extracurricular activities, such as the debate team, remained virtual. Field trips for her favorite environmental science courses were paused until the spring.

Kekeli received some help while applying to college, but she had to navigate some details on her own, such as figuring out what financial forms she needed.

She is planning to attend Emory University in Georgia, where she wants to major in environmental science and international law. She’s considering a gap semester to help her mother transition to a home health aide.

She feels that she and her peers made it through one of the hardest times in New York City’s history. She has tried to take action, participating in climate marches, protests over gun violence, and abortion rights — making friends along the way.

But Kekeli is still grappling with a sense of loss that many graduating seniors feel.

“When we came in freshman year, we came in with so many expectations with, like, what our final year would be, and so many events were getting canceled or postponed or just weren’t done because of COVID,” Kekeli said. “There’s just been this sense of like, where did it all go?”

Abrahan Castro German, 19, is a graduating senior from English Language Learners and International Support Preparatory Academy in the Bronx. He spent much of his time in high school grieving the deaths of family members.

ABRAHAN CASTRO GERMAN, 19, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT PREPARATORY ACADEMY, THE BRONX

Abrahan Castro German spent the previous school year mourning the loss of a beloved uncle, who died of COVID in his home country, the Dominican Republic.

Abrahan, who immigrated to the Bronx in February 2019 and is learning English, navigated that grief alongside remote school, which he described as “very difficult” because it was hard to get extra help from teachers.

So he felt both happy and nervous to be returning this past fall to his Bronx high school, ELLIS Prep, which serves under-credited, over-age students who are new to the United States.

But halfway through this school year, he suffered a new blow. On New Year’s Day, Abrahan’s older brother died in a motorcycle accident back home.

School staff and his friends noticed that the normally bubbly, well-liked teen — known by one counselor as “The Mayor” — was quiet. Sometimes he asked to leave for the day, but staff wouldn’t let him, he said. He stopped doing much of his homework.

He missed his mother and grandmother, who are in the Dominican Republic, and would stay up at night looking at photos of his brother and uncle on his cell phone.

“I’m thinking about what feeling my brother went through in the accident, what feeling my mother went through when she lose my brother,” Abrahan said.

Teachers and guidance counselors saw his grades dipping in every subject and urged him to keep up. They worried he was falling off track to graduate.

He visited guidance counselors daily explaining how he was physically in the classroom, but his mind was on his family.

At one point, a counselor told Abrahan that his brother would have wanted him to graduate. He said he wanted to give up, but the counselor replied, “You need to try, and you can.”

Abrahan said he began feeling like himself again around March. He credited ELLIS staff and his friends for helping him work through his grief, as well as family back home who encouraged him to stay on track. He began catching up on school work. He decided that he needed “to wake up” and think about his future.

As the school year wrapped up, Abrahan was still seeing his counselors every day. Pulling a C-average, he was accepted to Guttman Community College in Manhattan. Abrahan plans to take a course over the summer to improve his English, according to a counselor.

Abrahan said he’s nervous about Guttman, especially seeing new students and new teachers, and leaving his ELLIS family behind.

But he feels driven to stay on track and “try – for my future, for my brother’s son, for my mom.”

Alexandra Cruz, a senior at Millennium Brooklyn High School, struggled with severe anxiety and keeping up with her academics during the chaotic school year.

ALEXANDRA CRUZ, 18, MILLENNIUM BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL

A year and a half of remote learning was bad for Alexandra Cruz’s mental health. But returning to school full time proved to be just as difficult.

Alexandra, who said she has severe social anxiety, was nervous to see hundreds of other students again, at a school where just 17% of students are Hispanic like her.

While the year started off OK, it took a turn during the winter’s omicron surge. Many peers were out sick. On the Monday before winter break, just under half of the school’s students came to school, according to data compiled by PRESS NYC. Alexandra stayed home that week as a precaution.

She struggled to make up a week’s worth of old assignments and keep up with new ones.

Her grades were slipping, and she was pulling all-nighters to keep up with what felt like mounds of homework, longing for the flexibility and leniency of remote learning. It was also tough to stay engaged in class while her friends were out sick.

“It was just so hard for me — I just didn’t have anyone to talk to,” she said.

She felt teachers weren’t checking in enough to find out why students were struggling to keep up. Seventy-three percent of the school’s teaching staff is white, Alexandra pointed out, which also felt alienating. Sometimes, she just wanted “a nice Hispanic woman” as a teacher who could relate to her.

Alexandra found some solace in her weekly meetings with a school guidance counselor, where she could drop in and “vent” if she felt too overwhelmed during class.

She began worrying about college in April while also studying for her AP exams. She’d narrowed down her choices to SUNY Oneonta and Clark University in Massachusetts, but COVID rules prevented visitors from seeing the dorms at Clark, so she couldn’t “get the full picture.”

By May, when school calmed down, she had come to a realization after months of dealing with her social anxiety: It’s OK that she’s not friends with many of her classmates.

“I feel like a weight has been lifted off,” Alexandra said. “All these people in my class — I can’t connect with these people. I already have my friends. I’m just sort of looking forward to the future.”

Alexandra decided on Clark University. She chose a school outside of the city in order to get a fresh start somewhere new.

“I’m going to try to join clubs with people of color so I can talk to people who I can connect with,” Alexandra said. “It makes me nervous, obviously, but I’m excited.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

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NYC budget deal cuts school funding amid declining enrollment

2022-06-10T23:08:10+00:00

New York City lawmakers reached a $101 billion budget deal Friday that finalizes cuts to school budgets for the 2022-2023 school year.

Many details of the agreement, which sets the city’s financial plan from July 1 through June 2023, were still unavailable Friday evening. But in April, the mayor’s proposal showed a $1 billion drop for the education department, to just under $31 billion — largely because federal coronavirus relief is beginning to dry up. That budget is made up of state, federal, and city funding, and under Adams’ proposal, the city would boost its own spending on education by about $720 million.

Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council were expected to reach a deal this week. But, Politico reported that an 11th hour disagreement developed over cuts to individual school budgets after school and union leaders decried the decreases, which they saw for the first time this week.

Those cuts were announced in February, but they made it into the final budget.

The cuts, totaling $215 million across all schools this year, represent a reversal of a policy over the past two years, which covered schools financially for enrolling fewer students than expected halfway through the year, during the pandemic.

While schools will see a drop in funding compared to this year’s budgets, Adams would not call them cuts.

“We had a major drop in student population in the [department of education], so what we’re doing — we are not cutting, we are adjusting the amount based on the student population,” Adams told reporters after a ceremonial handshake with Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Separately, the budget also sets aside $2 billion in coronavirus relief funds for next school year and expands summer programming for children and young adults.

Here are some highlights from Thursday’s budget agreement:

School budgets

Many schools will see smaller budgets due to the city’s projections of declining student enrollment, which has dropped by 6.4% since the pandemic’s start in 2020.

For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, schools will be funded in a way that’s more closely tied to their enrollment, but school and union leaders are worried about the impact of the cuts on students and staff.

Before the pandemic, schools were required to send money back to the education department if, by halfway through the year, they had enrolled fewer students than originally projected.

To blunt the financial blow on schools during the pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio spent $177 million — 75% of which came from federal coronavirus relief dollars — to cover budgets for 870 schools that saw mid-year enrollment drops. Again this year, the administration spent $324 million to forgive mid-year enrollment drops at 1,200 schools, again with roughly three-quarters covered by stimulus dollars.

In February, Adams announced he wanted to reverse this policy and gradually cut budgets over the next two years. Using federal stimulus dollars to backfill the cuts, Adams plans to cut school budgets by $215 million this fall, just under $300 million for the 2023-2024 school year, and finally $375 million in 2024-2025.

“We are in a very dangerous time that many people are not realizing,” Adams said. “We are dropping students so much.”

Fewer students could mean a need for fewer teachers. But reduced funding complicates plans that principals had for their schools, such as launching new programs or hiring new staff. The city is also facing a new state law requiring New York City to reduce class sizes, but officials have not explained how they’ll reconcile the new mandate with cuts to school budgets.

Principals are also worried they may need to “excess” staff, meaning those staffers would leave the school and could look for jobs elsewhere in the system. If unsuccessful, those staffers could enter the Absent Teacher Reserve, where they still get paid.

Asked how the city devised enrollment projections, a City Hall spokesman said officials calculate them based on recent trends in each grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. Principals, superintendents, and other education officials who work with schools “review and provide significant feedback” before enrollment projections are finalized.

The plan received blowback from educators and some city officials.

Comptroller Brad Lander said the city must address enrollment drops, but schools should not see cuts yet as schools emerge from the pandemic. He also suggested the city should revisit the Fair Student Funding formula, which is based on enrollment projections but also sends more money to schools with high shares of students with disabilities, learning English as a new language, or facing academic struggles. The city has plans to begin reviewing the formula this year — a process that happened once before in 2019 but never resulted in changes.

“Our schools have endured the hardest two years and need every penny to provide the social, emotional, and academic supports that all our students deserve this summer and fall,” Lander said in a statement.

COVID stimulus spending

The administration plans to spend about $1.8 billion in COVID stimulus money next school year. City schools received about $7 billion in stimulus money, of which $2 billion has been spent through the first week of May, according to City Hall.

While hundreds of millions of dollars went directly to schools this year to create academic recovery programs, some schools struggled to spend the money because they couldn’t recruit teachers to work overtime to staff tutoring programs. Roughly a third of the city’s students with disabilities were expected to have received stimulus-funded recovery services by the end of this school year.

About $160 million will go toward softening the blow of enrollment declines for schools (leading to the overall $215 million cut for next year). Another $125 million is expected to go directly to schools for “academic recovery” and arts instruction, with more funds slated for schools with higher needs students. Schools must use the money to provide academic intervention and additional support for students learning English as a new language.

The mayor’s executive budget proposed some other initiatives to be covered by COVID stimulus dollars, including $176 million for Summer Rising, the city’s universal summer enrichment program.

Summer programming and community schools

The budget calls for $110 million to cover an expanded summer enrichment program that will have 10,000 more slots for kindergarten through eighth grade students, reaching a total of 110,000 elementary and middle school students and 210,000 across all grades.

The budget also includes $79 million to expand the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which provides summer jobs for youth ages 14-21. The program will be funded to have 90,000 slots, plus another 10,000 through other city programs. While it’s open to any city resident, the program is not available to undocumented children.

Additionally, the city has restored planned funding cuts for organizations that provide extra support to students in dozens of community schools, said Jonah Allon, a spokesperson for City Hall. The schools provide wraparound services for students in high-needs schools. The cuts, related to a changed funding formula, meant that these organizations would have to lay off staff and shrink their services, such as attendance monitoring and mental health support.

The city will spend $14 million to restore those cuts, but the organizations had only requested $9 million. It wasn’t immediately clear what accounted for increased funding.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC ends mask mandate for children in preschools, daycares

2022-06-09T16:59:35+00:00

Masks will be optional for New York City children under 5 in preschool and daycare programs starting June 13 as COVID rates have begun to drop, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday.

The announcement comes several months after Adams lifted the mask mandate for public school students, a decision he stuck by even as COVID rates surged over the spring. But he kept the mandate in place for the children attending early childhood programs. Earlier this year, he pointed to data that showed younger children with COVID were hospitalized at a higher rate than older children.

Adams was expected to lift the mandate for children ages 2 to 4 in April but held off, saying he was heeding advice of public health advocates concerned about new variants and an uptick in cases. A legal challenge briefly put the mandate, but his administration successfully appealed that ruling.

“I have always said that the science will guide us out of the pandemic, and because we have followed the data, which shows that cases are steadily falling, we‘ve beaten back the latest COVID-19 surge,” Adams said in a statement. “New Yorkers stepped up when we needed them most and have put us on the path to lower risk.”

New York City’s COVID transmission rate is still considered high, according to the city’s coronavirus tracker, but the seven-day average of cases citywide began dropping in late May. On June 8, there were 840 cases reported among students and school staff, education department data shows. Still, Adams has urged New Yorkers to continue masking indoors.

“We still strongly recommend that New Yorkers of all ages continue to wear masks indoors and we will continue to make masks available for any child or school staff member who wishes to continue wearing them,” Adams said in a statement.

Adams’ decision to lift the mask mandate for K-12 students was met with disappointment by those still worried about contracting the virus and relief from those who had grown weary of masking.

Christina Veiga contributed to this story.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC educators wrestle with budget cuts for 2022-23 school year

2022-06-08T00:33:04+00:00

Educators across New York City are grappling with millions of dollars in planned cuts to school budgets, released this week for the 2022-23 school year.

While school leaders had expected the cuts, many saw for the first time in two years what their budgets will look like as the federal stimulus funding starts to wind down and they continue to grapple with declining enrollment, which has dropped by 6.4% since the beginning of the pandemic.

For many schools, the cuts will mean rolling back plans to hire more teachers or cutting back on programming. While schools see budgets that are more closely tied to their enrollment, they’re still grappling with losing students — all while New York City also has been newly tasked with lowering class sizes over the next five years.

“Maybe some people have dealt with huge attrition, but [the education department is] really lowballing people, and they need to go back to the drawing board,” said one Bronx principal, who spoke on condition of anonymity and may need to cut back on extra support at her school.

Over the course of the pandemic, former Mayor Bill de Blasio used federal stimulus dollars to allow schools to keep money if, midway through the school year, fewer students actually enrolled than the city had expected. Before the pandemic, in those situations, schools were typically required to give money back to the education department.

Mayor Eric Adams has decided to phase out that pandemic policy as part of his budget proposal for next year. Under Adams’ proposal, the overall city budget for the education department would drop by about $1 billion next year to just under $31 billion, largely due to the drop in federal stimulus funds provided during the pandemic. While the city is boosting its own contribution to the education department by $720 million as it attempts to expand some initiatives, they’re also planning for a gradual cut to individual school budgets in response to declining enrollment.

Adams wants to cut school budgets gradually over the next two years by backfilling a portion of the cuts with federal stimulus dollars — meaning schools will see a $215 million cut for this fall, just under $300 million for the 2023-24 school year, and finally, $375 million in 2024-25.

Last school year, the city spent $177 million to cover budgets for 870 schools who saw mid-year enrollment drops, with 75% of that cost covered by federal stimulus dollars, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office. This year, roughly 1,200 schools saw mid-year enrollment drops. In response, the city spent $324 million in additional funding, with roughly three-quarters of that cost covered once again by federal stimulus dollars.

The policy reversal means many schools are likely experiencing cuts that are deeper than they’ve known over the past two years, especially with the infusion of billions in federal stimulus dollars.

“During the current school year, the tension between rightsizing school budgets based on actual student enrollment, even as schools’ needs have increased as a result of the pandemic, continues,” the IBO said in a recent report.

According to the IBO, these cuts are coming out of Fair Student Funding, a city formula that sends more money to schools with larger shares of students with disabilities, those learning English as a new language, and students with academic struggles. That pot of money covers about 65% of school budgets and can be used flexibly to hire staff and create school programming.

Officials have said that they’re not expecting layoffs, but for the city to simply not fill vacant positions. City officials did not respond to a question about whether there are other cuts to school budgets on top of those to Fair Student Funding.

Generally, fewer students could mean that fewer teachers are needed, but in practice that’s a far more complicated problem to solve, said Sarita Subramanian, assistant director of education policy at the Independent Budget Office. For example, a principal might have planned to offer a new Advanced Placement course but won’t have the money to cover a teacher licensed in that subject area, she said.

“It depends on what types of offering a school has and wants to make for students,” Subramanian said.

An additional complication: the city is now tasked with limiting class sizes over the next five years, which could require the hiring of more teachers and creating more classroom space. Officials did not respond to a question about how it plans to meet those requirements while also cutting school budgets amid declining enrollment.

On Twitter, the teachers union chastised Adams for the planned cut, insisting that the billions of dollars left in federal stimulus funding and an increase in state funding could help cover costs — including separate costs for lowering class sizes.

“Does the mayor need a math lesson, or is he just playing games with our schools?” one tweet said.

The Bronx principal said the education department projects about 12% fewer students at her school in the fall, even though she’s anticipating an increase in students. She is still calculating the total cuts to her school but city records show about $100,000, or about 4% less, in Fair Student Funding.

She may lose a music teacher and move two teacher-mentors back into the classroom. She may also need to cover some classes with a teacher who specifically teaches students learning English as a new language, and she isn’t sure she can replace any of the three teachers who are leaving.

“I hope they forgive our budgets, or at least really try to forgive a large amount,” the principal said.

Harlem’s Central Park East I elementary school will see just over $11,600 in cuts to Fair Student Funding alone, compared to the current school year. Parent Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, who is a member of its School Leadership Team and a member of the city’s Panel for Educational Policy, said that’s not as severe as other schools. School officials have assured families they’ll be able to manage the cuts without decreasing staff or increasing class sizes.

But even with that cut, they won’t be able to hire a full-time art teacher, she said.

“It’s a big thing in terms of what we believe children need to get a full educational experience,” she said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC public school families to receive $375 per child for food benefits through federal COVID relief

2022-06-03T20:51:35+00:00

All New York City public school families regardless of income will receive $375 per child in food benefits to help cover the costs of meals from last summer during the pandemic —whether they attended summer school or not.

The state began the rollout this month, with the retroactive benefit being distributed to students enrolled as of June 2021.

The benefit comes from the Coronavirus Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer or P-EBT, a federally created program covering meal expenses for students who typically received free meals when in school but were learning remotely due to the pandemic. This is the third round of food benefits for public school families across the state since the pandemic began in March 2020, with the state sending more than $3.4 billion to families since then, officials said.

Because New York City is a universal free lunch district, all public school students are eligible to receive P-EBT regardless of their household income. Families are also eligible regardless of immigration status.

The food benefits will automatically be distributed to all households with eligible school-age children in the same manner they received their P-EBT benefits for the past two school years. For those who typically receive food benefits, the money will be added to their regular cards; for others, the funds will be automatically loaded on P-EBT cards they received in the mail in 2020 or 2021. (Families should keep their cards after the money is used because new iterations of the program might still be approved.)

The benefits can be used to purchase eligible food items in stores that accept them and are available for at least 274 days from the date they were issued.

Some eligible students have yet to receive benefits for logistical reasons, such having an incorrect address on file or incomplete information from a school, according to a spokesperson from the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), which oversees the disbursements.

“It’s been hugely important to help families stay afloat during this crisis,” said Liz Accles of Community Food Advocates, a New York-based nonprofit focused on food access. “Most New York City public school students are in families who are struggling to make ends meet. And there are many more that are right above the federal eligibility for free or reduced price meals, given the cost of living in New York City.”

According to the city’s education department, 73% of public school students are economically disadvantaged.

“School meals are one of the biggest, most far-reaching anti-hunger programs. If kids access two meals a day, that’s 40 meals a month for each child in the household,” Accles said.

A recent survey of more than 600 families conducted by Change Research and No Kid Hungry found that 58% of adults with children in New York City schools have struggled to eat healthy and nutritious food over the past 12 months. The same survey found that 43% worried a member of their household would not have enough food to eat. More than a third of respondents had to skip a meal.

New York City schools will provide free meals this summer to anyone ages 18 and under at select campuses starting on June 28. But historically, families in need have not fully taken advantage of the program. Research has shown that food insecurity is higher during the summer months, when many children do not receive their regular free meals at school.

“We refer to summer as the hungriest time of the year,” said Rachel Sabella, of No Kid Hungry New York, the New York division of a national campaign that aims to solve hunger in the United States. “For many families, they may not have a summer meals site close to them, where they can access those free meals. Some food pantries and soup kitchens that are normally open in the summer rely on volunteers. If the volunteers are not available, their services are not available.”

Sabella said that P-EBT is also valuable to families because they’re able to go buy groceries in convenient locations, rather than travel to a free meal site.

There are legislative efforts to extend P-EBT and to pass a summer food benefit program nationwide. The summer EBT proposal was part of President Joe Biden’s American Families plan in 2021. But as of now, the summer program is still in its pilot version, serving a limited number of states.

“Summer EBT would be pretty much exactly what pandemic EBT is, it would be available in the summer months when school is closed for families that had been receiving free and reduced price meals as another way to get them those grocery benefits,” Sabella said.

The P-EBT benefit remains in effect while COVID-19 is a public health emergency, but each state must be approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) . The public health emergency was extended until mid-July.

Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley is a reporting intern for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Marcela at mrodrigues-sherley@chalkbeat.org.

NYC’s ‘community schools’ are a lifeline for many students. Dozens are bracing for cuts.

2022-05-19T19:21:08+00:00

Big cuts are coming to nonprofits that partner with dozens of New York City’s “community schools,” providing them with wraparound support for students, such as mental health services, attendance monitoring, and dental or vision check-ups.

One organization that serves a 1,600-student Queens high school may have to slash a program helping students apply for college. Another that works with three Brooklyn high schools plans to eliminate attendance workers, who have been coaxing teens back in efforts to make a dent in high chronic absenteeism rates.

The cuts stem from a new formula meant to more equitably fund organizations working with schools across the five boroughs. Out of 145 campuses housing community schools that were affected by the change, 93 are seeing an increase, but 52 campuses stand to see significant cuts.

Research has found that the city’s community schools — which embed social services in high-needs schools — boosted math scores, graduation rates, attendance, and the rate at which students move on to the next grade. But some of those successes could be hampered at campuses whose partner organizations will likely face tough decisions about laying off staff and cutting back services that have been a cornerstone of the city’s much-lauded program, said leaders of those nonprofits.

Meanwhile, the federal government has embraced community schools as a way to grapple with the high social, economic, and academic needs, earmarking $413 million across the nation for expanding the model.

“The reason why I think this is incredibly disappointing is because many of the things we work on — mental health, college access, addressing chronic absenteeism, after school – all of those things are areas in which the current administration, the [Department of Education], have expressed as important as we continue to come to the other side of the pandemic,” said Sonia B. Sisodia, executive director of South Asian Youth Action, or SAYA.

Her organization is expecting to see its funding slashed by nearly 50%, or roughly $420,000.

SAYA provides services to nearly a third of students at Richmond Hill High School, where 78% of students are from low-income families. Losing funding will force administrators to cut or eliminate their college access program. It would “significantly reduce” after school programming, such as clubs for robotics, books, arts, LGTBQ students, and one focused on leadership, Sisodia said. The organization would also shave mental health services.

All of this means that staff might work with a student just once or twice the entire year, if at all, compared with their current practice of keeping up with students more regularly, Sisodia said.

‘The needs are so great’

The cuts currently on the table were supposed to take effect last year when the city revamped the funding formula for community schools. But City Council intervened, giving organizations — who were caught off guard by the change — a reprieve as they braced for the reopening of school buildings during the pandemic.

Some organizations were receiving as little as $87,000, while others got as much as $1 million, explained Chris Caruso, former director of the Office of Community Schools.

The new formula gives each organization a base of $250,000, then adds money based on factors such as student enrollment, the percentage of low-income students in the campus they serve, and the type of grades they’re serving. Elementary schools are weighted three times higher than high schools because those elementary schools might provide more extended learning time “due to child care needs,” according to an email from education department officials obtained by Chalkbeat, which revealed that the highest contract amount was just under $550,000 and the lowest was just under $400,000.

The new formula also allows the city to expand the number of community schools, Caruso said. A department spokesperson said they plan to open about 100 more community schools by this fall.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cuts “is going to be noticeable,” Caruso said, but he noted that increased funding to schools, such as from federal coronavirus relief, could help offset some of these losses.

Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, which works with three schools on the Franklin K. Lane campus in Cypress Hills, had a budget of just over $1 million this school year. It is expecting a $590,000 cut for next year, said Emily Van Ingen, the organization’s deputy director.

Each school has a team of two full-time staffers, plus several part-timers, who work on “some of the core tenements of community schools,” including improving attendance and graduation rates by finding ways to keep students interested in school. Those teams meet with students and their families and connect them with mental health, housing or other services.

With the cut, the organization will reduce its staff to one full-time director at each school and a part-time social worker who would work across all three campuses.

But the needs remain high. The East New York and Cypress Hills communities were “rocked” by COVID, Van Ingen said. Many students are dealing with the loss of loved ones and remain apprehensive about coming to the building. In the first nine months of the school year, there were 16 attempted suicides among students, compared to none in the 2019-20 school year, Van Ingen said.

“We have to be realistic about how much you can expect one human being to do because the needs are so great,” Van Ingen said.

At one of the schools on the campus, chronic absenteeism hit 45%. Citywide, schools are projected to see a 37% rate of chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss 10% or more school days. That would be the highest level since at least 2000.

The front line workers from community organizations are worried these rates will continue to remain high next school year.

“Students have been online, remote learning and have had a hard time socializing and reintegrating into school, so if they’re not coming now, what’s the indicator that they’re going to come in September or October?” asked Anju Rupchandani, of Zone 126, which works with Long Island City High School in Queens.

Zone 126 plans to cut six full-time people, half who work on improving attendance through home visits and one-on-one mentoring. The others provide drama-based therapy to students. They also contract with an outside organization for mental health services, which they plan to pare back.

That will leave the school with two full-time Zone 126 staffers, one who will potentially work on attendance and then a director who will “coordinate any and all programs.”

Students at the school have struggled this year to connect with their peers and even have one-on-one conversations, Rupchandani said. They’ll often walk into the Zone 126 office at school seeking a place to “chill out” because they’re overwhelmed, and some have been nervous about falling behind academically. She’s noticed a concerning level of chronic absenteeism among the school’s ninth graders.

Failure to get paid

Suzan Sumer, a spokesperson for the education department, said the department will work with the City Council “to continue funding our community schools and the incredible work they do in support of all-around student health and wellbeing.”

The funding cuts are just another issue facing these organizations: Multiple nonprofits have not yet been paid for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in services they’ve provided to schools this year.

Cypress Hills may have to cut back on end-of-the-year student events, such as graduation, if they’re not paid by June, Van Ingen said.

SAYA has not yet been paid “one dollar” for the more than $600,000 worth of services they’ve provided so far this school year, Sisodia said, who added that they’ve received no clear explanation for the delay.

As a result, SAYA’s cash balances were drained this year, and they dipped into investment accounts to help make payroll. At one point, they were faced with the decision whether to pay their employees or pay the vendor they contract with that provides mental health services for Richmond Hill students, Sisodia said.

The education department declined to explain why organizations have not been paid, what the problems are, and how many are waiting on payments. Any delays in payment “are being addressed and are related to contract procurement and registration,” according to a department spokesperson.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

New York to increase weekly instruction for medically fragile students

2022-05-17T20:45:15+00:00

New York state officials will increase the number of hours students with medical conditions must receive after a flurry of questions from parents and school districts — but the mandate won’t take effect until the 2023-2024 school year.

The changes affect students who, for medical reasons, won’t be in school for at least 10 days over a three-month period and are learning from home or a hospital setting. Starting in 2023, these students must receive at least 10 hours of weekly instruction, up from five, if they’re in elementary or middle school, and at least 15 hours for high schoolers, an increase from 10 hours a week.

The increase does not go into effect until 2023 because state officials wanted to give districts time to budget properly, according to a spokesperson for the state education department.

“I think there was a common understanding that the five to 10 hours were not nearly enough,” Mary Beth Casey, assistant commissioner at the state education department, told the Board of Regents Monday.

State officials say the new regulations come after hearing many questions from caregivers and districts as the pandemic wore on about how to provide instruction for medically fragile children, including immunocompromised students. They’re also, for the first time, requiring districts to follow a timeline to approve and provide such instruction for these students.

In New York City, 20 different conditions qualify children for medically necessary instruction. This school year, just over 2,500 students applied for such services, and 84% of them were approved, according to an education department spokesperson, who did not immediately share the equivalent pre-pandemic data. Sixty-five percent of these children received in-person instruction, which involves a teacher coming to their home or another setting to teach them, while the rest was virtual.

At the start of this school year, parents whose children have medical conditions and were at higher risk for severe COVID infections faced agonizing decisions about whether to send them back to school buildings. Should they risk their child getting infected, or should they apply for the home instruction program, which would mean getting 1-2 hours of schooling a day?

“We had to make a really difficult decision to send her to school,” parent Rodney Lee told Chalkbeat in October about his daughter who has a seizure disorder and was at a higher risk for severe COVID. “Every day we pray, and we hope that she stays healthy.”

The new rules will mean just an extra hour of learning a day for these students. Still, it’s a “really critical” change for families, said Maggie Moroff, a special education policy expert at Advocates for Children, who said that even pre-pandemic students at home were getting far fewer hours of instruction when compared to their peers in school.

“There was so little oversight, and experiences were so dramatically different, but in a world where more and more students are needing to learn from home in order to remain healthy and safe, we really want to make sure that they get the supports that they need,” Moroff said.

The state also created several more requirements that districts must meet.

Previously, there was no required timeline around how quickly students could be approved and receive such instruction. Starting this July, districts must start home or hospital instruction for a child within five school days of either being notified of that student’s medical condition or a guardian’s request for such instruction — whichever happens first. Districts must decide and notify parents whether their child is eligible for home or hospital instruction five days after a parent or guardian sends a doctor’s note verifying the child’s medical condition. Parents can appeal a denial within five days, but the district must continue providing services while the appeal is being considered.

Creating an approval timeline could also have a big impact on families. Moroff said some cases took so long for services to be set up, that some children lost months of schooling.

“We would wait sometimes for months for their home instruction to start, even after it had been approved,” Moroff said.

The state is also requiring districts to create plans for these students that describe how many hours of instruction they’ll receive and how their lesson plans are keeping them on track — something New York City already does, the city spokesperson said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

‘I’m lucky if I can get him out of bed’: NYC families struggle with school refusal

2022-05-17T19:28:49+00:00

Every morning raises a stressful question for Lori: Will her son go to school?

Most days, the answer is no.

Her eighth grader, Scott, has not attended school for a full day or entire week since mid-January.

“He said he hates math, he hates school, and doesn’t want to go,” said Lori, a single mom from Staten Island who asked to use middle names for privacy reasons. “There are mornings where he would get dressed and go, but not get out of the car. Sometimes he doesn’t leave the house.”

The school year at I.S. 7 started smoothly for Scott, who is on the autism spectrum. His teachers heaped praise on him, and he seemed to be making friends, Lori said. But by November, he had been sick several times, and he missed half the month.

He never got back on track.

Many children have days where they dread school or try to get out of going at some point in their academic career. But Lori’s son and other children like him are suffering from an extreme aversion to being in the classroom that clinicians call school refusal.

Studies estimate about 1 to 5% of children nationwide exhibited signs of school refusal before the pandemic. Experts, parents, and educators told Chalkbeat they believe coronavirus shutdowns worsened the problem. Many children learned outside of school buildings for an extended period of time, while instances of anxiety and depression — disorders often associated with school refusal — skyrocketed.

Post-pandemic statistics for school refusal aren’t available, and it can be hard to untangle whether mental health issues are impacting attendance since they can manifest in physical symptoms like stomach aches. But observers wonder if post-pandemic school refusal is contributing to the city’s soaring absenteeism rates. Education department officials estimate that by year’s end, 37% of the students in kindergarten through 12th grade could be considered chronically absent, defined as missing at least 10% of the school year. That is significantly higher than in 2018-19, the year before the pandemic, when it reached 26%.

An increase in school refusal following campus closures stands to reason, since experts say the problem can be triggered by absences, illnesses, or major transitions like starting a new school. COVID rates continue to be high in New York City, leading to prolonged periods away from school for ill students as well as students exposed to the virus by classmates (though quarantine rules have been relaxed in recent months). And remote learning led to a longer-than-normal feeling of transition for students who enrolled in new schools but spent limited amounts of time there.

Students refusing to attend school can drain and frustrate educators and parents alike. Without any official city guidance on how to approach refusal, the response from school administrators ranges from deep partnership with families to little or no involvement. Parents, meanwhile, can find the problem emotionally and financially taxing, interfering with their work and leading to expensive therapy bills.

After Queens mom Jenn Choi saw one of her own sons this year struggling with school refusal, the consultant for families of students with disabilities surveyed other parents experiencing similar situations.

Schools and families need more guidance beyond the patchwork of strategies being used now, according to Jenn Choi, a Queens mom whose child has avoided school this year. She also runs Special Support Services, a consulting firm for families of students with disabilities, and recently surveyed 140 families experiencing school refusal, finding that most of their children— some 57% — had not avoided school prior to the pandemic.

Under education department policy, if a student is out 10 or more consecutive days, interventions such as home visits should be triggered. But many of those surveyed said their children have been refusing school intermittently.

Only 14% of respondents reported that an attendance teacher called or visited the home. Roughly 11% of the families said their children’s school took no action.

“The response has not been consistent,” Choi said. “There needs to be some protocol or threshold. If the student goes to the nurse’s office five times in one week, we need to do something.”

Education department officials say that schools closely monitor attendance trends, identify reasons for a student’s absence, and offer interventions such as mentors and social-emotional support for students at risk of chronic absenteeism.

“While school aversion is just one of many reasons why a student might be absent, we are taking extra steps to ensure that this does not become a contributor to chronic absenteeism,” said education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein. “We are offering targeted interventions for students who are identified as being at risk for school aversion-related chronic absenteeism through guidance counselors, social workers, attendance teachers, and staff.”

A gradual approach

Even though Amanda Abry worked hand-in-hand with her son’s middle school to help him return to the classroom, the Brooklyn mom ended up using 12 weeks of family medical to make that happen.

Returning to Charles O. Dewey Middle School in the fall of 2021 was overwhelming for her seventh grader. Last year, he attended school only a couple days a week, if at all, because of the hybrid schedule and COVID-related closures. Additionally, he switched to taking two subways every day from Cobble Hill to the Sunset Park school, a departure from the yellow bus service he was entitled to as a sixth grader.

The school made efforts to cut transitions for students, allowing them to remain in one room throughout the day, with the teachers pushing in instead of kids changing rooms between periods. Still, by October, Abry’s son started missing one or two days a week.

By November he stopped going entirely, saying he was getting stomach aches. The therapist at Dewey’s school-based health clinic was only accessible when Abry’s son was in the building. A therapist from the school was willing to do virtual sessions, but the seventh grader refused the offer. By December, he was able to start seeing a cognitive behavior therapist in private practice, and his mom and dad got parent coaching.

The school followed the gold standard of what’s recommended in easing a student back. He was allowed to enter just the lobby. Then he worked up to attending half days. Finally, after nearly three months, he was able to go to his dreaded science class and attend five days a week.

This approach is in line with advice from Dr. Stephanie Ruggiero, a psychologist in the ADHD and Behavior Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute, who said schools should work with families on a plan that gradually exposes the child to being back, slowly building their tolerance over time.

A school might allow the child to attend one or few classes before working up to a full day. Schools should create tailored plans based on a child’s needs, she said, and since missed assignments can be another source of anxiety, parents should discuss whether schools can give extensions or excuses for certain coursework.

There’s no official guidance on how schools should handle school refusal, and parents have seen widely varied responses.

‘Embarrassed about how far behind he is’

Sally traces her seventh grade son’s school refusal back to starting middle school in the pandemic and other personal struggles. He was tired for months after getting COVID in November 2020, and he began exhibiting signs of depression after his older sister’s suicide attempts. (The mom asked to use a family nickname as she works to improve her relationship with her son’s school.)

“He is very embarrassed about how far behind he is. Unfortunately, more days out leads to more school refusal, and it is very hard to get kids like this re-engaged.”

This year, her son has missed too many days for his mom to count. Since January, he has made it twice a week, at most, and those days were not necessarily full days. In April, as he was starting to get momentum in returning, another bout with COVID interfered, and then a few weeks later, he was hit with another illness. When he was in school, her son got into altercations with peers. After a STEM class became challenging, the teachers offered her son catch-up help at lunch, but his mom didn’t want him to lose the socialization time after a year away from other kids. They suggested that her son had “cabin fever,” making her feel they were dismissive.

“He is very embarrassed about how far behind he is,” she said. “Unfortunately, more days out leads to more school refusal, and it is very hard to get kids like this re-engaged.”

The 800-seat school brought in a counselor this fall dedicated to mental health, the mom said. But it wasn’t enough, and the school hired another recently. That new counselor is arranging for her son to do some of his work in her office because he was having panic attacks when entering classrooms, Sally said.

The approach has started working. In the past few weeks, he’s gone into the building three times, sometimes spending much of the day in the counselor’s office.

“There are days when I’m lucky if I can get him out of bed. Is it fair they have to be de facto counselors?” Sally said of teachers. “No, but you’re sending them into a war zone without armor. They don’t know how to recognize suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression.”

Getting back in the building as quickly as possible

Unlike Sally, whose son did not exhibit signs of school refusal before the pandemic, Lori’s son, Scott, began avoiding school a few months before coronavirus shuttered school buildings. He had just started sixth grade at I.S. 7, which declined to comment for this article, after spending elementary school in a gifted and talented program where he was essentially with the same children since kindergarten.

At the new school, Lori’s son experienced bullying, she said, and an incident during recess ended in her son and another student getting in-house suspension.

After that, it became more common that Scott visited the nurse for stomach aches and asked to go home. Then the stomach ache complaints started first thing in the morning, to avoid going to school altogether.

The problem, however, receded and his anxiety lessened when school buildings closed, and he remained fully remote the next year due to health concerns.

When children stop attending school and see their anxiety melt away, it can be harder to get them back into the building, according to Ruggiero, the psychologist.

“The more you are avoiding something, if you are overwhelmed with fear, you get that temporary relief from avoiding it,” she said. “The avoidance makes it go away. But the problem is, we lose our ability and confidence to cope by not facing it.”

It’s critical to get children back into the school building as quickly as possible, even for a few minutes a day, experts say, advising parents to take away things that make being home appealing, like video games.

In Lori’s case, the school devised a plan in March. An attendance specialist arrived at their house in the morning, drove behind Lori’s car to school, and then escorted Scott inside the building. That worked for about a week before Scott said he could go into the building on his own. After a day or two, the middle schooler was back home.

Earlier this month — and nearly five months after Scott stopped attending regularly — the school created a new plan to initially allow him to attend just science and social studies, which are led by his favorite teachers. They offered to change his math class, the course that has been his biggest hurdle.

Dr. Chelsey Rosen, a former school psychologist, believes schools could benefit from deeper work on behavioral management strategies.

Dr. Chelsey Rosen, a therapist at the Manhattan Psychology Group, is a former school psychologist and understands that schools can often be stretched thin, making it difficult for them to come up with personalized plans for students.

Though schools have talked about implementing more social-emotional learning this year, Rosen worries they haven’t had enough training on deeper work, such as behavior management. Additionally, schools might not have the wherewithal to tailor a plan to gradually reintroduce a student back into the classroom, which often relies on a dedicated staffer to be the point person supporting that child.

“I do feel like schools are trying in many ways,” she said. “They’ll throw in social-emotional learning, but they’ll just do a 10-minute thing on mindfulness — not that mindfulness isn’t good — but they’re just checking a box.”

For Abry, the Brooklyn mom whose son stopped attending seventh grade, there are still tough moments, and Abry herself gets drained by the strain of coaxing her son back into school each day. But she feels like her son is on the other side of the mountain.

“It’s wonderful to see him blooming again,” Abry said. “It’s been nice seeing him re-engage with the world.”

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

Proposal would make it easier for NY students to pass Regents exams

2022-05-17T14:50:38+00:00

Update: The Board of Regents approved this proposal on Tuesday, May 17.

After a third school year disrupted by the pandemic, New York state officials want to allow students to more easily appeal failing scores on Regents exams, starting this spring through the end of next school year.

Students now must earn a 65 or higher to pass Regents exams, which are required to earn a high school diploma. But students could appeal scores of 50-64 if they pass the related course under a proposal expected to come before the state Board of Regents Tuesday. If approved, the change would go into effect immediately, likely allowing more students to meet graduation requirements.

The changes are meant to soften the blow COVID has had on schools across the state this year and would mark the third year in a row that officials have changed rules around New York’s high school exit exams. The pandemic has “continued to have adverse impacts on students and schools,” and that instruction has “varied significantly across the state,” state officials wrote in a memo about the proposed changes.

New York is approaching a “high alert” level for COVID with hospitalizations on the rise, and it’s possible schools could see yet another major disruption to student and staff attendance. During the omicron variant surge after winter break, cases skyrocketed among New York City schools students and staff, disrupting schooling and leaving children at home with little to no instruction.

While attendance improved after that surge, chronic absenteeism in New York City could reach the worst levels since at least 2000 if attendance rates don’t improve.

The temporary changes proposed Monday make it significantly easier for students to appeal failing scores. That may ultimately help to once again boost the state’s graduation rate, which was on the rise before the pandemic but has continued to increase as Regents have been canceled or decoupled from graduation requirements.

Currently, students can appeal failing scores of 60-64, with some exceptions for students learning English as a new language and students with disabilities. But there are a slew of other restrictions: Students can only appeal a score if they’ve failed the exam at least twice, have passed the related course, have received extra academic help in the subject, and are recommended for an exemption by a teacher or department chair. Students can only appeal scores on two of their five Regents exams that are required to graduate. Under the proposal, students must pass the related course but don’t need to meet any of these other requirements through next school year. Their parent or guardian, however, may refuse a granted appeal if they want the student to receive more instruction.

Regents exams have been a long debated topic in New York, one of about a dozen states that administers a high school exit exam. State officials are rethinking the role of the exam and will launch a pilot program looking at new ways to earn a diploma. In recent years, the Regents have made it easier to meet exam requirements by approving more pathways to graduation and lowering the score needed for an appeal.

This will be the third school year that state officials have tweaked rules about Regents exams in response to the pandemic. State officials canceled the exams when the pandemic first hit in the 2019-2020 school year. In the 2020-2021 school year, students were not required to pass exams in order to graduate as they currently are, and most Regents exams were canceled. January exams were canceled this year during the omicron surge.

Regent Roger Tilles, who represents Long Island, criticized the department’s decision to continue with the exams this year and said they are “twisting like a pretzel” to make the exams work instead of rethinking how they are being administered this year.

“Virtually everything on Long Island is being disrupted fairly drastically, and I’ve talked to a number of school superintendents, and their numbers are very high of kids who are out of school right now, and I think we ought to reevaluate how we are re-administering the Regents,” Tilles said.

Asked why the state didn’t instead remove the exams as graduation requirements, a spokesperson pointed to the proposal memo, which said the exams are important “as one of multiple measures of student achievement in the 2021-2022 school year.” The tests can help determine whether students are achieving state learning standards, the memo said, and help state officials determine steps “to foster equity and improve educational opportunities.”

But decades of research shows these exams don’t better-prepare students for life after high school and, in fact, can harm students of color from low-income families.

One Brooklyn high school principal said he expected the state to expand safety net options for students this year, as rates of chronic absenteeism have shot up and COVID has continued to disrupt instruction with many students and staff forced to isolate at home.

But the principal, who requested anonymity to speak freely, questioned the decision to make the exams easier to pass rather than canceling them.

“The breadth of material tested is so large that every teacher who teaches Regents feels that content pressure at the best of times,” the principal said. “This year, so many students are out so many days, the crunch becomes exacerbated.”

Even though the exams will be easier to pass, students still will face pressure to score well above a 50, as low Regents scores typically appear on student transcripts, the principal said.

“On top of all the trauma and challenges they’ve been through over the past two years, I’m not sure what the state is hoping to accomplish by having the Regents exams at all,” he added.

Alex Zimmerman contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NYC to launch two ‘full-time’ virtual schools, top education officials say

2022-05-10T20:27:32+00:00

New York City is planning to launch two fully virtual schools, top education department officials said during a City Council hearing on Tuesday, though key details about how and when they will be created have yet to be revealed.

City officials told local lawmakers that launching the “full-time” virtual schools will be part of the solution to high rates of chronic absenteeism and re-engaging students in the wake of pandemic disruption. About 37% of the city’s K-12 students are on track to be chronically absent, defined as missing at least 10% of the school year, substantially higher than the years before the pandemic.

“I believe that virtual learning is here to stay whether or not we have a pandemic,” schools Chancellor David Banks said. He added that students should be “exposed to the best teaching, the best experiences all over the world.”

Banks has signaled since taking office in January that he’s interested in creating more permanent virtual learning options, even as the city has required all students to attend in person this school year. And, amid the Omicron surge this winter, the schools chief said he hoped to revive virtual learning as many parents kept their children home out of fear of exposure or were stuck in quarantines. But he indicated it was difficult to negotiate with the city’s teachers union and the option never materialized.

Creating separate virtual schools may help overcome one of the key problems with virtual learning during the pandemic: the task fell to individual schools to figure out how to simultaneously staff in-person and remote classrooms. Standalone virtual schools that rely on separate teaching staff would ease that burden, though it’s not clear if that is the model officials are planning.

A virtual model would likely appeal to parents who have lingering fears about the virus or whose children preferred remote instruction. It may also appeal to families whose children have more significant medical issues that make them vulnerable to COVID or other illnesses. The city’s current programming for those students typically only offers an hour a day of instruction.

Many details are unclear about the new virtual schools. City officials did not answer emailed questions about how they will operate, such as which grades will be served, when they would start, or who would staff the program. Nathaniel Styer, a department spokesperson, wrote that the department “will have more to say soon.”

Dick Riley, a spokesperson for the United Federation of Teachers, wrote in an email that the union “had some initial conversations” about the virtual schools “but nothing concrete so far.”

If students are allowed to enroll in separate virtual schools, that could create headaches for some schools and district leaders. Depending on the number of students who are allowed to enroll, the virtual schools could exacerbate enrollment problems at brick-and-mortar campuses, potentially redirecting funding from some campuses and creating more pressure to consolidate or close them. The city’s district schools have seen enrollment slide about 6.4% since the pandemic hit.

Some districts across the country, including Denver, ran virtual programs before the pandemic led to mass closures in March 2020. Denver previously offered a virtual high school option but has since expanded to cover other grades.

Philadelphia and Detroit created virtual academies during the pandemic. Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest school district behind New York City, plans to launch new virtual schools this fall. Chalkbeat previously reported that as some districts separated virtual academies from their regular schools, there tended to be less interest in them in part because there were fewer opportunities to interact with their classmates and teachers.

Before the pandemic, New York City experimented with remote learning on a small scale, including a pilot program intended to expand access to advanced coursework for students attending 15 schools in the Bronx.

Still, the education department has a mixed track record when it comes to creating virtual options. In the summer of 2020, the city scrambled to scale up a virtual summer program built off a centralized platform. It ran into serious technical difficulties, and some teachers struggled to connect with students they had never met in person.

Tom Liam Lynch, who runs the website InsideSchools, and worked with the education department to implement a digital learning platform a decade ago, said he’s confident the education department can pull off a virtual option despite previous stumbles.

The previous administration failed to create a virtual teaching strategy, he said, which hobbled remote instruction during the pandemic. Lynch noted that quickly scaling up a soup-to-nuts virtual school would likely take time, but he said even smaller-scale efforts could prove useful, including giving students access to a broader range of courses, or helping those who have struggled in traditional schools.

“Post-COVID, being able to successfully learn online is just going to be an ongoing part of what it means to be a student, what it means to be a worker, what it means to be civically engaged in society,” he said. “I think the DOE is 100% capable of doing this well.”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Unvaccinated NYC public school students cleared to attend prom

2022-05-09T22:10:36+00:00

New York City public school students can attend their proms without showing proof of vaccination, city officials announced Monday.

About 57% of high school students are vaccinated, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of city data from late February, so the move will significantly increase the share of students who are eligible to attend.

Students are recommended, but not required, to wear a “high-quality” mask at prom and graduation, city officials said.

“I am thrilled that, starting this year, every one of our young people will have the chance to celebrate all of their hard work with a prom and graduation, regardless of vaccination status,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

The announcement came after a group of City Council members sent a letter Sunday to Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan criticizing the rule on the grounds that students are not required to be vaccinated or wear masks to attend school and such requirements have been lifted in many other settings, the New York Post reported.

Officials said they “strongly” encourage students to take at-home COVID tests before large gatherings such as proms and graduations. The city has recently started sending home four rapid tests per child each week.

Still, if a graduation or prom is held at a private venue that requires COVID vaccines, students must show proof of vaccination to enter. And guests who attend graduation ceremonies in school buildings must also show proof that they’ve been inoculated.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Despite concerns about student behavior, fewer NYC students have been suspended this year

2022-04-29T21:37:30+00:00

As New York City required all students to return to school buildings in September for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit, many teachers reported upticks in student behavior and mental health issues.

But so far, that has not led to increased suspensions, according to city data released this week.

From July through December 2021, city schools issued nearly 8,400 suspensions, about 16% fewer than the same period in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

During the first half of this school year, principal suspensions — which last five days or fewer — decreased nearly 16%. Superintendent suspensions, which cover more serious incidents, dropped more than 19%. Those can stretch up to an entire school year, but have been limited to 20 days in most cases since 2019. (Though racial breakdowns are not included in mid-year figures, previous data show Black students and those with disabilities are generally more likely to be suspended.)

Over the past decade, suspensions in city schools have fallen about 55%, and this year’s reduction may reflect the continuation of a long-term trend. (Last school year, most students opted to learn virtually full time, and suspensions plummeted roughly 99%.)

Still, some experts expected this year’s suspension numbers to meet or exceed pre-pandemic levels, as many students are reeling from acute academic and mental health challenges, which may cause them to act out.

There is likely no single explanation for this year’s drop in suspensions, but there are several possibilities. Educators may have been more reluctant to remove students from classrooms after nearly two years of learning disruptions, fearing that removing them from class would set them back even further. Schools may have also relied more on counseling or other support, as district leaders encouraged schools to pay closer attention to student wellbeing, and schools had more resources at their disposal.

Another possibility: Fewer students were in classrooms, limiting opportunities for suspensions. Not only is K-12 enrollment down by roughly 9% since the pandemic hit, but nearly 150,000 students have tested positive for COVID this school year, forcing them to quarantine at home. Chronic absenteeism is also on the rise, with about 37% of students on pace to miss at least 10% of school days this year, city officials said. In recent years, chronic absenteeism rates have been closer to 25%.

Constance Lindsay, a University of North Carolina researcher who has studied school discipline policies, said many of these factors are likely playing a role. She added that the students who were most likely to be infected by COVID or who are chronically absent might also be more likely to be suspended, which would push suspension numbers down. Teacher responses might be different as well, she suggested.

“There has been a lot of attention over the past two years to restorative justice and the school-to-prison pipeline,” she said, in part stoked by racial justice protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. “I think that had a profound impact on a lot of people.”

Robert Effinger, a teacher at the Bronx High School of Business, said disruptive incidents were more prevalent at his school at the beginning of the year as students reacclimated to the classroom. Many were often frustrated by higher academic standards, including the need to take Regents exams, which are typically required for graduation but were paused during the pandemic.

“I had to reframe things and bring it way down to basics,” he said. That approach has paid off: “It was a complete 180 on all my classroom management issues.”

Suspensions drop while weapon confiscations rise

Still, there is some evidence of changes in student behavior that aren’t reflected in the suspension data. There has been an 80% rise in the number of weapons that schools have confiscated this year through Feb. 20 compared with the same period in 2019, according to police department data.

Fourteen guns have been recovered this school year, up from just one during the same period before the pandemic. There has also been a dramatic increase in students found with tasers or stun guns: 325 this year compared with 47 before the pandemic.

The police statistics come with some caveats. About 36% of the weapons discovered this year were labeled “other,” a substantial increase, and police department officials did not offer details about the most common weapons in that category.

Some students have stressed that statistics like those can be misleading because many might carry items like pepper spray or tasers to protect themselves during their commutes rather than for use inside school buildings. Violence that has occurred outside of school walls this year has affected campuses, including the recent shooting of a Brooklyn 12-year-old, killed while eating in a car. Another student was shot and killed on her walk home from school.

Schools Chancellor David Banks has acknowledged safety concerns in and around school buildings and vowed to replenish the number of safety agents, who are employed by the police department and stationed in schools, as their numbers have slipped due to attrition and hiring challenges.

Mayor Eric Adams has also reversed previous plans to transfer control of school safety agents to the education department, a move that generated criticism from some activists who have argued for significant reforms to the way schools are policed.

Calls continue for more mental health support

Beyond school policing, Banks has not shared a detailed vision for a student discipline policy, though he has offered some clues. At a school safety forum earlier this month, Banks signaled support for efforts to reduce suspensions and said he is not in favor of “zero tolerance” policies.

“Teachers and principals can’t suspend kids for every little thing in ways that they were able to do in the past,” Banks said. “Schools have to be a place where kids learn right from wrong and there will be consequences for bad behavior — but it doesn’t mean being thrown out.”

Under the previous administration, Mayor Bill de Blasio changed the discipline code to limit suspensions for the city’s youngest students, curtail subjective infractions for “insubordination,” and require approval from central office administrators in more situations. De Blasio also promoted “restorative” approaches to student discipline, a constellation of practices that favor peer mediation and conflict resolution over ejecting students from their classes.

Activists have called on the city to invest significantly more funding in restorative justice training and personnel to help schools adopt less punitive practices. At a recent rally, students and elected officials also called for more mental health support, including additional guidance counselors and social workers.

Alex Mojica, a senior at the Bronx Academy for Software Engineering who uses they/them pronouns, says restorative practices have made a big difference in their school experience. In middle school, Mojica was handcuffed after being involved in a fight, but their current school takes a different approach to diffusing conflict.

“Whenever there’s any problems, we have mediations,” they said. “I feel like my school does a really good job at it.”

Still, they are still required to walk through metal detectors on the way into school and said the school safety agents are intimidating.

Jenna Lyle, an education department spokesperson, emphasized investments the city has made in mental health services and said every school should have access to a social worker, counselor, or school-based mental health center.

“Our schools must be welcoming, supportive environments for our young people as they grow academically and socially, and our school staff work hand-in-hand every day with outstanding School Safety Agents to provide safe, supportive environments for every student,” she wrote.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Adams’ NYC education budget plan: more summer programming for students

2022-04-27T00:45:15+00:00

Mayor Eric Adams proposed a budget Tuesday that expands summer programming for public schools and increases work opportunities for students.

His remarks about education largely centered on expanding these programs as a way to keep children out of trouble with law enforcement.

“We must do more for young people, especially when it comes to helping them get prepared and train for a career in the future, because I say this over and over again, folks: ‘If you don’t educate you will incarcerate,’” Adams said during a speech at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, where he highlighted his first 100 days in office.

But some big questions remain about this administration’s spending plans. It’s still unclear how the city will spend the remainder of $7 billion in federal COVID stimulus funding on New York City’s school system. The de Blasio administration had planned to spend $3.1 billion in stimulus funding this fiscal year, but just half of that money had been spent by the first week of March, according to a recent comptroller’s report.

Those federal dollars are a part of the mayor’s $31 billion education plan in this budget, though City Hall officials did not immediately say how much they’re expecting to use next fiscal year. This budget will be the first Adams negotiates with the City Council, as he seeks to extend his control over the nation’s largest school system.

Tuesday’s proposal — known as the executive budget — comes two months after he presented the preliminary budget that outlined spending cuts at the education department. That included reinstating a policy in which schools must return money if enrollment decreased. It also includes cuts in department jobs by eliminating thousands of vacant positions and assuming jobs won’t be filled as student enrollment drops.

One new addition between the February plan and Tuesday’s version: the city is expecting to save $100 million because there are fewer education department staff on the payroll, according to a city budget official. While it wasn’t immediately clear, this could include savings from the roughly 900 education department staffers who were fired after not getting vaccinated.

Adams and his team will negotiate the budget with the City Council, and it must be approved by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Here are highlights from the mayor’s plan released Tuesday.

Summer programming and career pathways

As previously announced, the mayor wants to expand the city’s summer programming known as Summer Rising by 10,000 more elementary and middle school students, reaching a total 110,000 and 210,000 across all grades. That effort — which is a partnership between the education department and the Department of Youth and Community Development — will cost $350 million for grades K-8, according to a news release from City Hall.

About 45,000 students signed up on Monday, the first day to enroll, said Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the education department.

Expanded programming can be tough for schools to accomplish. The rollout of last year’s expansion was messy with several decisions left to the last minute, including transportation for homeless students and children with disabilities. Still, nearly 100,000 K-8 students participated, as well as 80,000 high schoolers, and some saw it as a good transition to in-person instruction after two school years of remote learning.

Adams has also proposed expanding the Summer Youth Employment Program, or SYEP, to 90,000 total slots, which are available to youth ages 14-21, and another 10,000 jobs through other city programs. SYEP, however, is not available for students who are undocumented. The proposed expansion will cost $79 million.

Separately, the mayor has proposed spending $33 million in new “career pathways” programs. According to budget documents, the education department would create 25 new pathway programs in “high-growth sectors” like healthcare and information technology.

COVID stimulus spending on new dyslexia supports and bilingual education programming

By the end of this school year, city officials could still have roughly $4 billion in COVID stimulus funding for schools to spend until the 2024-2025 school year. It could have even more if the department underspends what the former mayor’s administration had planned, for academic recovery, extra special education support, and other needs.

City officials still haven’t outlined a detailed plan for how the education department will spend remaining federal funds. On Tuesday, a budget official said that this budget proposal is just “the first crack” at how stimulus dollars may be used.

Budget documents offered some clues of what could be funded by stimulus dollars. Under Adams’ proposal, some stimulus-funded programs would include the expansion of Summer Rising, the recently announced expansion of gifted and talented programs, and the creation of more career pathways for middle and high school students.

In addition to those, Adams wants to spend $7.4 million over the next three years to “fund new dyslexia screening sites and literacy programs.” Budget documents say the city plans to use stimulus funding to expand “access to supports” throughout the school system and open two dyslexia schools in Districts 5 and 7, in Harlem and the Bronx, respectively, but it wasn’t immediately clear if Adams’ remarks were about this.

Earlier this year, Chancellor David Banks said the city will open a school for students with dyslexia but offered no other details, including where it would be or how students would be admitted.

In his speech, Adams also highlighted spending $11.2 million on bilingual programming. According to budget documents, city officials want to use stimulus funding to launch 50 new bilingual education programs in 2023, but neither officials nor budget documents expanded on where those programs would go.

The city has been under a yearslong, state-issued corrective action plan to improve how it educates students learning English as a new language. State officials have charged that the city does not have enough bilingual programming for its English learners, and in a letter sent to the city last August, state officials said they were “extremely dismayed and disappointed” by the lack of such programs.

Other initiatives using federal funds would include “improving response time” for families seeking translation and interpretation services — a huge concern among advocates for English language learners and immigrant families — though it’s unclear how much would be spent on such an initiative.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Correction: This story initially said Summer Rising would cost $101 million, per a city press release. Officials later clarified that the city budget is allocating that amount to it, but another $249 million is being paid by stimulus funding and tax levy dollars.

New York’s $7 billion deal could pave the way for universal child care

2022-04-18T19:35:51+00:00

Gov. Kathy Hochul is pledging a historic $7 billion in child care funding for New York families as part of this year’s state budget deal announced Thursday.

Lawmakers must still vote to approve the budget deal that Hochul said she’s reached with leaders of the state Assembly and Senate. If passed, the multi-billion-dollar investment would be spread over the next four years, paving the way for universal child care and helping to stabilize an industry shaken by COVID.

Hochul said the deal would double how much the state currently spends on subsidized child care and expand the number of eligible families.

It’s unclear how the state will roll out the ambitious expansion, which would dramatically increase which families qualify for reduced-cost care and steer more money toward providers.

“What we’re seeing in New York could propel us to the national forefront,” said Steven Morales, New York policy director for All Our Kin, a national nonprofit organization that supports child care providers who work out of their own homes.

Hochul did not share more specifics about the deal, and her office did not immediately respond to questions. Two sources familiar with budget negotiations said they are expecting subsidies for free care to include families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty limits by August, up from the current 200%. That means that a family of four earning around $83,000 would qualify for subsidized child care. Previously the limit was around $55,500 for a family of four. (The final deal did not make care free, keeping in place co-payments that advocates had hoped would be eliminated.)

Some advocates were disheartened by the deal. Alliance for Quality Education, which had pushed for a $5 billion investment next year alone, believes the plan falls short and will lead to a “slow roll out” that may force parents to remain on wait lists for years or “continue to be forced to pay high costs” for child care.

“The issue with all of this is that they are doing a lot more in terms of including more families with the 300% eligibility, but they’re not adding a lot more money, so it’s almost like this illusion that more families will get access to child care when they actually know the counties will run out of money quickly,” said Jasmine Gripper, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education.

In a significant loss for advocates, children who are undocumented will not be eligible for subsidized care, leaving out an estimated 5,000 children across the state who are excluded from more affordable programs because of immigration status, according to an estimate from Empire State Campaign for Child Care.

Children who are citizens but whose parents immigrated without papers could still qualify for care, but advocates worried that work requirements would be a barrier for those families, especially those who “work under the books and get paid in cash,” Gripper said. It is unclear what work requirements would look like for the program or if any changes are being considered.

For providers, sources said they expect the budget will include just over $340 million in stabilization grants to help cover the costs of operating through the pandemic. The sources also expect the state will change the way it calculates reimbursement rates and help centers stay financially viable over the longer term by paying providers more than they currently receive to care for young children.

Many of these investments have been on the wish lists of early childhood education advocates for years. Jessica Sager, All Our Kin CEO and co-founder, said the pandemic finally made the need for child care more obvious than ever as parents struggled to teach their children from home or had to leave the workforce altogether.

“We have been forced, as a society, to deal with the consequences of this broken system,” Sager said.

New York City has significantly expanded child care for 3- and 4-year-olds through free preschool programs in recent years, but families with infants have struggled to find and afford care.

In 2019, there were more than 200,000 infants living in New York City and more than 93,000 whose families qualified for subsidized care because of their income. Yet only about 8,000 were enrolled in publicly supported programs, according to public data analyzed by the Citizens’ Committee for Children, or CCC, a nonprofit advocacy group.

It costs almost $19,000 to enroll in center-based programs or more than $10,000 for programs that are run out of providers’ homes, putting care out of reach for many families. Many women who have left the workforce during the pandemic have not returned, with 35% of those reporting lack of child care as the reason, according to census data analyzed by CCC.

Providers, meanwhile, have struggled to make ends meet since well before the pandemic. Many operate as private businesses, while those that participate in public programs say the rates they’re paid do not come close to covering costs. COVID made things more difficult, with more expenses and plummeting enrollment. Many were forced to close their doors.

Jennifer March, executive director of CCC, said the proposals from the state Senate and Assembly, which called for investing at least $3 billion, had the potential for “real impact on the workforce, real impact on parents and their ability to work and access affordable care, and real impacts on children,” March said.

Gregory Brender, director of public policy for the Day Care Council, said his organization is still hoping to push lawmakers to make care eligible for more families even after the budget is finalized, including those with varying immigration statuses.

“Child care has been treated differently than public education, where it’s been based on income requirements and work requirements and other requirements,” Brender said. “We really need to move to a system where early childhood education is a right.”

Christina Veiga is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on school diversity and preschool. Contact Christina at cveiga@chalkbeat.org.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Correction: This story previously stated the state budget deal would expand free childcare. In fact, the deal expands which families qualify for dramatically subsidized care, but co-payments will still be required.

NYC schools have spent just half of this year’s COVID relief, report says

2022-04-12T22:32:08+00:00

Last spring, New York City schools celebrated its receipt of $7 billion in federal stimulus dollars as the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio planned how it would reopen buildings following two school years disrupted by the pandemic.

But as of the first week of March, the education department had spent just half of the $3 billion in federal COVID stimulus dollars it had planned to spend through June 30, according to a new report from Comptroller Brad Lander. All of the money can be spent through the 2024-2025 school year.

De Blasio and his administration last year devised a plan to spend those stimulus dollars on a slew of items. That included operating school buildings, extra academic support for students, and an ambitious new reading and math curriculum.

The report, based on data obtained from the education department, found the city has spent:

Less than a quarter of the $984 million plan for boosting academic recovery and instructional support
24% of what had been planned for investments to care for “the whole child,” which includes social emotional supports
65% of costs associated with reopening school buildings

The education department called the report a “mischaracterization of our stimulus spending to date” because “the snapshot of data as of early March does not account for all spending,” said Dan Weisberg, first deputy chancellor, in a statement.

“This funding continues to be available to the Department of Education beyond this year, and we are evaluating ways to utilize any unspent funds to continue supporting students and schools going forward,” Weisberg continued.

New York City’s slow spending mirrors issues seen in school systems across the nation facing labor shortages and supply chain issues that have struggled to spend their COVID relief dollars.

In response to questions from the comptroller’s office, education department staff blamed the underspending on many reasons, including pandemic-related delays, difficulties in hiring and supply chain issues, and problems with contracting and procurement, the report said.

But separately, a department spokesperson said the “full and final account” of stimulus spending won’t be known until the fall, when the city completes its fiscal year accounting. She added that spending in many categories, such as building accessibility, will rise “significantly” before the end of this fiscal year.

Reasons for underspending can include “work not beginning until later in the fiscal year to goods and services having not yet been fully received,” for various initiatives, the spokesperson said.

In a news release, Lander raised concerns about his office’s findings.

“The city cannot afford to squander this opportunity to invest in the programs and supports to help our young people begin to succeed again academically, process the trauma they’ve experienced, and address long-standing inequities in our school system,” he said. “We still have an opportunity to spend this one-time funding wisely – but the clock is ticking.”

In some areas, the department appeared to be near or on track with that spending. It has spent most of the money it earmarked for reopening school campuses, which includes health and safety costs, and to “maintain current services.” It spent about 70% for its Summer Rising program that wrapped up in August, but city officials said the remainder of the money can be used in the future.

The comptroller’s office raised concerns about the low spending for academics and so-called “supporting the whole child” initiatives, which include social and mental health supports. Spending delays, the report said, “mean that schools are failing to provide urgently needed additional support” after “the trauma of the prior two school years.”

Slow spending on academic support

The city has spent 22% of the nearly $1 billion it had planned for extra academic support and programs, the report found. Included in that bucket was $350 million that went directly to schools to provide extra tutoring for their students and professional support for teachers. Schools have spent just under a third of that money, according to the report. Chalkbeat reported in February that some school leaders were struggling to spend this money because they couldn’t persuade enough staff to work overtime and oversee such programs and services. This money was reserved for this year only, and schools must return any unused money.

Academic recovery also included a $49 million initiative called “Early Literacy for All,” which included a tool to screen K-2 students for reading skills, as well as hiring more reading coaches and providing more training to K-2 teachers. The city has spent $10 million for this.

The department has only spent 12% of the $251 million it planned for extra support in special education and creating more pre-K special education seats. At least $158 million of that money went directly to schools to provide extra services for students with disabilities. But Chalkbeat recently reported that just 35% of the children who were offered services will have participated. On top of staffing issues, children were not guaranteed transportation to these programs, and some parents said it was unclear what services their children would receive.

About $17 million has been spent of $202 million planned for the creation of a new culturally responsive reading and math curriculum, called “Mosaic.” The plan was originally to roll out the curriculum by the fall of 2023, but education department officials told the New York Daily News last month that it will only be available to middle school grades by then.

Low spending on ‘whole child’ investments

Similar to academics, the city has spent about 24% of its planned investments in initiatives to support “the whole child.” The city has spent just a third of its planned $80 million for social-emotional support, which includes plans to hire more social workers and a three-year, $18 million contract for a screener for schools to assess their students’ social-emotional skills. Officials have spent $1 million of the $12 million reserved for expanding restorative justice programs.

Lander’s office noted that these funds can be rolled into the $1.8 billion in federal funds planned to be spent next fiscal year, which begins July 1. They can either be used as planned or allocated to different priorities.

The report suggests the department could use unspent funds to provide salary parity to teachers and staff at community-based preschool special education programs. It could also be used to increase support for English language learners, for whom advocates had hoped there would be specific, dedicated COVID stimulus funding, similar to the money for students with disabilities.

The education department is expected to release an updated spending plan for stimulus dollars “in the coming weeks,” according to Lander’s report.

Here is a link to the report.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

New York officials vote to scrap edTPA teacher certification exam

2022-04-12T19:17:02+00:00

Prospective teachers in New York state will no longer have to take the controversial edTPA, a national assessment that some have criticized as being a barrier to diversifying and growing the teacher workforce.

New York’s Board of Regents, the state’s education policymaking body, voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the multi-part exam as a requirement for earning a teaching certificate. The change goes into effect April 27.

Members of the board did not discuss the matter before approving the change. But several Regents applauded the idea when it was first proposed in December, with New York City-based Regent Kathleen Cashin calling it “a very good move.”

The edTPA, which comes with a $300 fee and is assessed by Pearson, involves multiple parts. Teacher candidates must provide a portfolio of work, video recordings of their classroom instruction, their lesson plans, analyses of their students’ progress, and their reflections from classroom practices.

The pandemic helped drive the state’s decision to scrap the requirement, and follows reforms in recent years to teacher certification in New York. New Jersey educators have also recently pushed to get rid of the test.

During the public health crisis, state education officials have allowed teaching candidates to take a written exam in lieu of the edTPA, and teacher prep program leaders embraced the change. That led many of them to ask for the removal of the test altogether, William Murphy, the state education department’s deputy commissioner of higher education, told the Regents in December.

Program leaders reported that their students were more focused on completing edTPA requirements than learning from their student teaching experiences, according to Murphy. It was also challenging for them to manage the multiple components of the exam.

In lieu of the exam, teacher preparation programs will be required by Sept. 1, 2023, to create their own “multi-measure assessment” that stacks up with New York’s teaching standards.

Union hails end of test, but questions remain

Critics have long worried that the exam shut out candidates of color from the teaching workforce, which faces a shortage. In 2017, New York officials reported that Black test takers were nearly twice as likely to fail the edTPA compared to their white or Hispanic peers. State officials have declined to share more recent test data.

The state’s teacher union celebrated the change, which has advocated against the test since New York first introduced the exam in 2014. Jolene DiBrango, the union’s executive vice president, said the union has long heard complaints about the exam as overly burdensome and led some candidates to quit teacher preparation programs.

This is a “critical time” to ax the exam as the state faces a teacher shortage, DiBrango said. Union figures show that enrollment in state teaching programs has decreased by more than half since 2009.

“We have a great deal of respect and trust in our teacher prep programs across New York state,” DiBrango said. “We have seen in this state that one-size-fits-all doesn’t really fit anyone.”

But Dan Goldhaber, a researcher who helped study the effects of the edTPA in Washington state, noted that allowing teacher prep programs to create their own assessments will result in a patchwork of different requirements across the state. So it’s unclear, he said, that such a policy change will result in better qualified teachers.

“Ultimately, I think that we need to try to judge what is happening in teacher preparation based on the impact that teachers, who are prepared, have on student outcomes,” Goldhaber told Chalkbeat when New York first proposed the change in December.

It’s up to the state to try to understand whether these requirements “appear to be beneficial to students,” he said.

Goldhaber’s 2016 study found that Hispanic teacher candidates in Washington state were more than three times as likely to fail the exam as white candidates.

That same study showed mixed evidence of a link between higher edTPA scores and effectiveness in instruction, measured by students’ scores in state reading and math tests. While there was a correlation between higher edTPA scores and student scores in math, there was no such correlation with reading scores.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

It’s official: NYC children under 5 must continue wearing masks in school next week

2022-04-02T02:13:23+00:00

New York City’s mask mandate for children under 5 will remain in place on Monday, an appeals court ruled, pausing a decision from a Staten Island judge who struck it down earlier on Friday.

“Every decision we make is with our children’s health and safety in mind,” Mayor Eric Adams tweeted. “Children between 2 and 4 should continue to wear their masks in school and daycare come Monday.”

The Friday night stay from an appellate judge paves the way for the mayor to continue enforcing the mask requirement in day care and pre-K settings amid rising COVID cases across the city. Children under 5 are the only age group not eligible to be vaccinated, and they remain the only students subject to mask mandates, as the city removed the requirement for those in K-12 schools on March 7.

Adams previously hoped to lift the mask mandate for the city’s youngest children on Monday if virus cases stayed low. But on Friday, he said he was heeding advice from public health advisors and would wait at least another week.

That move was briefly in doubt after a state court judge ruled the mask mandate for children under was “void and unenforceable.” The city’s lawyers promptly challenged the ruling and convinced an appeals court to reinstate the mandate while the case winds its way through the courts.

Adams has generally leaned toward removing virus protection measures, including for bars, restaurants and gyms, so his move to keep children under 5 masked is notable. Many parents of younger children have urged the mayor to allow their children to go mask-free.

Officials said they don’t plan to reinstate the mask mandate for students in grades K-12 despite the rise in cases, including among public school students and staff, but the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan said it was his “strong recommendation” that people of all ages wear masks indoors for now “according to their level of comfort.”

Adams urged calm on Friday and characterized the uptick in virus cases as “slight.” He indicated the city would continue to monitor the situation and “update New Yorkers in a week.”

“We want to be prepared, not panic,” he said.

Christina Veiga contributed.

Adams hopes to keep mask requirement for NYC children under 5 amid COVID uptick

2022-04-01T20:01:20+00:00

New York City Mayor Eric Adams hopes to keep a mask requirement in place for the city’s youngest students as the city sees an increase in COVID cases. But a Staten Island judge threw a wrench in that plan Friday by striking down the mandate.

Adams vowed to appeal the judge’s ruling in an attempt to keep the requirement in place for children under 5, leaving it unclear whether students in pre-K or daycare programs will be required to wear face coverings Monday. Those under 5 are the only age group not currently eligible for COVID vaccines.

The mayor had planned to remove the mask mandate for the city’s youngest children next week as long as COVID transmission remained low. But with an uptick in virus cases and with the more contagious BA.2 variant circulating, the mayor said his health advisors recommended changing course.

“We’re recommending to wait a little bit longer before making masks optional for this age group,” said the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “We’re looking for the earliest opportunity to do this safely and we can assure you the day is coming for your children.”

Earlier Friday, however, a state judge ruled that the city’s mask mandate for young children is “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable” and is therefore “void and unenforceable.” Adams indicated the city will appeal and try to block the judge’s decision, though a timeline for the city’s appeal or a possible ruling on it was not clear. The mayor said the city would abide by the court’s decision.

Adams’ attempt to keep the mask mandate for young children is notable because his administration has generally moved toward removing virus protection measures, including for bars, restaurants and gyms. Children under 5 are the last group of students covered by a mask mandate and the requirement for students in grades K-12 was lifted March 7, prompting criticism from some parents of younger children who urged the mayor to do the same for their kids.

Officials said they don’t plan to reinstate the mask mandate for students in grades K-12 despite the rise in cases, including among public school students and staff, but Vasan said it is his “strong recommendation” that people of all ages wear masks indoors for now “according to their level of comfort.”

Adams urged calm on Friday and characterized the uptick in virus cases as “slight.” He indicated the city would continue to monitor the situation and “update New Yorkers in a week.”

“We want to be prepared, not panic,” he said.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org

After Mayor Adams lifts vaccine mandate for athletes and performers, NYC teachers union asks about their workers

2022-03-24T20:50:14+00:00

New York City’s teachers union wants to open discussions with Mayor Eric Adams about allowing their unvaccinated members to work — one month after 900 education department employees were fired for not getting their shots.

The ask from the union came Thursday, after Adams made the controversial decision to allow the city’s unvaccinated professional athletes and performers to play and perform once again within the five boroughs, even as outsiders had still been permitted to perform or play in those same venues. Adams said the policy change closed a “confusing loophole” in the rules.

The move immediately brought backlash from labor unions, after Adams said the city is not currently considering changing rules for city workers.

The United Federation of Teachers, or the UFT, issued a statement on how vaccines remain a “critical tool” against COVID, and “the city should not create exceptions to its vaccination requirements without compelling reasons.”

“If the rules are going to be suspended, particularly for people of influence, then the UFT and other city unions are ready to discuss how exceptions could be applied to city workers,” the union said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio instituted a vaccine mandate in the fall for the education department and other city employees, drawing multiple legal challenges, including from teachers and unions representing schools staffers. Those challenges were unsuccessful.

Adams supported de Blasio’s mandate. In February, the new mayor fired more than 1,400 city workers — less than 1% of city staff — who had been on unpaid leave for months after failing to get vaccinated, the New York Times reported. Sixty-three percent of the fired workers were education department employees, who made up less than 1% of all schools employees.

Other unions blasted Adams’ decision for giving athletes a pass but not doing the same for public employees, including the union representing police officers and Harry Nespoli, the chair of the Municipal Labor Committee.

“There can’t be one system for the elite and another for the essential workers of our city,” Nespoli said in a statement. “We stand ready to work out the details with the Mayor, as we have been throughout this process.”

In his announcement about athletes and performers on Thursday, Adams insisted he was not making the decision under pressure or “loosely, haphazardly,” but rather “because the city has to function.”

Asked Thursday if he’s considering rehiring unvaccinated city workers, Adams told reporters “not at this time.” While lauding the majority of city workers who got their shots, he said those who were unvaccinated workers “understood” the rules.

“And they decided not to do so, so at this time we’re not entertaining it,” Adams said.

On top of peeling back vaccine restrictions for professional athletes and performers in private venues, Adams has steadily peeled back other COVID mitigations, including dropping the proof-of-vaccine requirement for restaurants and other indoor venues. For the city’s public schools, Adams gave the green light to make masks optional for K-12 earlier this month, and is expected to extend that policy to children under 5 early next month.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

COVID case counts more than doubled in NYC schools since last month, data shows

2022-03-24T15:06:00+00:00

This story was originally published on March 23 by THE CITY.

Reported COVID cases in New York City public schools rose rapidly in the last seven days, registering their biggest weekly gain since the peak of the omicron wave in January. The rise in school cases exceeded a general uptick in positive tests seen in some parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn in the past week.

The city Department of Education reported 1,422 infections in the seven-day period ending March 22, more than twice as many cases as reported in the seven-day period a month ago – while also marking the fourth consecutive weekly gain, DOE statistics show.

Average daily infections per 100,000 students for the week were 13.3 as of March 22, compared with the citywide incidence rate of 9.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Only a fraction of those positive tests came from DOE’s own in-school testing program of students whose parents have consented to periodic swabs, an effort some public health experts suggest is not worth the $30 million a month DOE spends on it.

And school cases detected by in-school testing are relatively rare: The seven-day positivity rate in that program is currently just 0.14%, versus the citywide average of 1.3%.

But still, the school numbers are rising. On Tuesday, the daily seven-day average of cases among students and staff of public schools was 203, compared with a seven-day average of 85 cases a month ago. Citywide, the seven-day average was 678 cases, versus an average of 1,034 a month ago.

The DOE “Situation Room” also centrally collects reports of positive student, teacher and staff coronavirus tests that arise from at-home kits as well as COVID testing centers around the city.

“A continuing concern is that there’s been a premature relaxation of many of these COVID-19 precautions because the pandemic is still happening right now,” said Bruce Y. Lee, professor of health policy at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health.

Lee noted that it’s a challenge to “really know what the true positive might be,” with so many people testing at home in recent months.

But he underscored that broadly, with any type of respiratory virus, schools are “cauldrons for transmission” — because kids interact closely and spend a lot of time together. They then take those cases home to their families. In that way, the school testing system may be a glimpse of what’s to come among the general population.

“Schools tend to be high transmission areas for any type of respiratory virus. That would not be too surprising to see an upswing in cases occur subsequently elsewhere,” Lee said.

The uptick comes as Mayor Eric Adams announced this week that the city’s youngest students, below age 5, will not have to wear masks as of April 4. Masks became optional for the rest of the public school population two weeks ago, on March 7.

The prevalence of a new variant of COVID-19, dubbed B.A.2, is climbing, as well, according to recent data. It now makes up 42% of all COVID-19 cases in the state, state officials announced earlier this week.

“We have seen a more than 97% reduction in COVID cases since the peak of the omicron surge this year and students have been able to remain learning in-person and receiving the supports they need,” said DOE’s associate press secretary Jenna Lyle.

“We will continue to follow the science and adjust if needed, putting the health and safety of our students and staff first,” said Lyle.

The uptick is disappointing to Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a newly appointed member of the citywide Panel for Educational Policy who has been vocal with COVID concerns as city schools moved back to in-person learning. She is a parent of two, including a fifth grader at an East Harlem public school.

“We relaxed all of the mitigation measures that we had. We’re not requiring vaccination in certain spaces, and we’ve lifted the masking mandates in all of our schools,” she said. “We’re seeing the results of taking away our protections.”

She feels lucky that her fifth-grade son’s school is supportive of kids who want to continue wearing masks; all of the teachers and paraprofessionals still wear them, she said.

“The majority of kids are still masking,” she said, but her son says “he feels unsafe when he has a lot of kids around him that are unmasked.”

Jesse Hackell, the head of the state American Academy of Pediatrics’ chapter that covers Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island, said that it is too soon to draw “too many conclusions from a week of data.” But, he said, if the schools sustains cases at the current level in the coming days, he hopes “the mayor would reconsider his decision about masks.”

“Although I am a little nervous about unmasking all the people, the mayor has a few weeks to see data and he can pull back,” Hackell added.

In the omicron variant wave in January, staffing shortages and low attendance plagued city schools while parents struggled to find child care amid the surge.

After hovering around 70% in late February, school attendance rates have improved as virus transmission slowed. The attendance rate hit 87% this week.

Vaccination rates for children under 18 remain low compared to the general population. Just 57% of 5- to 17-year-olds have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines as of March 22, according to city data. Among the 13-to-17 age group that is eligible to receive a booster shot, only 22% have taken the additional shot.

Overall, 78% of the city population has received two doses of vaccine, but just 36% have taken an additional dose.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that children of age 6 months to 4 years “may soon” become eligible to receive COVID vaccine.

“Even though kids are at lower risk of severe outcomes, they can still have more severe outcomes, and there’s still a possibility that they may suffer from long COVID. On top of that, they can spread it to other people,” Lee said.

“We have to remember that all this, everything is connected.

At $30 million a month, is NYC’s in-school COVID testing program still worth it?

2022-03-22T18:17:25+00:00

As New York City peels back virus safety measures in schools, including mask mandates and social distancing guidelines, one tool remains in place: its in-school COVID testing program that swabs a slice of each school community every week.

But that program comes at a significant cost, roughly $30 million a month on average, Chalkbeat has learned, raising questions among some public health experts about whether it is the best use of resources to protect school communities from the coronavirus.

Some epidemiologists said the current level of surveillance testing can be valuable, with the city aiming to test at least 10% of students at each school every week. As the city rolls back some mitigation measures, and with another virus surge potentially on the horizon, regular testing can provide a check that the virus remains under control in the city’s schools.

But other health experts remain skeptical that the in-school program — which relies on lab-based PCR testing and requires pulling students out of class for up to 30 minutes — is worth the time and money. And the testing program’s main architect acknowledged in an interview with Chalkbeat that it’s worth reassessing it given the substantial cost, availability of vaccines, more contagious variants, and changing value judgements about what degree of risk is acceptable in schools.

“It’s difficult to argue that that’s the best use of money to keep an individual safe,” said Dr. Jay Varma, a top health advisor to former Mayor Bill de Blasio who designed the in-school testing program.

Still, there are other reasons it may be wise to keep the program, including giving educators and parents peace of mind by showing there aren’t a large number of virus cases lurking in classrooms.

“From that perspective,” Varma said, “it may very well be worth the money.”

For now, city officials say they are planning to continue the program and are searching for new funding sources to keep it running this school year as the city exhausts $251 million in federal grant funding that has supported it.

Putting testing to the test

Launched in fall 2020, the in-school testing program is one of the longest-running school safety measures and has been the subject of intense debate, as some educators, parents, and union officials have pushed to increase the scope and frequency of testing throughout the pandemic.

The goal is to help detect virus outbreaks and help measure whether other tools such as masking or ventilation are keeping virus cases low. It was not set up to directly interrupt transmission by removing most people who are contagious from schools. Doing so would require more frequent and widespread testing, Varma said.

With rapid test kits becoming more widely available — and sent home with students if anyone in their class tests positive or if they start showing COVID symptoms — it may be worth dialing back the in-school PCR testing program, some observers said.

Though having some “barometer” for COVID transmission is helpful, said Dr. Benjamin Linas, an epidemiologist at Boston University, “it seems like a really expensive commitment to that concept.”

Linas argues that resources for the city’s in-school PCR testing could be better spent making additional ventilation upgrades or turbocharging the city’s vaccination efforts, as only 53% of the city’s public school students are fully vaccinated. Using rapid tests for students who develop symptoms at school, and their close contacts, could still help detect outbreaks, he said.

Varma indicated the city considered using rapid tests to conduct surveillance testing early on, but said the kits are more cumbersome and take longer to administer in schools compared with quickly swabbing students and sending the results to a lab. Although the PCR test results take longer to return — about 27 hours on average, city officials said — they are also more accurate.

Some public health experts said they would not remove the testing program yet.

“With the BA.2 variant, we’ve only just taken masks off in schools, I think it makes sense just to keep our finger on the pulse,” said Dr. Anna Bershteyn, an assistant professor of population health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “It’s quality assurance.”

Few details on how testing influences policy

The testing program’s value hinges to some degree on how the information is used to inform policy decisions, and city officials have offered few specifics. Even at the height of the omicron wave, city officials largely shied away from using the testing data to close schools, individual classrooms, or conduct investigations into virus transmission, public data show. The city has also backed away from contact tracing when individual cases pop up.

“If there’s no downstream action tied to any of this surveillance, its benefit definitely decreases,” said Dr. Meagan Fitzpatrick, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who specializes in infectious disease modeling. “But if there are, then there can be benefits.”

Nathaniel Styer, an education department spokesperson, wrote in an email that the testing program “informs all of our COVID decisions.” He said it played a role in the move to end the city’s mask mandate in schools. That change also came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended lifting mask mandates in much of the country based on local infection and hospitalization rates.

Even if the program’s impact on policy making remains murky, it may be politically untenable for officials to roll it back. The program enjoys strong support from many educators and the city’s teachers union, which has consistently pushed for more testing throughout the pandemic. (The program allows for up to 10% of school staff to be tested, but educators have said the testing company often declines to test them.)

At the same time, some parents said the program serves as an important accountability tool, allowing them to push for changes to safety measures if virus cases in schools surge.

“In-school testing is a source of data that I wouldn’t want to eliminate just because it’s not clear how the city uses it in decision-making,” wrote Liz Rosenberg, a Brooklyn parent of two who helped launch a dashboard that aggregates school COVID data as an advocacy tool with a group called Parents for Responsive Equitable Safe Schools.

Most students don’t participate

But some experts have questioned how useful the data is. The city only tests students who have consented to participate in the program, and less than half of eligible students in grades 1-12 have done so, according to city data. At roughly 400 city schools, fewer than a third of students have consented to testing. If students who don’t consent are more likely to take fewer COVID precautions in other settings, that could skew the results.

“The presence of testing can be comforting,” said Dr. Susan Hassig, an epidemiologist at Tulane University. “But the presence of PCR testing as it’s currently practiced is probably not that beneficial.”

Varma, the testing program’s designer, said the consent issue is “the biggest weakness of the program,” but city lawyers argued they could not require consent as a condition of attendance, especially without a remote learning option.

“Why is it that lice is something that you can check kids for without parental consent, and dismiss them from school for, but you can’t do it for COVID?” Varma asked. “That baffles me to this day.”

At the beginning of this school year, city officials ran into another implementation problem: One of the four testing companies the city uses to run the school-based program, Fulgent Genetics, was returning a higher share of invalid tests, meaning some test results were not being returned.

About 3% of Fulgent tests were invalid in September, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of city data, far higher than any of the other three companies. The city considers an invalid rate below 1% to be acceptable.

A spokesperson for Fulgent did not return multiple requests for comment. City officials pegged the blame on the type of swab Fulgent was using and said they worked with the company to resolve the issue by retraining staff and changing the swabs it used.

For now, the city has no immediate plans to end the in-school testing program, said Adam Shrier, a spokesperson for the city’s Test and Trace program, which operates it in partnership with the education department.

“We will continue to follow CDC guidance, and direct our program based on science and results, which have ensured schools are the safest place for students in New York City to be,” he said in a statement.

Cam Rodriguez and Thomas Wilburn contributed data analysis

To address pandemic’s emotional toll, NYC is paying parents to lead peer workshops on mental health and wellness

2022-03-16T21:34:45+00:00

Crystal Rodriguez is on a mission.

As one of nearly 650 “Family Healing Ambassadors” tapped by New York City schools at the end of last school year, the 31-year-old Bronx mom is trying to help families wade through the pandemic’s emotional fallout. In the process, she is also embarking on her own path of self-healing.

Ambassadors were selected at schools in areas hit hardest by the coronavirus — largely low-income communities of color — and were awarded a $500 stipend to participate in trauma-related training sessions over the summer and then present their own workshop to their school communities by December. Several ambassadors said that talking with other parents about their feelings and struggles has often not been widely embraced in their communities, leaving many to feel alone and isolated.

This program is trying, in a small way, to change that.

Ambassadors were tasked with creating at least one workshop focused on bolstering emotional well-being. Several ambassadors took the role even farther.

One started “Walk with me Wednesdays” to encourage parents to connect while getting some exercise. Another translated materials from English into Spanish for her school’s social worker. Even though Rodriguez’s “term” is up, she is working on her third workshop, in which she’s been sharing what she’s learned and opening up about her own struggles raising her five children, the first of whom was born when she was 16.

“Mental health has always been a taboo in our community,” Rodriguez said during her January presentation to the small virtual group from P.S. 146 in the South Bronx’s Morrisania neighborhood.

“In my family it’s: ‘What happens at home, stays at home.’ ‘If you get therapy, you’re crazy.’ You can’t speak about your feelings. ’Just man up,’” she said. “It shouldn’t be that way.”

Many advocates are hopeful that the initiative’s peer-to-peer approach can help normalize mental health and wellness in Black, Latino, and immigrant communities. These groups are not only experiencing pain, grief, and financial stress from the pandemic, but also other deep-rooted personal or systemic traumas related to neglect or abuse, hunger and housing instability, racism, and over-policing.

Rodriguez is an ambassador for P.S. 146, a school in the South Bronx’s Morrisania neighborhood.

Students in the Bronx, which long has had one of the nation’s highest poverty rates, are among the most likely to experience childhood trauma and its harmful effects on learning, advocates say. The situation is even more dire now: A study by the United Hospital Fund found that between March and July 2020, of the roughly 4,200 New York children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, 57% were in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, with the burden falling disproportionately on Black and Latino children.

“You can talk about learning loss all you want. Children are not going to thrive if they are hungry, and if they are suffering trauma,” said Rasheedah Brown-Harris, a leader with the Bronx’s New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee, who has long worked with other parents to transform how schools approach childhood trauma.

Brown-Harris is also a staff member in the education unit of Bronx Legal Services New York where she is part of the Healing-Centered Schools Working Group, formed by a coalition of parents, advocates, and educators. Though the group is not getting paid by the education department, it volunteered to support some of the parent ambassadors while it continues to push for deeper change in Bronx schools in addressing trauma.

“It’s a transformation in how we see ourselves, how we support mental health and how we sustain it for our family and for our school community,” Brown-Harris said.

Emergency room visits jump for children

Children in her community are suffering, Rodriguez said. Their tempers are flaring. Fights have become more frequent. A growing number of children, including her own daughter, seem to be talking about suicidal thoughts and landing in the emergency rooms of local hospitals, she said. This mirrors a trend across the nation where emergency visits jumped 31% for children ages 12 to 17 between February and March 2021 compared to the same period the year before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase for girls in that age group was even higher — 51%.

COVID brought illness, and remote learning brought stress to her family, Rodriguez shared during her presentation. She had a newborn, sleepless nights, and separation from the baby’s father. Other losses mounted. A friend died by suicide on Christmas Eve in 2020; another was murdered about a month later. Over the summer, the family’s foundation began to crumble further, when one of her daughters ended up in the emergency psychiatric ward of a hospital after expressing suicidal thoughts to her doctor.

“I felt like I failed my children,” Rodriguez said through tears, as other participants in the meeting typed affirmations in the Google hangout chat, such as, “You got this,” and sent her virtual hugs.

But she also celebrated what she considered a breakthrough, and credited the work she’s done through the ambassador program with inspiring it: She and her children have started therapy.

And, while the process isn’t easy, and her relationship with some of her children is still strained, she acknowledged, Rodriguez feels like she’s standing on more solid ground.

During her presentation, Rodriguez outlined some common signs of trauma in children, ranging from regressions like thumb-sucking and bed-wetting for younger children to unexplained pains and aches in older ones or increased anger and anxiety. She provided practical and accessible tips for families to support their children as they work through their feelings and walked participants through a 2-minute guided meditation. She talked about the importance of using words of affirmation, and praising children’s efforts instead of focusing on the negative.

“A lot of times, unintentionally,” Rodriguez said, “we become our children’s first bullies.”

She dispensed positive rather than punitive parenting advice to the small group — covering topics such as establishing bedtime routines, how to help kids break homework into smaller chunks to make it feel less overwhelming, and focusing on breathing as a way to calm both parents and kids.

“These kids went through a lot. The parents went through a lot. Everyone is witnessing trauma,” Rodriguez told Chalkbeat. “Healing is about accepting that we have to face things we may want to bury in our subconscious. It’s time to open the luggage, unpack, take out what doesn’t fit.”

Rodriguez credits her role in the ambassador program with inspiring her to start therapy with her family. “When I got into it I didn’t really know what the position was,” she said of being an ambassador. “It helped me start the healing process at home with my children.”

‘Healing begins at home’

The ambassador program is designed to add support for families to existing mental health services in and outside of school. In New York City schools, there was one counselor for every 325 students last school year, according to the most recent available public data. That’s better than the recommended ratio of one to 500, but with the needs much higher this year, many educators say it’s still not enough.

More generally, the city’s mental health system — as well as the nation’s — is overburdened. President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address this month called to increase providers, and the White House also recognized the need for expanding peer support.

“We must dramatically expand the supply, diversity, and cultural competency of our mental health and substance use disorder workforce – from psychiatrists to psychologists, peers to paraprofessionals — and increase both opportunity and incentive for them to practice in areas of highest need,” the White House said in a statement earlier this month.

New York City’s education department had identified 1,000 schools to select parent healing ambassadors last school year, but only 800 parents or caregivers applied. Roughly 650 of the ambassadors completed the program and engaged with more than 4,000 family and community workshops, education department officials said.

As a result, there’s still money remaining from the $1.35 million grant from the Robin Hood Relief Fund in partnership with the Fund for Public Schools to support trauma-responsive work in schools.

For the second half of the school year, the city is making some tweaks. At 20 schools, it’s piloting a program where ambassadors are part of a “healing-centered” team, working with school staff on planning “healing-centered” events with a budget of $2,500. Additionally, ambassadors in certain neighborhoods who completed their first stint can apply for 92 “district” ambassador roles where they can continue working on a larger scale on community-building activities, sharing mental health resources, and more, according to education department officials.

“Healing begins at home,” said education department spokesperson Suzan Sumer. “We are committed to providing our schools with the supports they need to center student wellbeing as we emerge from this pandemic, and we know parents and caregivers are an integral part of this effort.”

For the summer training sessions, the Bronx Healing-Centered Schools Working Group helped bring in two of the presenters: Chicago’s TREP (Trauma Responsive Educational Practices) Project, and Shawn Ginwright, a San Francisco State University professor of education in the Africana studies department who runs the Flourish Agenda.

The Bronx group also hopes it will get the chance to move ahead with its longer term vision, starting small but going deep with a few schools. They want to create “transformation teams,” to rethink a school’s culture from the types of books children read (ensuring, for example, enough books that center Black characters) to the type of lighting in the building (replacing harsh lights with warmer, more welcoming colors). They talked about creating career paths to encourage more educators from their communities, and looked at models like Schenectady, where the school district removed police officers from schools and replaced them with “cultural brokers” — respected community members, often elders, who intervene when student conflicts arise.

“We don’t know the long-term effects of this pandemic. We won’t know,” Brown-Harris said. “But we do know that we have to slow down, and we all need to reconnect in a way that we have not done in our public school system ever.”

Rodriguez wears her ambassador position with pride, giving more to her school community than the one workshop that was required.

Programs were individualized to the school

The role of the parent healing ambassadors has differed from school to school based on the ambassador as well as the level of support from the school administration. Some focused on self-care, while others directed their efforts on how parents and teachers can collaborate more to recognize trauma. Some parent ambassadors tried to participate in all PTA meetings. Some struggled to get much air time. Some also struggled to get a critical mass of families to participate.

Many parents have felt more comfortable reaching out to the Bronx group rather than the education department, said Shannon O’Neill Fonseca, an organizer with the Parent Action Committee, who has witnessed several of the ambassadors climbing out of their own depression as they’ve connected with their peers.

“They feel seen, they feel heard, and they feel supported,” O’Neill Fonseca said. “They recognized, when I’m in community, we can collectively heal.”

Wanda Jackson, the parent healing ambassador for P.S. 73, where her granddaughter attends kindergarten, has held two workshops for the school’s staff while she plans how to best reach parents. She said that parents at the school have not been participating in school events lately.

“They won’t Zoom. They don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Jackson, a retired parent coordinator. “But me teaching parents to stand up and fight for themselves is one way things can improve.”

Jackson, however, wished that the role came with more than a $500 stipend given the amount of time she is putting into the job. Some ambassadors have been using their own money to provide incentives for families, like small giveaways with gift cards, O’Neill Fonseca noted.

Ysaura Tavarez, the parent healing ambassador for P.S. 204 in Morris Heights, started slowly, introducing a few stress-relieving or mediation activities at PTA meetings. She worked with a mental health specialist on a workshop about burnout and did one on wellness. She also partnered with a school social worker, helping her translate materials from English to Spanish, and has tried to just be present for families, many of whom — like in Rodriguez’s community — are resistant to getting mental health support.

“I’m just allowing the parents to get to know me, for them to see my face more often, asking me questions, offering a safe place for them to just talk about what’s going on and the challenges they’re facing,”said the mom of four, who works as a wedding coordinator and couples coach. “Some of them do feel more comfortable talking to another parent, especially in their own language.”

Parents have opened up to her at the playground or at the McDonalds across the street from the school. They share their concerns with Tavarez about the COVID vaccine, job loss, and balancing the return to work with possible COVID quarantines.

Rodriguez shares a tender moment with one of her daughters. The mom of five has been working on improving her relationships with her children.

The program helped Tavarez process her own experience, losing relatives to the coronavirus and losing her personal space last year when her children were learning remotely.

For Rodriguez, being part of the program has been transformative. She recently started a new job at a nonprofit focused on teaching financial literacy in schools, and she’s starting to open up more about long-standing issues related to her own depression and anxiety, recounting how she once took her mother’s pills when she was in high school.

Participating in the summer’s training sessions with the other ambassadors helped her feel less alone, she said. By starting therapy, she feels hopeful about beginning to “break that generational curse,” of how trauma is handed down in families.

“The biggest tip for helping our children heal through traumas is healing our own first,” Rodriguez said.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

With vaccination disparities by race and class in NYC schools, officials look to boost access

2022-03-10T21:46:00+00:00

New York City is renewing efforts to get more public school children vaccinated against COVID, with new pop-up clinics at schools where rates are low, and an information blitz consisting of robocalls to parents, fliers sent home in backpacks, and town halls with public health officials.

The push, announced Thursday, comes as child vaccination uptake has stalled while recently released data shows gaping disparities among schools. Just over half of students are fully vaccinated.

In elementary schools, 34% of students are vaccinated. The rate ticks up to almost 52% in middle schools, and over 57% in high schools, where students have been eligible to receive the vaccine for much longer. That is according to a Chalkbeat analysis of city data from Feb. 22.

Schools with the largest numbers of low-income students lag farthest behind. About 32% of students are vaccinated at campuses where poverty rates surpass the citywide average. At schools where most students are Black, 35% are vaccinated, compared with 44% at majority-Latino schools, 51% at majority-white schools, and 64% at majority-Asian schools.

A three-week vaccination campaign will begin March 21, officials said, with pop-up clinics at 20 schools each week. Parents will be informed through letters sent home by principals. The city is also holding virtual town halls on March 14 and 16, with translation provided via call-in numbers upon registration (Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic for the first one, and Spanish, Cantonese, and Bangla for the second).

“Vaccination continues to be our key to keeping COVID-19 numbers low and protecting our loved ones from serious illness,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

The question is whether the city’s latest push can help move the needle much. Public health officials and organizations leading outreach campaigns say they are up against a wall of distrust and misinformation, healthcare access issues, and other roadblocks. Navigating around them often requires one-on-one conversations, led by people parents can relate to, and tailored to unique concerns of different communities.

Health officials may face particularly tough hurdles given recent news that the vaccine is not as effective at preventing illness among children and adolescents, though it still provides protection against severe illnesses and death.

“It’s important, though, to just not give up,” said Dr. Michelle Nichols, an associate dean at the Morehouse School of Medicine. “Because there are children who are still getting sick or hospitalized unnecessarily.”

Many experts said that it will take more personalized and sustained efforts to convince parents to have their children vaccinated.

“You can’t just go in there and say, ‘I’m offering vaccines today, and you can come in,’ and not have that education portion there,” Nichols said. “People do trust people who look like them, act like them, have the same backgrounds… you do have to meet people where they are.”

Crystal Williams understands what makes people hesitant to vaccinate their children. The mother of 11 lives on Staten Island, which has the lowest public school vaccination rate of any borough at 47%. Two of her children attend school in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where just 38% of students in the district have received at least one vaccine dose. And she volunteers in Brooklyn’s P.S. 25, where only 12% of children have gotten the shot.

“They just tell me that they’re scared,” she said of other parents she talks to. “I try to encourage them that it’s nothing to be scared about.”

Her 15-year-old daughter got vaccinated in order to play school sports. Seeing that she didn’t have a negative reaction helped Williams feel comfortable enough to vaccinate the rest of her children who were eligible.

Williams said she hopes the city will reconsider using incentives such as gift cards to help persuade reluctant parents.

Dr. Carmen Garcia-Albarran said that access to accurate information about the vaccine has been a huge barrier to getting more shots in the arms of children. She is a pediatrician with Somos, a network of doctors who work with low-income patients in diverse communities.

Once families have a conversation with her, in their native language of Spanish, they usually trust her advice, Dr. Garcia-Albarran said.

“It’s really important that we explain this to the parents: ‘We’re not injecting the virus into your child. It’s safe,’” she said. “No one is going to give their children the vaccine if they don’t understand what’s in the vaccine.”

Jason Autar, who helps lead the anti-poverty nonprofit Oyate Group, has been bringing vaccinations to low-income communities like the South Bronx and Washington Heights. The organization helped organize a handful of pop-up clinics at schools. After an initial show of enthusiasm, few parents are vaccinating their children now, he said.

Autar thinks it’s a combination of people being skeptical of the vaccine, thinking they don’t need it because they’ve already gotten COVID, and not having access to medical care.

Interest has waned so much that the organization is now winding down its vaccination push, shifting gears to providing other services.

In the face of the current hesitation he’s seeing, Autar said that schools could play a major role in breaking through to more parents.

“Obviously, parents send their kids to school from 8 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., if they have an extended day. So schools are a trusted entity within the community,” he said. “I think they are a prime institution to continue these COVID relief efforts.”

Alex Zimmerman and Thomas Wilburn contributed.

Christina Veiga is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on school diversity and preschool. Contact Christina at cveiga@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s how NYC schools are spending $7 billion in COVID federal relief

2022-03-08T23:10:11+00:00

With a stalled economy and projections of plummeting tax revenue, elected officials feared last winter that school budgets across New York would have to be slashed. Then, the federal government approved billions of dollars in relief to local governments and school districts, including more than $7 billion for New York City schools.

Families and educators dreamed big. Many called for smaller class sizes. They wanted more social workers and reading specialists. They wished for new after-school programs and devices for children, according to readers responding to a Chalkbeat survey last spring.

Some of the funding will cover many of the items on the readers’ wishlists, as well as providing funds to cover the costs of keeping school buildings operating and academic recovery, according to an analysis by the Independent Budget Office, or IBO. But the largest chunk — about $1.9 billion — will be for an expansion of the city’s prekindergarten program for 3-year-olds over the next several years.

A little less than half of the total pot is being spent this school year, with the rest earmarked for initiatives through the 2024-25 school year. Mayor Eric Adams, who took office in January, inherited spending plans outlined by his predecessor, Bill de Blasio. He signaled last month that he supported the pre-K spending but could change other plans before the stimulus funds run out.

“We’re going to examine the dollars we have remaining to spend and make sure that we spend it correctly,” Adams told reporters. “Would I have done some things differently? Yes. But we have to look at what’s in front of us right now.”

Advocates and parent leaders say there is still confusion on how the nation’s largest school system is using this windfall of COVID relief, as well as what it means at the school level. The publicly available data doesn’t show how individual schools spent their portions of COVID relief — and much of the money is being spent centrally.

“Parents are actually really interested, especially when they hear the dollar amount,” said Jasmine Gripper, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education, a school funding advocacy group. “They’re asking, ‘How do I see what my school got or what my school is doing with it?’”

Chalkbeat looked at the top line funding breakdown to spell out how the money will be spent this year and down the road.

Where the money is going this year

New York City’s education department has earmarked 43% of its stimulus money for covering expenses during this fiscal year, which ends June 30. To date, the city has spent about half of that $3.1 billion, per an IBO spending tracker.

The single largest piece of the pie for this year — about $820 million — is propping up “existing costs that might otherwise have required budget cuts if we had not received federal aid,” according to an education department spending plan. Asked for more details, a department spokesperson said this money includes “supporting custodial workers who helped keep school communities safe during these challenging times.” (Similarly, the first COVID relief package the city ever received — separate from the $7 billion in stimulus dollars currently in play — was used to cover paychecks for custodians.)

The city has also created various programs to catch students up this year, including its summer enrichment program before the start of this school year, assessments to screen for literacy, extra services for students with disabilities, and other academic recovery initiatives. Taken together, these programs add up to more than $750 million.

Part of this is $350 million that the city sent directly to schools to create their own after-school or weekend tutoring programs, provide extra support for English language learners, offer more professional development and boost arts programming. While they can spend the money to pay teachers overtime to run any programs they create, they can’t hire new full-time staff since the funding is temporary. But as some schools have found it difficult to persuade burned-out staff to work overtime, they may have to return unused dollars to the education department.

Roughly $200 million is being spent on a massive project to create a new universal math and English curriculum called “Mosaic,” meant to focus on the diversity of the school system’s students. That curriculum is expected to be in schools by the fall of 2023.

City leaders have planned to spend about $80 million on mental health this fiscal year. The money is covering hiring more social workers so every school has at least one full-time social worker or access to a school-based mental health clinic, according to officials. This funding also includes the cost for a new social-emotional screening tool, used to see where students may need more support in bolstering social skills after prolonged isolation due to the pandemic.

Category	Description	Funding
"Maintain current services"	Pays for "existing costs" that might have been cut without federal aid	$823M
Universal 3-K	Expanding preschool for 3-year-olds	$378M
Academic recovery	Money for schools to create extra tutoring programs, provide professional development, cover certain salaries and create more arts programming	$350M
Special education	After-school and weekend programs for students with disabilities, additional pre-K special education seats, extra support to eligible students ages 21+	$251M
Universal Mosaic Curriculum	Creating a new English and math curriculum that reflects "the variety of histories, languages and experiences that make up the city."	$202M
Miscellaneous	Variety of "smaller projects such as school safety training and professional development." (DOE did not provide further details)	$175M
Restoring enrichment programs	Restoring previously slashed programs for arts, Learning to Work, "Equity & Excellence" programming, such as AP For All	$172M
Backfill cuts for school funding	Held schools harmless for last year's enrollment drops	$150M
Reopening school buildings	Health and safety costs associated with reoopening buildings during the pandemic, including covering extra staff	$135M
Technology and devices	Buying more devices, expanding Computer Science For All, training 5,000 educators in advanced computer science	$122M
Summer Rising	Creating universal summer school in the summer of 2021	$100M
Fair Student Funding	Ensuring every school received 100% of funding through the city's formula	$95M
Social-emotional and mental health support	Hiring more social workers and buying a social-emotional screener for schools to assess their students	$80M
Building infrastructure	Updating buildings and making them more accessible	$70M
Early Literacy for All	A screening tool and training to evaluate K-2 students, hiring additional teachers and literacy coaches for interventions.	$49M
Restarting and expanding school sports	Creating more high school sports programming	$21M
Expansion of restorative justice programs	The DOE did not provide further details	$12M
College and career readiness	College counseling for all juniors and seniors, expanding college-credit courses, and mentorship opportunities for immigrant students	$10M
Expand community schools	Increase the number of community schools to 400	$10M

COVID stimulus spending for the 2021-2022 school year

Concerns for the future

The relief money runs out by the end of the 2024-2025 school year, and 56% of the city’s pot is being spent on programs that are expected to expire.

But the temporary cash infusion is also funding some long-term projects — like mental health support and the expansion of 3-K —that the city envisions continuing after federal funding runs out.

Those programs will require the city to pony up $802 million annually, starting in the summer of 2025, according to the IBO.

City officials have repeatedly said they expect city revenue to improve greatly with time as the economy bounces back from the pandemic.

The IBO is more cautious. “This optimism,” the IBO warned in a report, “is not reflected in the revenue outlook in the financial plan for the adopted budget, however, raising questions about the sustainability of these expanded DOE programs.”

The state required districts to explain how they’ll pay for long-term programs once federal relief funding runs out. The education department’s public-facing presentation has no explanation about this, and officials declined to provide further information.

“They do have the time to fix it if they’re willing to find the efficiencies elsewhere and prioritize,” said Ana Champeny, deputy research director for Citizens Budget Commission, a budget watchdog group.

Concerns about transparency

The rollout of the funding has raised questions about the transparency of the spending, as well as how education officials will measure success or progress of programs meant to help students catch up academically.

When creating their spending plan, education department officials solicited feedback from families last school year, receiving about 2,000 emailed responses, a spokesperson said. Officials held town halls in each borough, where they said they polled “thousands” of attendees to help the education department rank its proposed investments. But those meetings were overshadowed by discussions about building reopening plans and other COVID safety measures, parent leaders say.

Harlem resident Gisele Hearn, who is active with the PTA at Thurgood Marshall Lower Academy, where her grandson is a fifth grader, said she wasn’t aware of those town halls. Had she been, she would have advocated to fund tutoring parents and caregivers in math since their children turn to them for help. She also would have liked funding to address overcrowding at her grandson’s school.

When state lawmakers passed a budget last April, they required school districts to solicit feedback from the public and explain on their websites how they’re spending federal COVID relief dollars. The city’s education department has posted various details of their plan, but it’s not easily accessible on its website and requires some digging to find.

Gripper, from Alliance for Quality Education, wants data on how students are progressing through the year.

For example, her organization has been seeking an explanation from the education department on how they measured success in the city’s Summer Rising program, which for the first time opened summer school to all students who wanted a seat. The scaled-up program had a messy rollout but served as an important bridge to the fall for children who had not attended school in person since March 2020.

“We would like the city to be more intentional and more transparent about how students are doing,” Gripper said.

Andrew Rein, executive director of the Citizens Budget Commission, agreed. There’s a difference between outlining academic recovery costs, for example, and describing what the end goal is.

“Not only do we have to track the dollars, but we also have to make sure the dollars deliver what the students need,” Rein said. “How do we know that’s actually happening?”

The education department has required most students to take a battery of assessments in order to measure where they stand academically after two disrupted school years. They have not released test results, though some experts cautioned that information might not be useful because there might not be enough data to compare results, or because the variety of assessment options available to schools might complicate the data.

Education department officials did not share any specific benchmarks for the projects funded with stimulus money.

“At this time, our main focus and priority is on championing our school leaders and teachers to utilize the data found through screeners to understand students’ strengths and where supports are needed,” a spokesperson said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

With masks optional, NYC schools react with shrugs, enthusiasm, and sometimes fear

2022-03-07T22:36:37+00:00

With New York City’s mask mandate ending for most public school students on Monday, Matt Brownstein began his day shuttling to a handful of classrooms to help students think through some of the questions that might have been swirling in their minds.

If I take my mask off, am I at greater risk of getting sick or infecting a family member? Does keeping a face covering on make others feel pressured to do the same? Should people who are comfortable not wearing a mask put them on around people who are wearing them?

Brownstein, an assistant principal at P.S. 330 in Queens, where nearly a third of students are English language learners and nearly all come from low-income families, said he wanted to head off any confusion or conflict that might arise on the first day of the new policy. His approach was to be vulnerable and acknowledge that it wasn’t just children who might struggle to think the issue through.

“We shouldn’t be judging, we shouldn’t be mean, and we shouldn’t be acting out of fear — we should be acting out of kindness,” Brownstein said he told the students. “I’m genuinely trying to figure it out as well, so I’m modeling that earnest intention because I don’t necessarily know what the right thing is either.”

About 80% of students and staff at the school kept their masks on, Brownstein added. He decided to keep his mask on in classrooms and the cafeteria, but took it off in hallways and outside.

Across the city, educators, teachers, and students are just beginning to figure out thorny questions about how to navigate the policy change, especially as public health officials have repeatedly said that masks are an important layer of protection to interrupt transmission.

With the backing of the city’s teachers union, Mayor Eric Adams lifted the city’s mask mandate after it was no longer required by the state and shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new criteria that suggested it is safe to shed masks in New York City schools.

Still, fresh off the omicron surge, which infected at least 150,000 students and staff since late December, some said the end of the mask mandate felt abrupt. Even though case numbers have plummeted, some students and staff said they were wary of peeling back protective measures, especially those with medical conditions that make them more vulnerable or who live with young children who aren’t eligible to be vaccinated. Others felt shedding face coverings gave them a new sense of freedom and connection, as many students had not ever seen each other’s full faces before.

Some schools took a strong position on what decision students should make. At Brooklyn Collaborative Studies, a 6-12 school, administrators wrote an email to families that said, “We strongly recommend that students and staff continue to wear masks in school to keep everyone safe.” They emphasized that KN95 masks are required for those who became infected with COVID, isolated for five days, and are returning to campus on days 6-10 after testing positive.

Many schools took a more neutral stance. For students who trickled in and out of the five schools tucked into the former Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush, the end of the mask mandate mostly came without much drama. Several students there said the mandate had not been particularly controversial and some weren’t even aware it had ended.

Brian Bautista, a junior at STAR Early College High School, kept his mask on because he has a lengthy subway commute (where masks are still required) and the school’s hallways feel packed with students.

“I don’t want to infect anybody else in case I have it because I still spend an hour on the train,” Bautista said. He said he’s vaccinated and had COVID over winter break.

Yonathan Delosantos, who also attends STAR, decided to ditch his mask because he said it makes his ears feel itchy, and it’s harder to breathe through it.

“It doesn’t really matter to me because I’m fully vaccinated,” he said, noting that most students kept their masks on but no one seemed upset with his decision.

Rosealee Magloire, a senior at STAR Early College High School in Brooklyn, decided not to wear a mask in school on Monday.

About 68% of students at the school are fully vaccinated, higher than the rate among other 6-12 schools, which stands at 63%, according to city data analyzed by Chalkbeat. Some students said they were required to be vaccinated to attend in-person classes at Brooklyn College, which has a partnership with the school. Delosantos said he hopes the city initiates a vaccine mandate for students, something Adams has suggested he’s open to, especially as he said some students still show up to school even if they’re feeling sick.

Polling suggests that most New York City residents have not been clamoring to end the city’s mask mandate. A Siena College poll conducted in mid-February found that 64% of New York City respondents felt the city should wait for data from early March to make a decision about school mask mandates. Just 26% said the mandate should have already ended.

The debate about whether to remove masks is complicated by the fact that there is no definitive evidence about how important they are in keeping coronavirus transmission down in schools. There is evidence that surgical masks (and other high-quality options such as N95s) are effective at reducing the virus’ spread in other contexts and little reason to doubt that would apply to schools as well. Research on any harms connected to face coverings is also slim.

Ten-year-old Priya Lee said she wished the city hadn’t rescinded the mask mandate because she has a seizure disorder that her family worries could flare up if she is reinfected with COVID (she was infected for the first time in December and experienced mild symptoms).

Most of her friends at Manhattan’s P.S. 19 took their masks off, as did three of her four teachers today. That made her feel left out.

“It made me miss life before the pandemic before we all started wearing masks,” Priya said. “I wish they could have kept the mask mandate because if the kids wear their masks the COVID cases will still be low.”

Still, Priya was happy to see her classmates’ faces and noted that her teacher also moved students’ desks closer together as social distancing guidelines have also been relaxed. That made it easier for her to hear her classmates, a move she welcomed.

A renewed sense of connection was also in the air at Brooklyn Frontiers High School, said teacher Eric Wilson.

“We’ve been seeing lots of smiling faces. I think a lot of people are happy to have the choice and the option,” he said. “It’s sort of like first-day-of-school vibes again.”

Wilson said about 75% of students continued to wear masks and about 90% of staff did. He experimented with taking off his mask Monday, but kept it on in situations where his co-teacher was wearing a face covering or if most of the students around him had their masks on.

He is hopeful that the mask-optional policy helps persuade students at Brooklyn Frontiers to feel more connected to each other and the school, especially since the school serves students who are behind in credits and are at risk of dropping out. But when informed of his school’s vaccination rate by a reporter — 35% are fully vaccinated — he paused.

“That actually gives me something to think about,” he said.

52% of NYC public school students are fully vaccinated. Check your school’s rate here.

2022-02-26T00:06:11+00:00

Just over half of New York City public school students are fully vaccinated, according to data the education department released Friday.

In total, 59% of the city’s public school students have received at least one vaccine dose and nearly 52% are considered fully vaccinated.

The information is required under City Council law, and includes a breakdown of school-level vaccination rates and the number of students who have consented to in-school COVID testing. Updates will be shared every two weeks. The figures don’t include charter schools.

The data show that there are wide disparities by school and neighborhood. Schools in Brooklyn’s District 23, which includes Ocean Hill, Brownsville and parts of East New York, had the lowest rates of vaccination, with just 38% of students receiving at least one dose. Districts 16, which includes a significant chunk of Bedford-Stuyvesant, and 18, which includes Flatbush and Canarsie, both had vaccination rates of 43%. On Staten Island, the rate is 47%.

“In the coming months, we are working with our partner health care agencies on an outreach campaign to encourage vaccination in the communities with the lowest rates,” education department spokesperson Nathaniel Styer said in a statement.

Manhattan’s District 2 has the highest vaccination rate, with 80% of students receiving at least one dose. That district spans much of Lower Manhattan, some of Chinatown, and the Upper East Side. Not far behind: District 3 in Manhattan, which includes the Upper West Side and part of Harlem, at 77%. Next is District 26 in Bayside, Queens, where 74% of students have at least one dose.

At nearly 250 of the city’s schools, fewer than a third of students have received at least one dose. Out of the city’s nearly 1,600 district schools, the share of students who have been vaccinated with at least one dose ranges from from just 12% to 94%.

The city had previously released information about vaccination rates among children, but had not provided data specific to public students or where they go to school.

Nationally, about 26% of children ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated and 57% of those 12-17 are, according to a New York Times database. Children ages 5-11 became eligible for the vaccine in November; children under 5 are still ineligible.

Public health experts say that information is important to weigh as the state considers whether to lift a mandate to wear masks in schools. Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she will wait until after the mid-winter recess to make a decision. She has said she will weigh a combination of factors, including the positivity rate, vaccination rates, and hospital capacity. On Friday, New York City announced that students will no longer have to wear masks while outside on school grounds, including while playing school-sponsored sports.

Use the tool below to look up your school’s vaccination rate:

School	First dose	Fully vaccinated
High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering	93.8%	92.7%
Stuyvesant High School	94.4%	92.5%
Queens High School for the Sciences at York College	93.8%	92.5%
Baruch College Campus High School	94.4%	92.3%
The Bronx High School of Science	94.2%	92.2%
Eleanor Roosevelt High School	92.9%	90.0%
N.Y.C. Lab School for Collaborative Studies	92.0%	89.9%
Millennium High School	91.3%	89.8%
High School of American Studies at Lehman College	92.6%	89.6%
NYC iSchool	93.1%	89.3%
PS 321 William Penn	92.9%	89.3%
Brooklyn Technical High School	91.6%	89.2%
Bard High School Early College	91.6%	89.1%
Townsend Harris High School	91.7%	89.1%
Beacon High School	92.5%	89.0%
High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies	91.2%	88.7%
The Clinton School	92.3%	88.0%
Staten Island Technical High School	90.2%	87.6%
Brooklyn Latin School, The	89.5%	87.5%
New York City Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies	91.4%	87.4%
N.Y.C. Museum School	91.1%	87.4%
Millennium Brooklyn HS	89.2%	87.0%
Bard High School Early College Queens	89.4%	86.5%
Baccalaureate School for Global Education	88.0%	86.5%
Manhattan / Hunter Science High School	89.9%	86.4%
School of the Future High School	89.3%	86.1%
Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School	89.7%	86.1%
Manhattan Village Academy	89.1%	85.9%
Frank McCourt High School	89.3%	85.9%
MS 255 Salk School of Science	89.6%	85.8%
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts	89.8%	85.7%
East-West School of International Studies	87.9%	85.6%
Institute for Collaborative Education	88.1%	85.0%
Columbia Secondary School	87.9%	85.0%
Queens High School for Language Studies	88.2%	84.6%
Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School	87.5%	84.5%
Central Park East High School	89.3%	84.3%
The Maurice Sendak Community School	86.5%	84.2%
The Anderson School	88.8%	84.1%
New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math	87.7%	83.7%
Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts	86.7%	83.7%
West End Secondary School	88.4%	83.5%
Ballet Tech, NYC Public School for Dance	87.2%	83.2%
MS 243 Center School	85.0%	83.1%
PS 234 Independence School	90.1%	83.0%
PS 29 John M. Harrigan	87.6%	83.0%
IS 289	88.5%	82.9%
PS 107 John W. Kimball	86.9%	82.8%
The Children's School	87.2%	82.7%
Aviation Career & Technical Education High School	86.5%	82.7%
Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics	87.2%	82.6%
PS 77 Lower Lab School	89.6%	82.4%
Spruce Street School	86.0%	82.4%
The 30th Avenue School (G&T Citywide)	85.8%	82.4%
PS 8 Robert Fulton	89.6%	82.3%
Park East High School	86.0%	82.1%
PS 58 The Carroll	87.4%	82.1%
JHS 54 Booker T. Washington	87.6%	82.0%
Special Music School	87.8%	82.0%
PS 183 Robert L. Stevenson	90.6%	81.9%
PS 39 Henry Bristow	88.3%	81.9%
Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community	85.8%	81.9%
Francis Lewis High School	85.2%	81.8%
Civic Leadership Academy	86.1%	81.7%
Professional Performing Arts High School	86.0%	81.6%
IS 187 The Christa McAuliffe School	84.9%	81.5%
Bayside High School	84.6%	81.2%
Queens Technical High School	85.0%	81.1%
PS 87 William Sherman	85.7%	81.0%
Talent Unlimited High School	85.2%	80.8%
High School for Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture	84.4%	80.7%
Academy of Finance and Enterprise	84.2%	80.6%
JHS 104 Simon Baruch	85.2%	80.5%
The Windsor Terrace School	84.8%	80.5%
Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School	84.2%	80.5%
PS 184 Shuang Wen	85.1%	80.4%
PS 199 Jessie Isador Straus	84.4%	80.0%
East Side Middle School	86.1%	79.9%
PS 150	85.6%	79.9%
University Heights Secondary School	85.7%	79.7%
Veritas Academy	84.1%	79.7%
PS 42 Benjamin Altman	85.1%	79.4%
JHS 74 Nathaniel Hawthorne	83.3%	79.4%
JHS 167 Robert F. Wagner	83.9%	79.3%
Lower Manhattan Community Middle School	84.5%	79.3%
Energy Tech High School	85.7%	79.3%
Art and Design High School	82.5%	79.1%
PS 166 The Richard Rodgers School of The Arts and Technology	84.0%	78.9%
Academy of American Studies	81.8%	78.9%
PS 9 Sarah Anderson	83.8%	78.5%
Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music	84.0%	78.5%
Brooklyn College Academy	81.9%	78.5%
Young Women's Leadership School, Astoria	83.6%	78.4%
High School for Arts and Business	82.1%	78.3%
Battery Park City School	83.9%	78.1%
Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School	81.1%	78.1%
High School for Community Leadership	80.4%	78.1%
Maspeth High School	82.5%	78.0%
High School for Health Professions and Human Services	82.7%	77.9%
Magnet School of Math, Science and Design Technology	84.0%	77.9%
PS 41 Greenwich Village	85.2%	77.8%
Yorkville East Middle School	81.0%	77.8%
Young Women's Leadership School, Queens	81.7%	77.8%
Humanities Preparatory Academy	85.5%	77.7%
MS 245 The Computer School	83.7%	77.7%
PS 124 Yung Wing	86.3%	77.6%
JHS 158 Marie Curie	82.6%	77.6%
PS 105 The Blythebourne	84.6%	77.2%
Tag Young Scholars	83.5%	77.0%
PS 89	85.9%	76.9%
High School for Environmental Studies	83.1%	76.9%
Union Square Academy for Health Sciences	81.9%	76.8%
Essex Street Academy	81.4%	76.5%
Digital Arts and Cinema Technology High School	83.8%	76.5%
High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology (HSTAT)	81.1%	76.3%
Information Technology High School	82.5%	76.3%
IS 237	81.5%	76.1%
IS 25 Adrien Block	79.8%	76.0%
High School of Applied Communication	78.8%	75.9%
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Secondary School for Arts and Technology	81.1%	75.9%
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School	81.0%	75.9%
PS 160 William T. Sampson	82.0%	75.8%
East Side Community School	80.9%	75.7%
Young Women's Leadership School	81.6%	75.7%
The Math & Science Exploratory School	81.0%	75.7%
PS 11 William T. Harris	80.9%	75.6%
PS 290 Manhattan New School	81.4%	75.6%
Hunters Point Community Middle School	82.2%	75.5%
City College Academy of the Arts	80.9%	75.4%
Midwood High School	79.4%	75.4%
Academy for Careers in Television and Film	80.1%	75.4%
PS 6 Lillie D. Blake	83.9%	75.3%
York Early College Academy	81.5%	75.3%
PS 130 Hernando De Soto	84.7%	75.2%
Urban Assembly New York Harbor School	79.7%	75.2%
CSI High School for International Studies	77.0%	75.2%
IS 230	81.4%	75.1%
PS 384	81.8%	75.1%
Fort Hamilton High School	79.8%	74.9%
JHS 189 Daniel Carter Beard	80.6%	74.8%
PS 40 Augustus Saint-Gaudens	79.3%	74.7%
Urban Assembly Maker Academy	81.0%	74.7%
The School For Future Leaders	79.8%	74.6%
Manhattan Bridges High School	83.5%	74.5%
Epic High School - North	80.9%	74.5%
Marble Hill High School for International Studies	80.4%	74.4%
PS 69 Vincent D. Grippo School	82.8%	74.4%
University Neighborhood High School	79.5%	74.2%
Business Technology Early College High School	79.0%	74.2%
Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences	79.7%	74.2%
Flushing High School	80.3%	74.1%
All City Leadership Secondary School	81.7%	74.1%
MS 51 William Alexander	80.4%	73.9%
JHS 216 George J. Ryan	78.5%	73.9%
MS 131	79.6%	73.8%
Sixth Avenue Elementary School	80.7%	73.7%
JHS 67 Louis Pasteur	79.3%	73.6%
High School of Economics and Finance	79.8%	73.3%
The Boerum Hill School for International Studies	78.0%	73.1%
JHS 220 John J. Pershing	80.0%	73.1%
Urban Academy Laboratory High School	82.9%	73.0%
PS 24 Andrew Jackson	79.0%	73.0%
Robert H. Goddard High School of Communication Art	78.5%	73.0%
Epic High School - South	77.5%	73.0%
International High School at LaGuardia Community College	82.5%	72.9%
The Active Learning Elementary School	81.2%	72.9%
PS 333 Manhattan School for Children	75.2%	72.8%
Long Island City High School	79.1%	72.8%
Harvest Collegiate High School	79.7%	72.7%
The Cinema School	79.1%	72.6%
MS 247 Dual Language Middle School	76.3%	72.5%
IS 915	78.7%	72.5%
MS 839	79.0%	72.5%
The East Village Community School	78.0%	72.3%
Vanguard High School	76.5%	72.3%
PS 146 The Brooklyn New School	77.1%	72.2%
Academy for Software Engineering	76.9%	72.1%
New Voices School of Academic & Creative Arts	78.5%	72.1%
New Utrecht High School	76.6%	72.0%
Edward R. Murrow High School	76.2%	72.0%
William Cullen Bryant High School	78.2%	72.0%
JHS 201 The Dyker Heights	75.8%	71.8%
47 The American Sign Language and English Secondary School	80.7%	71.7%
PS 158 Bayard Taylor	79.3%	71.7%
Park Slope Collegiate	77.0%	71.7%
Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences	75.8%	71.7%
World View High School	78.3%	71.6%
Newtown High School	79.4%	71.6%
Forest Hills High School	75.5%	71.6%
Gramercy Arts High School	77.6%	71.5%
IS 5 The Walter Crowley Intermediate School	78.6%	71.5%
PS 059 Beekman Hill International	79.8%	71.4%
Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology	78.0%	71.3%
Belmont Preparatory High School	76.7%	71.3%
PS/IS 217 Roosevelt Island	76.8%	71.2%
PS 267 East Side Elementary School	80.2%	71.2%
MS 297	78.4%	71.2%
Brooklyn High School of the Arts	76.6%	71.1%
John Bowne High School	78.0%	71.1%
Richmond Hill High School	77.5%	71.1%
PS/IS 78	79.3%	71.1%
Murray Hill Academy	79.6%	71.0%
MS 442 Carroll Gardens School for Innovation	78.1%	71.0%
Sunset Park High School	76.9%	70.9%
The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers	78.1%	70.8%
MS 172 Irwin Altman	76.5%	70.8%
PS 3 Charrette School	77.8%	70.7%
The High School of Fashion Industries	76.8%	70.6%
JHS 185 Edward Bleeker	76.2%	70.6%
Muscota	75.5%	70.5%
Hillcrest High School	77.4%	70.4%
Pace High School	77.1%	70.3%
JHS 227 Edward B. Shallow	75.9%	70.3%
Queens School of Inquiry, The	74.4%	70.2%
IS 227 Louis Armstrong	74.5%	70.2%
PS 130 The Parkside	76.1%	70.1%
Fordham High School for the Arts	76.9%	70.0%
Williamsburg Preparatory School	76.9%	70.0%
Scholars' Academy	75.5%	70.0%
BELL Academy	74.1%	69.9%
Mott Hall II	75.4%	69.8%
Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics	76.9%	69.8%
JHS 88 Peter Rouget	76.3%	69.8%
Neighborhood School	80.1%	69.7%
Bedford Academy High School	76.2%	69.7%
PS 527 East Side School for Social Action	79.5%	69.5%
Tompkins Square Middle School	75.8%	69.4%
PS 126 Jacob August Riis	77.9%	69.4%
The Peck Slip School	76.3%	69.3%
Quest to Learn	74.0%	69.3%
Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences	76.0%	69.2%
Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School	75.2%	69.1%
JHS 259 William McKinley	73.2%	69.1%
Manhattan Early College School for Advertising	77.0%	69.0%
Brooklyn Collaborative Studies	77.9%	69.0%
Robert F. Kennedy Community High School	75.3%	68.9%
Hillside Arts & Letters Academy	73.8%	68.7%
Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School	75.0%	68.7%
Food and Finance High School	74.3%	68.6%
IS 73 The Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School	75.2%	68.5%
World Journalism Preparatory: A College Board School	72.0%	68.5%
Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science	75.7%	68.4%
Academy of Arts and Letters	73.0%	68.4%
PS 94 The Henry Longfellow	75.4%	68.4%
Richard R. Green High School of Teaching	76.6%	68.3%
The River School	75.3%	68.2%
JHS 194 William Carr	72.8%	68.2%
Mott Hall V	74.1%	68.1%
Science, Technology and Research Early College High School	73.8%	68.0%
Riverdale / Kingsbridge Academy (Middle School / High School)	73.6%	67.9%
Discovery High School	75.1%	67.8%
IS 125 Thom J. McCann Woodside	75.8%	67.8%
Inwood Early College for Health and Information Technologies	77.7%	67.7%
The Mott Hall School	75.0%	67.7%
MS/HS 223 The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology	73.8%	67.6%
PS 144 Col Jeromus Remsen	74.7%	67.6%
Queens Metropolitan High School	72.4%	67.6%
Susan E. Wagner High School	73.0%	67.6%
Eximius College Preparatory Academy: A College Board School	74.7%	67.5%
Young Women's Leadership School of the Bronx	76.4%	67.5%
Ella Baker School	71.1%	67.4%
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School	76.6%	67.4%
IS 145 Joseph Pulitzer	75.5%	67.4%
MS 358	75.1%	67.3%
Martin Van Buren High School	74.9%	67.2%
Leadership and Public Service High School	79.4%	67.1%
Corona Arts & Sciences Academy	75.8%	67.1%
Flushing International High School	77.1%	67.1%
Bronx High School for Law and Community Service	74.4%	66.8%
MS 327 Comprehensive Model School Project	73.7%	66.7%
The High School For Language And Diplomacy	76.4%	66.5%
Cambria Heights Academy	73.0%	66.4%
Hudson High School of Learning Technologies	74.0%	66.3%
Urban Assembly School for Media Studies	76.0%	66.3%
PS 261 Philip Livingston	72.2%	66.3%
John Adams High School	73.4%	66.3%
Urban Assembly School for Criminal Justice	72.2%	66.2%
Curtis High School	74.2%	66.2%
New Design High School	74.3%	66.1%
Bronx Collegiate Academy	75.7%	66.1%
College Point Collaborative	73.7%	66.1%
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School	76.6%	66.0%
PS 84 Lillian Weber	76.0%	65.9%
Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School	71.7%	65.9%
DeWitt Clinton High School	72.5%	65.8%
IS 318 Eugenio Maria De Hostos	73.2%	65.7%
Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice	73.0%	65.6%
Fordham Leadership Academy	73.4%	65.6%
Bronx Latin	73.7%	65.6%
Unity Center for Urban Technologies	77.0%	65.5%
Astor Collegiate Academy	72.0%	65.5%
Pelham Preparatory Academy	74.1%	65.5%
PS 101 School in the Gardens	69.0%	65.3%
Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law	75.3%	65.2%
Cypress Hills Collegiate Preparatory School	72.9%	65.2%
Leaders High School	72.2%	65.2%
IS 61 Leonardo Da Vinci	75.0%	65.2%
JHS 202 Robert H. Goddard	70.3%	65.2%
PS 452	72.1%	65.1%
High School of Arts and Technology	71.7%	65.1%
Bronx High School for Medical Science	73.7%	65.1%
John Dewey High School	71.0%	65.1%
Queens Collegiate: A College Board School	71.7%	65.1%
PS 163 Flushing Heights	74.1%	64.9%
Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction (SDC)	71.7%	64.8%
Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy International High School (Kappa)	74.1%	64.8%
Academy of Innovative Technology	72.6%	64.8%
PS 102 Bayview	71.6%	64.8%
PS 32 State Street	73.4%	64.8%
PS 69 Jackson Heights	73.7%	64.8%
MS 258 Community Action School	72.8%	64.7%
The Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice	72.8%	64.7%
Gotham Professional Arts Academy	71.1%	64.7%
Sunset Park Prep	71.9%	64.7%
High School for Civil Rights	70.3%	64.6%
PS 32 Samuel Mills Sprole	70.6%	64.5%
PS 116 Mary Lindley Murray	72.9%	64.4%
Landmark High School	74.3%	64.4%
Heritage School, The	68.6%	64.4%
Bronx Health Sciences High School	72.3%	64.4%
Medgar Evers College Preparatory School	69.9%	64.4%
Community Health Academy of the Heights	72.0%	64.3%
FDNY - Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety	72.3%	64.3%
Pan American International High School	79.8%	64.3%
PS 188 Kingsbury	69.8%	64.3%
PS 198 Isador E. Ida Straus	71.5%	64.2%
Bronx River High School	72.7%	64.2%
Pan American International High School at Monroe	74.4%	64.2%
High School of World Cultures	74.2%	64.2%
Benjamin Banneker Academy	73.0%	64.2%
Yorkville Community School	70.6%	64.1%
Lower Manhattan Arts Academy	73.2%	64.1%
Lafayette Academy	72.5%	64.1%
PS 376	74.4%	64.1%
MS 137 America's School of Heroes	71.0%	64.1%
PS/IS 187 Hudson Cliffs	70.1%	64.0%
High School for Health Careers and Sciences	70.6%	64.0%
Validus Preparatory Academy	73.2%	64.0%
International High School for Health Sciences	78.0%	64.0%
Grover Cleveland High School	71.4%	64.0%
Westchester Square Academy	71.2%	63.9%
Stephen T. Mather Building Arts & Craftsmanship High School	72.6%	63.8%
Longwood Preparatory Academy	72.8%	63.8%
Collegiate Institute for Math and Science	72.9%	63.8%
Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design (WHSAD)	71.2%	63.8%
Mott Hall Bronx High School	70.8%	63.7%
Bronx Academy for Software Engineering (BASE)	70.8%	63.7%
PS 159	68.5%	63.7%
Life Sciences Secondary School	70.0%	63.6%
Brooklyn Preparatory High School	71.4%	63.6%
The Urban Assembly School for Collaborative Health	69.1%	63.5%
Hamilton Grange Middle School	73.2%	63.4%
The Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management	71.3%	63.3%
Facing History School, The	71.5%	63.3%
Bronx Early College Academy for Teaching & Learning	68.6%	63.3%
JHS 190 Russell Sage	69.2%	63.3%
The Global Learning Collaborative	72.4%	63.2%
PS 130	67.6%	63.2%
PS 20 John Bowne	73.5%	63.1%
High School for Law, Advocacy and Community Justice	72.7%	63.0%
MS/HS 368 In-Tech Academy	72.4%	63.0%
High School of Computers and Technology	70.2%	63.0%
High School of Hospitality Management	72.4%	62.9%
Harry S Truman High School	70.0%	62.9%
PS 212 Midtown West	68.6%	62.8%
Walkabout Bronx High School	72.6%	62.8%
Orchard Collegiate Academy	71.5%	62.7%
Community School for Social Justice	71.1%	62.7%
City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology	70.3%	62.7%
PS 196 Grand Central Parkway	67.0%	62.7%
MS 224 Manhattan East School for Arts & Academics	70.9%	62.6%
Jonas Bronck Academy	69.4%	62.6%
PS 120 Queens	73.0%	62.6%
Harold O. Levy School	68.2%	62.5%
Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School	71.3%	62.4%
PS 203 Oakland Gardens	71.5%	62.4%
The Brooklyn School for Math and Research	72.4%	62.4%
Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies	70.4%	62.3%
West Bronx Academy for the Future	69.2%	62.3%
John Jay School for Law	69.4%	62.2%
The Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering	73.0%	62.2%
Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists	68.8%	62.1%
The Metropolitan Soundview High School	69.4%	62.1%
Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology and the Creative Arts	67.8%	62.0%
PS 162 John Golden	67.1%	62.0%
High School for Teaching and the Professions	72.5%	61.9%
Channel View School for Research	68.0%	61.9%
The College Academy	70.9%	61.8%
The Queens College School for Math, Science and Technology	67.1%	61.7%
JHS 223 The Montauk	67.9%	61.6%
The High School for Enterprise, Business and Technology	69.9%	61.5%
The Marie Curie School for Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions	70.5%	61.4%
PS 41 Crocheron	69.4%	61.4%
Humanities & Arts Magnet High School	69.5%	61.4%
The Children's Lab School	69.6%	61.3%
PS 242 Leonard P. Stavisky Early Childhood School	69.2%	61.3%
George Washington Carver High School for the Scien	70.1%	61.3%
Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School	68.7%	61.2%
Millennium Art Academy	69.4%	61.2%
Academy for Language and Technology	71.1%	61.2%
Brooklyn Lab School	68.5%	61.2%
PS 229 Dyker	66.5%	61.2%
Manhattan International High School	70.7%	61.1%
H.E.R.O. High (Health, Education, and Research Occupations High School)	69.6%	61.1%
IS 239 Mark Twain School for the Gifted & Talented	64.9%	61.0%
Albert Shanker School for Visual and Performing Arts	69.0%	61.0%
Metropolitan High School, The	70.2%	60.9%
PS 110 The Monitor	68.2%	60.9%
A-Tech High School	67.3%	60.8%
High School for Public Service: Heroes of Tomorrow	66.8%	60.8%
JHS 210 Elizabeth Blackwell	68.0%	60.7%
New Dorp High School	66.1%	60.7%
Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights	69.2%	60.6%
The Maxine Greene HS for Imaginative Inquiry	69.7%	60.5%
PS 9 Teunis G. Bergen	67.3%	60.5%
Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women	73.0%	60.4%
Theatre Arts Production Company School	67.9%	60.4%
The Williamsburg High School of Art and Technology	67.4%	60.4%
The High School for Global Citizenship	67.6%	60.4%
Business Of Sports School	68.8%	60.3%
PS 169 Sunset Park	66.5%	60.3%
High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety	67.2%	60.3%
Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics	71.0%	60.2%
James Madison High School	64.8%	60.2%
Hawtree Creek Middle School	67.4%	60.2%
Pathways College Preparatory School: A College Board School	67.0%	60.2%
Bushwick Leaders High School for Academic Excellence	68.6%	60.2%
Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School	66.8%	60.0%
IS 10 Horace Greeley	66.5%	60.0%
Pelham Lab High School	68.6%	59.9%
Herbert H. Lehman High School	68.3%	59.9%
IS 468 Kingsborough Early College School	67.9%	59.9%
PS 2 Meyer London	67.3%	59.8%
International School for Liberal Arts	71.4%	59.7%
PS 20 Clinton Hill	66.4%	59.7%
Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy	69.3%	59.6%
Community Math & Science Prep	64.2%	59.5%
Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School	67.0%	59.5%
Bronxdale High School	68.6%	59.5%
Port Richmond High School	68.2%	59.5%
High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media	69.7%	59.4%
JHS 127 The Castle Hill	67.5%	59.3%
PS 94 David D. Porter	65.7%	59.3%
Health Opportunities High School	70.2%	59.2%
Explorations Academy H.S.	66.2%	59.2%
PS 7 Louis F. Simeone	66.2%	59.2%
John F. Kennedy Jr. School	74.8%	59.2%
South Bronx Preparatory: A College Board School	69.1%	59.1%
Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School	67.3%	59.1%
Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts	66.8%	59.0%
Abraham Lincoln High School	66.7%	59.0%
Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School	65.4%	59.0%
Bronx Leadership Academy II High School	70.1%	58.9%
Bronx Collaborative High School	67.5%	58.9%
Young Women's Leadership School of Brooklyn	68.3%	58.9%
PS 150 Queens	65.4%	58.9%
International High School at Union Square	70.9%	58.8%
JHS 118 William W. Niles	68.2%	58.8%
Victory Collegiate High School	67.5%	58.8%
PS 79 Francis Lewis	67.2%	58.8%
East Bronx Academy for the Future	68.1%	58.7%
PS 295	64.6%	58.6%
Urban Assembly School of Music and Art	62.3%	58.5%
High School for Law and Public Service	69.3%	58.4%
IS 181 Pablo Casals	65.5%	58.4%
University Neighborhood Middle School	70.3%	58.3%
Renaissance High School for Musical Theater and the Arts	65.9%	58.2%
Academy for Health Careers	66.0%	58.2%
JHS 217 Robert A. Van Wyck	66.4%	58.1%
MS 319 Maria Teresa	66.3%	58.0%
PS 372 The Children's School	63.6%	58.0%
Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment	67.4%	57.9%
Performing Arts and Technology High School	63.2%	57.9%
PS 176 Ovington	66.3%	57.9%
PS 22 Thomas Jefferson	67.7%	57.9%
The Academy for Excellence through the Arts	64.7%	57.9%
Esperanza Preparatory Academy	67.2%	57.8%
Mott Hall III	66.3%	57.8%
Bronx International High School	67.5%	57.7%
Cyberarts Studio Academy	67.6%	57.7%
IS 204 Oliver W. Holmes	67.1%	57.7%
Bronx High School of Business	70.2%	57.6%
Juan Morel Campos Secondary School	67.0%	57.6%
IS 136 Charles O. Dewey	63.7%	57.6%
PS 214 Cadwallader Colden	64.7%	57.6%
JHS 383 Philippa Schuyler	63.5%	57.6%
PS 23 Queens Children Center	65.5%	57.6%
Bronx Leadership Academy High School	70.2%	57.5%
PS 38 The Pacific	62.2%	57.5%
High School for Medical Professions	64.8%	57.5%
PS 219 Paul Klapper	63.3%	57.3%
High School for Media and Communications	65.4%	57.2%
Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science	67.4%	57.2%
PROGRESS High School for Professional Careers	70.0%	57.2%
Multicultural High School	69.8%	57.2%
Benjamin Franklin High School for Finance & Information Technology	64.2%	57.0%
EBC High School for Public Service - Bushwick	70.9%	57.0%
PS 33 Chelsea Prep	63.8%	56.9%
PS 24 Spuyten Duyvil	64.8%	56.9%
One World Middle School at Edenwald	62.8%	56.9%
Clara Barton High School	64.9%	56.8%
Bronx Bridges High School	68.2%	56.7%
High School for Energy and Technology	67.5%	56.7%
Bronx Envision Academy	66.9%	56.7%
IS 77	66.8%	56.7%
PS 212	67.6%	56.7%
Eagle Academy for Young Men	66.1%	56.6%
PS 133 William A. Butler	64.7%	56.6%
PS 282 Park Slope	60.5%	56.6%
The 47 American Sign Language & English Lower School	66.0%	56.5%
William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School	66.0%	56.5%
The Children's Workshop School	66.8%	56.4%
Bronx Lab School	63.4%	56.4%
Academy for Conservation and the Environment	62.4%	56.4%
George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education	65.0%	56.3%
MS 936 Arts Off 3rd	66.3%	56.3%
Queens High School for Information, Research, and Technology	61.7%	56.3%
Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts	64.7%	56.2%
PS 169 Bay Terrace	61.2%	56.2%
PS 163 Alfred E. Smith	63.9%	56.1%
South Bronx International Middle School	66.2%	56.1%
PS 166 Henry Gradstein	65.4%	56.1%
Newcomers High School	69.9%	56.1%
MS 890	64.8%	56.0%
PS 209 Clearview Gardens	64.6%	56.0%
Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School	64.2%	55.9%
PS 107 Thomas A Dooley	65.0%	55.9%
Central Park East I	61.7%	55.6%
Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology	65.4%	55.6%
Academy for Excellence in Leadership	66.4%	55.6%
Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School	65.8%	55.5%
JHS 226 Virgil I. Grissom	64.1%	55.4%
Highland Park Community School	63.1%	55.3%
The Woodside Community School	68.3%	55.3%
Manhattan Academy For Arts & Language	73.8%	55.2%
East New York Family Academy	63.7%	55.2%
PS 46 Alley Pond	63.2%	55.2%
PS 177	68.7%	55.2%
Academy For Personal Leadership And Excellence	63.6%	55.1%
PS 21 Edward Hart	62.3%	55.1%
PS 131 Abigail Adams	67.0%	55.1%
IS 238 Susan B. Anthony Academy	64.2%	55.1%
IS 141 The Steinway	62.2%	55.1%
JHS 162 The Willoughby	63.8%	55.1%
MS 180 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams	63.0%	55.0%
Academy for Scholarship and Entrepreneurship: A College Board School	61.5%	55.0%
PS 173 Fresh Meadows	62.5%	54.9%
Tottenville High School	59.7%	54.9%
International Community High School	67.7%	54.8%
The School for Inquiry and Social Justice	62.6%	54.8%
Waterside School For Leadership	62.0%	54.8%
East Williamsburg Scholars Academy	64.5%	54.7%
High School for Youth and Community Development at Erasmus	65.0%	54.7%
JHS 157 Stephen A. Halsey	59.1%	54.7%
Bronx High School for the Visual Arts	61.9%	54.6%
Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women	62.9%	54.6%
PS 721 Stephen McSweeney School	66.7%	54.6%
DreamYard Preparatory School	62.9%	54.5%
Science and Technology Academy: A Mott Hall School	60.5%	54.5%
Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers	60.5%	54.4%
Bronx Academy of Health Careers	63.4%	54.4%
The Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance	65.0%	54.4%
PS 35	64.7%	54.4%
PS 811	66.9%	54.4%
MS 324 Patria Mirabal	64.9%	54.3%
The School of Creativity and Innovation	64.2%	54.3%
August Martin High School	63.4%	54.3%
Manhattan Business Academy	66.1%	54.2%
Blueprint Middle School	63.0%	54.2%
El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice	63.7%	54.2%
Urban Institute of Mathematics	61.6%	54.1%
Brooklyn Community High School for Excellence and	61.2%	54.1%
World Academy for Total Community Health High School	65.8%	54.1%
IS 93 Ridgewood	64.6%	54.1%
Eagle Academy for Young Men III	62.9%	54.1%
High School for Violin and Dance	65.0%	54.0%
The New School for Leadership and Journalism	65.1%	54.0%
The East New York Arts and Civics High School	64.0%	54.0%
Isaac Newton Middle School for Math & Science	60.0%	53.9%
Frederick Douglass Academy	62.9%	53.9%
Castle Bridge School	66.1%	53.9%
The Urban Assembly Unison School	60.1%	53.9%
Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH)	61.8%	53.9%
Mott Hall High School	61.8%	53.8%
PS 11 Purvis J. Behan	60.6%	53.8%
Dock Street School for STEAM Studies	57.9%	53.8%
PS 174 William Sidney Mount	58.5%	53.8%
The Emerson School	62.5%	53.8%
Manhattan School for Career Development	63.2%	53.8%
MS 101 Edward R. Byrne	60.7%	53.7%
Bronx School of Law and Finance	64.7%	53.6%
IS 250 The Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School	62.0%	53.6%
PS 31 Bayside	60.4%	53.5%
The James J. Ambrose School	65.8%	53.4%
Mathematics, Science Research and Technology Magnet High School	63.0%	53.4%
PS 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School	64.4%	53.4%
Queens Transition Center	65.4%	53.4%
PS 122 Mamie Fay	59.0%	53.2%
Creston Academy	62.5%	53.1%
Bronx Theatre High School	63.2%	53.1%
JHS 98 Herman Ridder	61.1%	53.1%
Teachers College Community School	62.1%	53.0%
Schuylerville Preparatory High School	60.5%	53.0%
MS 45 Thomas C. Giordano	59.7%	52.9%
Crotona International High School	66.7%	52.9%
Emolior Academy	61.7%	52.9%
PS 206 Jose Celso Barbosa	60.4%	52.8%
PS 125 Ralph Bunche	61.3%	52.8%
English Language Learners and International Support Preparatory Academy (ELLIS)	66.1%	52.8%
PS 12 James B. Colgate	64.4%	52.8%
PS 205 Alexander Graham Bell	58.4%	52.8%
Careers in Sports High School	65.5%	52.7%
New World High School	62.2%	52.7%
Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts	61.7%	52.6%
PS 132 The Conselyea School	59.2%	52.6%
The SEEALL Academy	58.8%	52.6%
Marsh Avenue School for Expeditionary Learning	60.0%	52.6%
Archimedes Academy for Math, Science and Technology	61.7%	52.5%
IS 281 Joseph B Cavallaro	58.2%	52.5%
Academy for Young Writers	61.2%	52.3%
JHS 8 Richard S. Grossley	58.9%	52.3%
Bronx Design and Construction Academy	64.5%	52.2%
High School for Contemporary Arts	63.4%	52.2%
IS 72 Rocco Laurie	56.6%	52.2%
IS 303 Leadership & Community Service	61.7%	52.1%
PS 222 Fire Fighter Christopher A. Santora School	59.8%	52.1%
Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change	61.3%	52.0%
PS 205 Clarion	59.2%	52.0%
PS 176	63.3%	52.0%
PS 721 Manhattan Occupational Training Center	65.9%	51.9%
School for Global Leaders	62.4%	51.8%
It Takes a Village Academy	61.6%	51.7%
Evergreen Middle School for Urban Exploration	62.0%	51.7%
Frederick Douglass Academy VII High School	61.5%	51.6%
PS 75 Emily Dickinson	62.6%	51.5%
Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School	57.9%	51.5%
High School for Service & Learning at Erasmus	61.4%	51.5%
Cultural Academy for the Arts and Sciences	59.2%	51.5%
IS 117 Joseph H. Wade	59.7%	51.4%
Spring Creek Community School	59.0%	51.4%
PS 110 Florence Nightingale	55.4%	51.3%
Mott Haven Village Preparatory High School	61.5%	51.3%
Bronx Compass High School	62.1%	51.3%
Claremont International HS	64.4%	51.3%
Kappa III	59.6%	51.3%
Origins High School	58.6%	51.3%
Frederick Douglass Academy III Secondary School	65.7%	51.2%
Academy for College Preparation and Career Exploration: A College Board School	60.5%	51.2%
Wings Academy	58.8%	51.1%
PS 221 The North Hills School	58.2%	51.1%
Brooklyn Studio Secondary School	56.1%	51.0%
PS 184 Flushing Manor	59.1%	51.0%
Academy of Medical Technology: A College Board School	59.6%	51.0%
Antonia Pantoja Preparatory Academy: A College Board School	61.5%	50.9%
PS 204 Vince Lombardi	55.8%	50.9%
PS 11 Kathryn Phelan	62.3%	50.8%
School of Math, Science, and Healthy Living	58.1%	50.7%
PS/IS 119 The Glendale	57.5%	50.7%
Dos Puentes Elementary School	60.7%	50.6%
Kingsbridge International High School	62.3%	50.5%
Lyons Community School	61.4%	50.5%
IS 392	58.1%	50.5%
The Highbridge Green School	63.8%	50.4%
Elijah Stroud Middle School	56.2%	50.4%
PS 229 Emanuel Kaplan	58.4%	50.3%
PS 64 Joseph P. Addabbo	57.7%	50.3%
Paula Hedbavny School	57.5%	50.1%
PS 247 Brooklyn	56.3%	50.1%
JHS 278 Marine Park	55.4%	50.1%
High School of Language and Innovation	59.6%	50.0%
Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School	59.1%	50.0%
IS 171 Abraham Lincoln	61.0%	50.0%
Brooklyn School of Inquiry	55.6%	50.0%
PS 012 Lewis and Clark School	64.2%	50.0%
Frederick Douglass Academy II Secondary School	59.0%	49.9%
Earth School	57.1%	49.8%
Bronx Dance Academy School	59.0%	49.8%
PS 371 Lillian L. Rashkis	59.8%	49.8%
The Richard H. Hungerford School	61.5%	49.8%
MS 390	58.4%	49.7%
Bronx Aerospace High School	59.9%	49.7%
Central Park East II	63.1%	49.6%
New Directions Secondary School	58.1%	49.6%
Brooklyn School for Music & Theatre	59.1%	49.6%
Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity	64.8%	49.6%
JHS 143 Eleanor Roosevelt	61.7%	49.5%
Ralph A. Fabrizio School	56.7%	49.4%
Brooklyn Collegiate: A College Board School	60.8%	49.4%
MS 322	59.0%	49.3%
JHS 123 James M. Kieran	57.5%	49.3%
PS 139 Alexine A. Fenty	59.6%	49.3%
The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters	57.6%	49.2%
Vista Academy	56.4%	49.2%
Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy VI	60.0%	49.2%
IS 254	58.4%	49.1%
PS 97 The Highlawn	54.7%	49.1%
Baychester Middle School	57.3%	49.0%
Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School (BCAM)	58.6%	49.0%
PS 133 Queens	59.6%	49.0%
The Queens School for Leadership and Excellence	61.0%	49.0%
PS 84 Jose De Diego	56.6%	48.9%
Excelsior Preparatory High School	57.4%	48.9%
The Bronxwood Preparatory Academy	57.9%	48.8%
Liberty Avenue Middle School	57.2%	48.8%
PS 889	57.8%	48.8%
PS/IS 266	56.4%	48.8%
IS 2 George L. Egbert	54.8%	48.8%
West Prep Academy	55.8%	48.7%
Conselyea Preparatory School	57.4%	48.7%
JHS 62 Ditmas	56.7%	48.7%
PS/IS 104 The Fort Hamilton School	55.4%	48.7%
Harbor Heights	68.9%	48.6%
Brooklyn International High School	62.6%	48.6%
PS 34 Oliver H. Perry	53.9%	48.6%
Academy of Hospitality and Tourism	58.7%	48.6%
International High School at Lafayette	60.1%	48.6%
Academy of Public Relations	60.7%	48.5%
IS 190 E.S.M.T	58.7%	48.5%
Bronx High School for Writing and Communication Arts	59.7%	48.4%
JHS 50 John D. Wells	56.3%	48.4%
School for Classics High School	58.1%	48.4%
PS 89 Elmhurst	61.9%	48.4%
International High School at Prospect Heights	61.4%	48.3%
High School of Sports Management	56.1%	48.3%
IS 318 Math, Science & Technology Through Arts	60.6%	48.2%
Amistad Dual Language School	54.0%	48.1%
The Brooklyn Green School	57.1%	48.1%
PS 770 New American Academy	63.2%	48.1%
IS 96 Seth Low	54.3%	48.1%
Life Academy High School for Film and Music	60.8%	48.1%
Academy for New Americans	58.5%	48.1%
PS 811	58.9%	48.0%
PS 051 Elias Howe	54.3%	47.9%
W. H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School	56.0%	47.9%
Cobble Hill School of American Studies	61.8%	47.8%
Fort Greene Preparatory Academy	56.0%	47.6%
Rachel Carson High School for Coastal Studies	54.4%	47.6%
Gotham Collaborative High School	57.4%	47.5%
MS 250 West Side Collaborative Middle School	58.9%	47.4%
Sunset Park Avenues Elementary School	55.6%	47.4%
IS 228 David A. Boody	52.0%	47.4%
PS 398	53.2%	47.4%
PS 1 Alfred E. Smith	59.0%	47.3%
IS 339	57.7%	47.3%
Redwood Middle School	56.8%	47.3%
PS 171 Patrick Henry	52.8%	47.2%
Frederick Douglass Academy VIII Middle School	52.3%	47.2%
PS 101 The Verrazano	52.4%	47.2%
Academy of Applied Mathematics and Technology	58.0%	47.1%
New Millennium Bronx Academy of the Arts	56.0%	47.1%
PS 230 Doris L. Cohen	59.4%	47.1%
PS 186 Castlewood	58.9%	47.1%
School for Excellence	57.3%	47.0%
IS 98 Bay Academy	51.2%	47.0%
Preparatory Academy for Writers: A College Board School	56.2%	47.0%
High School for Excellence and Innovation	62.6%	46.9%
MS 582	54.7%	46.9%
IS 340	50.8%	46.9%
Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship	57.8%	46.8%
PS 58 The School of Heroes	56.9%	46.8%
Hamilton Heights School	54.9%	46.7%
PS/MS 194	54.5%	46.6%
Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts	53.4%	46.6%
IS 285 Meyer Levin	54.5%	46.5%
THE JUDITH S. KAYE HIGH SCHOOL	62.3%	46.4%
Urban Action Academy	55.0%	46.4%
PS 18 Winchester	60.2%	46.3%
IS 27 Anning S. Prall	55.7%	46.3%
PS 373 Brooklyn Transition Center	56.9%	46.3%
Eagle Academy for Young Men of Harlem	57.0%	46.2%
PS/IS 224	56.8%	46.2%
PS 56 Lewis H. Latimer	57.9%	46.2%
IS 349 Math, Science & Tech.	55.0%	46.2%
MS 302 Luisa Dessus Cruz	53.9%	46.1%
Queens Preparatory Academy	60.0%	46.0%
PS 224	55.1%	46.0%
MS 301 Paul L. Dunbar	54.7%	45.9%
PS 13 Clement C. Moore	56.9%	45.9%
Rockaway Collegiate High School	55.0%	45.8%
IS 232	57.1%	45.7%
Pelham Academy of Academics and Community Engagement	54.0%	45.7%
PS 233	57.8%	45.7%
PS 180 Hugo Newman	55.6%	45.6%
Women's Academy of Excellence	52.8%	45.6%
IS 313 School of Leadership Development	55.3%	45.6%
The Michael J. Petrides School	52.2%	45.6%
Lower East Side Preparatory High School	61.6%	45.5%
Harvey Milk High School	63.6%	45.5%
Boys and Girls High School	55.9%	45.5%
City Knoll Middle School	58.8%	45.4%
IS 219 New Venture School	54.2%	45.4%
MS 129 Academy for Independent Learning and Leadership	56.7%	45.4%
JHS 292 Margaret S. Douglas	52.4%	45.4%
The Brooklyn School for Social Justice	58.1%	45.4%
JHS 131 Albert Einstein	54.8%	45.2%
PS 993	56.7%	45.2%
Renaissance School of the Arts	57.1%	45.1%
PS 163 Bath Beach	50.7%	45.1%
The Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce	55.0%	45.0%
Bronx Writing Academy	55.6%	45.0%
PS 81 Robert J. Christen	54.3%	45.0%
MS 266 Park Place Community Middle School	56.0%	45.0%
JHS 78 Roy H. Mann	49.7%	45.0%
IS 528 Bea Fuller Rodgers School	56.8%	44.9%
The Bronx School of Young Leaders	53.5%	44.8%
Parkside Preparatory Academy	52.7%	44.8%
Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy	53.2%	44.8%
PS 213 The Carl Ullman School	53.2%	44.8%
PS 124 Osmond A Church	54.5%	44.8%
PS 079 Horan School	61.3%	44.8%
PS/IS 25 South Richmond High School	53.4%	44.7%
PS 165 Robert E. Simon	53.5%	44.6%
Accion Academy	54.7%	44.6%
High School M560 - City As School	60.8%	44.4%
JHS 234 Arthur W. Cunningham	49.7%	44.3%
Eagle Academy for Young Men II	52.6%	44.3%
Kappa	54.0%	44.2%
MS 594	54.3%	44.2%
The Riverview School	52.9%	44.2%
JHS 291 Roland Hayes	55.6%	44.1%
PS 31 Samuel F. Dupont	53.2%	44.0%
PS 199 Maurice A. Fitzgerald	54.2%	44.0%
A.C.E. Academy for Scholars at the Geraldine Ferra	50.6%	44.0%
PS 370	50.6%	44.0%
School of Performing Arts	55.7%	43.9%
PS 131 Brooklyn	50.3%	43.9%
Andries Hudde	53.7%	43.9%
PS 49 Dorothy Bonawit Kole	49.9%	43.9%
PS 164 Caesar Rodney	53.3%	43.7%
PS 721 Brooklyn Occupational Training Center	56.8%	43.7%
South Bronx Academy for Applied Media	53.6%	43.6%
The Hunts Point School	55.7%	43.6%
PS 106 Parkchester	52.6%	43.6%
IS 347 School of Humanities	54.0%	43.6%
PS 94	51.0%	43.6%
Madiba Prep Middle School	52.8%	43.5%
PS 98 The Douglaston School	57.5%	43.5%
PS/IS 218 Rafael Hernandez Dual Language Magnet School	53.7%	43.4%
Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School	53.6%	43.4%
Washington Heights Academy	51.1%	43.3%
Bronx Green Middle School	53.2%	43.3%
PS 127 Mckinley Park	51.2%	43.3%
IS 381	54.2%	43.3%
IS 584	55.9%	43.2%
PS 811 Connie Lekas School	55.8%	43.2%
IS 206B Ann Mersereau	56.9%	43.1%
JHS 144 Michelangelo	51.8%	43.1%
PS 153 Helen Keller	51.8%	43.1%
PS 129 Patricia Larkin	52.2%	43.1%
PS 53	54.2%	43.1%
JHS 22 Jordan L. Mott	54.5%	42.9%
Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School	50.0%	42.9%
PS 015 Institute for Environmental Learning	53.0%	42.8%
PS/IS 208	51.9%	42.8%
The Angelo Patri Middle School	54.0%	42.7%
IS 364 Gateway	50.0%	42.7%
PS 19 Marino Jeantet	55.6%	42.7%
JHS 80 The Mosholu Parkway	52.1%	42.6%
School for Human Rights, The	54.5%	42.6%
Rockaway Park High School for Environmental Sustainability	50.4%	42.5%
IS 59 Springfield Gardens	51.0%	42.5%
PS 77	48.6%	42.5%
PS 55 Maure	49.9%	42.4%
James Weldon Johnson	50.7%	42.3%
PS 95 The Gravesend	48.6%	42.2%
PS 127 Aerospace Science Magnet School	54.2%	42.2%
IS 61 William A Morris	50.9%	42.2%
PS 315 Lab School	51.8%	42.1%
Bronx Alliance Middle School	52.1%	42.1%
The Eagle Academy for Young Men of Staten Island	53.7%	42.1%
Brooklyn Arts and Science Elementary School	49.6%	42.0%
PS 316 Elijah Stroud	50.4%	41.9%
Mott Haven Community High School	56.2%	41.6%
The Academy of Talented Scholars	46.0%	41.6%
PS 226	55.3%	41.6%
Pelham Gardens Middle School	51.3%	41.5%
Frederick Douglass Academy VI High School	53.7%	41.5%
PS 85 Judge Charles Vallone	51.3%	41.4%
Professor Juan Bosch Public School	49.6%	41.3%
MS 126 John Ericsson	47.5%	41.3%
PS 86	48.9%	41.3%
Bronx Park Middle School	49.1%	41.2%
PS 48 Mapleton	47.7%	41.2%
PS 26 Rufus King	50.2%	41.2%
PS 102 The Bayview	47.6%	41.0%
IS 51 Edwin Markham	48.5%	41.0%
PS 111 Adolph S. Ochs	54.8%	40.9%
MS 267 Math, Science & Technology	51.5%	40.9%
Leaders of Tomorrow	48.8%	40.8%
Nelson Mandela High School	53.1%	40.8%
The School of Integrated Learning	47.2%	40.8%
IS 303 Herbert S. Eisenberg	44.1%	40.8%
PS 164 Queens Valley	47.4%	40.8%
PS 161 Arthur Ashe School	52.0%	40.8%
The Bilingual Bicultural School	49.8%	40.7%
PS 3 Raul Julia Micro Society	49.1%	40.7%
PS/MS 498 Van Nest Academy	46.7%	40.7%
The Science And Medicine Middle School	48.1%	40.7%
Teachers Preparatory High School	51.5%	40.7%
New Design Middle School	49.5%	40.6%
West Brooklyn Community High School	51.2%	40.6%
PS 149 Christa McAuliffe	53.8%	40.6%
Brooklyn Brownstone School	48.7%	40.5%
PS 206 Joseph F Lamb	44.9%	40.5%
MS 113 Ronald Edmonds Learning Center	50.2%	40.4%
PS 172 Beacon School of Excellence	51.2%	40.4%
Ampark Neighborhood	48.4%	40.2%
Middle School for Art and Philosophy	48.8%	40.1%
PS 159 Isaac Pitkin	49.7%	40.1%
PS 143 Louis Armstrong	51.8%	40.1%
PS/IS 268	50.1%	40.1%
Arturo A. Schomburg Satellite Academy Bronx	53.9%	40.0%
PS 153 Maspeth Elem	47.1%	39.8%
PS 9	47.9%	39.8%
PS 369 Coy L. Cox School	48.5%	39.7%
IS 192 The Linden	46.6%	39.6%
Emma Lazarus High School	59.4%	39.5%
PS 15 Patrick F. Daly	49.0%	39.5%
MS 61 Dr. Gladstone H. Atwell	47.3%	39.5%
PS 112 Lefferts Park	47.1%	39.5%
PS 95 Eastwood	51.3%	39.5%
Mott Hall Community School	50.3%	39.4%
PS 124 Silas B. Dutcher	48.4%	39.4%
Community Voices Middle School	47.9%	39.4%
J. M. Rapport School Career Development	56.4%	39.4%
PS 165 Edith K. Bergtraum	47.4%	39.3%
PS 234	47.3%	39.3%
PS 8 Luis Belliard	47.5%	39.2%
IS 75 Frank D. Paulo	42.4%	39.2%
Liberty High School Academy for Newcomers	59.1%	39.1%
PS/IS 30 Mary White Ovington	45.2%	39.1%
IS 24 Myra S. Barnes	42.8%	39.1%
The Lexington Academy	50.8%	39.0%
Queens Explorers Elementary School	49.1%	39.0%
PS 368	48.5%	39.0%
PS 20 Anna Silver	50.7%	38.9%
Frederick Douglass Academy V. Middle School	51.7%	38.9%
PS/IS 87 Middle Village	44.8%	38.9%
PS 231	46.5%	38.9%
PS 4	46.4%	38.9%
PS 018 Park Terrace	55.5%	38.8%
PS 33 Edward M. Funk	50.1%	38.8%
PS 17 Henry David Thoreau	46.7%	38.8%
PS 503 The School of Discovery	47.7%	38.5%
PS 506 The School of Journalism & Technology	51.8%	38.4%
PS 207 Elizabeth G. Leary	44.0%	38.4%
Professional Pathways High School	51.0%	38.4%
PS 108 Captain Vincent G. Fowler	46.6%	38.4%
MS 72 Catherine & Count Basie	48.8%	38.4%
PS 19 Asher Levy	46.7%	38.3%
PS 140 Nathan Straus	48.1%	38.3%
PS 29 Queens	49.9%	38.3%
PS/MS 200 The Magnet School of Global Studies and Leadership	46.0%	38.3%
PS 148 Queens	51.4%	38.3%
PS 191 Mayflower	48.5%	38.2%
PS 748 Brooklyn School for Global Scholars	44.2%	38.1%
Kappa V (Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy)	49.5%	38.1%
Mott Hall Bridges Academy	44.8%	38.1%
PS 48 William G. Wilcox	43.2%	38.1%
East New York Middle School of Excellence	48.6%	38.0%
PS 280	50.7%	38.0%
PS 214 Michael Friedsam	46.6%	37.9%
Waterside Children's Studio School	44.8%	37.9%
Village Academy	45.2%	37.9%
PS 182 Samantha Smith	46.8%	37.9%
PS 121 Queens	46.7%	37.8%
PS 112 Jose Celso Barbosa	47.5%	37.7%
JHS 218 James P. Sinnott	48.1%	37.7%
PS 226 Alfred De B. Mason	44.5%	37.6%
PS 63 Old South	47.4%	37.6%
PS 84 Steinway	46.8%	37.6%
PS 175 City Island	48.3%	37.5%
Collaborative Arts Middle School	44.3%	37.3%
PS 39 Francis J. Murphy Jr.	44.3%	37.3%
Robert E. Peary School	48.1%	37.3%
PS 16 The Nancy DeBenedittis School	48.7%	37.2%
PS 110	49.3%	37.2%
PS 138	45.8%	37.2%
PS 211	47.4%	37.1%
Whitelaw Reid Academy of Arts and Business	47.6%	37.1%
PS 255	44.4%	37.1%
MS 35 Stephen Decatur	45.1%	37.0%
PS 771	43.7%	37.0%
PS 95 Sheila Mencher	45.3%	36.9%
PS 19 Judith K. Weiss	44.5%	36.9%
IS 211 John Wilson	44.9%	36.9%
PS/IS 210 Twenty-first Century Academy for Community Leadership	48.7%	36.8%
PS/IS 230 Roland Patterson	45.6%	36.7%
PS 376	46.0%	36.7%
PS 96 Joseph Lanzetta	48.9%	36.6%
North Bronx School of Empowerment	49.3%	36.6%
PS 811 Mickey Mantle School	45.9%	36.6%
PS 154 Queens	47.6%	36.5%
PS 100 Glen Morris	47.8%	36.5%
PS 232 Lindenwood	42.0%	36.5%
Urban Assembly Academy for Future Leaders	44.2%	36.4%
PS 146 Howard Beach	43.2%	36.4%
PS 62 Chester Park School	47.7%	36.2%
PS 65 The Raymond York Elementary School	44.6%	36.2%
PS 76 A. Philip Randolph	47.7%	36.1%
PS 222 Katherine R. Snyder	39.9%	36.1%
Queens United Middle School	45.4%	36.1%
IS 49 Berta A. Dreyfus	46.2%	36.1%
PS 145 The Bloomingdale School	45.1%	36.0%
PS 17	45.4%	36.0%
PS 089 Cypress Hills	47.4%	35.9%
PS 188	47.6%	35.9%
Mott Hall IV	46.3%	35.8%
PS 60 Woodhaven	45.9%	35.8%
PS 99 Kew Gardens	45.4%	35.8%
Van Siclen Community Middle School	46.9%	35.7%
Khalil Gibran International Academy	42.5%	35.6%
Ronald Edmonds Learning Center II	45.0%	35.6%
PS 186 Dr. Irving A Gladstone	41.6%	35.6%
PS 273	45.5%	35.6%
New Heights Middle School	44.5%	35.5%
Legacy School of the Arts	45.4%	35.5%
PS 723	44.4%	35.5%
PS 63 The STAR Academy	45.3%	35.4%
PS 71 Rose E. Scala	41.6%	35.4%
Brooklyn Frontiers High School	48.8%	35.4%
Pioneer Academy	47.0%	35.4%
PS 64 Robert Simon	41.2%	35.3%
PS 102 Jacques Cartier	49.3%	35.3%
JHS 14 Shell Bank	41.7%	35.3%
New York City Academy for Discovery	45.3%	35.3%
PS 5 Ellen Lurie	42.1%	35.1%
PS 583	46.0%	35.1%
Elm Tree Elementary School	47.1%	35.1%
Harlem Renaissance High School	51.5%	35.0%
PS 66	40.8%	35.0%
PS 149 Sojourner Truth	44.0%	34.9%
PS 161 Pedro Albizu Campos	48.7%	34.9%
PS 185 Walter Kassenbrock	41.8%	34.9%
PS 66 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis	46.2%	34.9%
MS 246 Walt Whitman	46.3%	34.8%
PS 279 Captain Manuel Rivera, Jr.	45.4%	34.7%
PS 138 Brooklyn	42.0%	34.7%
PS 179 Kensington	41.8%	34.7%
East Elmhurst Community School	46.9%	34.7%
PS 235 Janice Marie Knight School	40.4%	34.6%
PS 50 Talfourd Lawn Elementary School	43.7%	34.5%
Forsyth Satellite Academy	54.2%	34.4%
Ebbets Field Middle School	39.8%	34.4%
PS 092 Harry T. Stewart Sr.	50.6%	34.4%
The Gordon Parks School	41.0%	34.2%
PS 14 Fairview	48.9%	34.1%
PS 96	41.6%	34.1%
PS 38 George Cromwell	42.2%	34.1%
Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School	54.2%	34.0%
The Bronx Mathematics Preparatory School	42.4%	34.0%
PS 121 Nelson A. Rockefeller	42.1%	34.0%
Innovation Diploma Plus	57.1%	33.9%
The Dr. Emmett W. Bassett School	44.4%	33.9%
Sunset School of Cultural Learning	43.8%	33.9%
PS 212 Lady Deborah Moody	39.7%	33.9%
PS/IS 295	44.4%	33.9%
The Riverside School for Makers and Artists	45.8%	33.8%
PS 128 Audubon	45.3%	33.7%
PS/MS 20 P.O.George J. Werdann, III	43.1%	33.7%
PS/MS 280 Mosholu Parkway	42.3%	33.7%
Goldie Maple Academy	42.1%	33.7%
PS 108 Assemblyman Angelo Del Toro Educational Complex	44.3%	33.6%
PS 1 The Bergen	44.2%	33.6%
PS/IS 113 Anthony J. Pranzo	41.6%	33.6%
PS/MS 147 Ronald McNair	40.8%	33.6%
PS 24	42.1%	33.5%
Voyages Prep - South Queens	47.1%	33.5%
PS 753 School for Career Development	44.1%	33.4%
PS 56 Norwood Heights	42.2%	33.3%
Learners and Leaders	45.2%	33.3%
The Bellaire School	43.9%	33.3%
The Harbor View School	39.3%	33.3%
PS/MS 31 The William Lloyd Garrison	42.1%	33.2%
PS 140 The Eagle School	44.6%	33.2%
The Ivan Lafayette Early Childhood School of the Arts	49.2%	33.2%
PS 469 The Bronx School for Continuous Learners	42.9%	33.1%
PS 037 Multiple Intelligence School	42.7%	33.0%
PS 83 Luis Munoz Rivera	39.4%	32.9%
PS 160 Walt Disney	40.4%	32.9%
The Middle School of Media, Law and Fine Arts	44.3%	32.9%
PS 129 John H. Finley	41.9%	32.8%
PS/IS 157 The Benjamin Franklin Health & Science	41.6%	32.8%
South Brooklyn Community High School	44.8%	32.8%
PS 193 Alfred J. Kennedy	39.7%	32.8%
PS 214	42.6%	32.7%
PS 117 J. Keld / Briarwood School	38.9%	32.7%
IS 7 Elias Bernstein	36.7%	32.7%
Bronx Community High School	47.4%	32.6%
PS 307 Daniel Hale Williams	41.9%	32.4%
MS 53 Brian Piccolo	40.8%	32.4%
PS 54 Hillside	45.5%	32.4%
PS 97 Bronx	40.1%	32.2%
PS 65 The Academy of Innovative Learning	37.4%	32.2%
PS 69 Daniel D. Tompkins	38.6%	32.2%
PS 89 Bronx	42.4%	32.1%
PS 169 Robert F. Kennedy	41.4%	32.1%
PS 36 Unionport	42.9%	32.0%
PS 217 Colonel David Marcus School	39.4%	32.0%
PS 28 The Thomas Emanuel Early Childhood Center	42.6%	32.0%
The Locke School of Arts and Engineering	38.3%	31.9%
River East Elementary	41.1%	31.9%
IS 34 Tottenville	35.2%	31.9%
PS 81 Jean Paul Richter	43.4%	31.8%
PS 155	41.5%	31.8%
PS 168	41.1%	31.8%
PS 178 Dr. Selman Waksman	42.0%	31.7%
PS 76 William Hallet	43.1%	31.7%
PS 54 Charles W. Leng	40.0%	31.7%
Luisa Pineiro Fuentes School of Science and Discovery	46.4%	31.6%
PS 139 Rego Park	36.4%	31.6%
PS 35 The Clove Valley School	36.0%	31.6%
Young Voices Academy of the Bronx	38.7%	31.5%
PS 7 Samuel Stern	40.4%	31.4%
MS 394	39.3%	31.4%
Brownsville Collaborative Middle School	42.9%	31.4%
Linden Tree Elementary School	40.9%	31.3%
North Queens Community High School	45.0%	31.3%
Space Shuttle Columbia School	36.5%	31.3%
Bronx Little School	44.6%	31.2%
PS 215 Morris H. Weiss	36.2%	31.2%
PS 40 Samuel Huntington	42.5%	31.1%
PS/IS 116 William C. Hughley	38.4%	31.1%
The Stephanie A. Vierno School	38.9%	31.1%
PS 90 Horace Mann	41.6%	31.0%
PS 5 Port Morris	42.9%	30.9%
PS 56 Harry Eichler	41.5%	30.9%
PS 123 Suydam	41.4%	30.9%
Bedford Park Elementary School	39.1%	30.8%
PS 119 Amersfort	40.9%	30.7%
PS 220 Edward Mandel	35.4%	30.7%
PS 70	41.9%	30.7%
IS 68 Isaac Bildersee	39.1%	30.6%
Brooklyn Environmental Exploration School (BEES)	41.1%	30.5%
PS 97 Forest Park	43.4%	30.4%
PS 36	38.5%	30.4%
PS 85 Great Expectations	42.6%	30.3%
Satellite East Middle School	38.2%	30.3%
Riverdale Avenue Middle School	39.3%	30.3%
PS 52 John C. Thompson	36.2%	30.3%
PS 175 The Lynn Gross Discovery School	34.7%	30.2%
PS 256	37.9%	30.2%
PS 48 P.O. Michael J. Buczek	39.1%	30.1%
PS 68 Cambridge	42.2%	30.1%
PS 140	39.2%	30.1%
Brighter Choice Community School	37.2%	30.0%
Queens Academy High School	46.5%	30.0%
The CIVIC School of Bayside Hills	46.0%	30.0%
PS 254 The Rosa Parks School	43.0%	30.0%
PS 171 Peter G. Van Alst	37.7%	30.0%
Bushwick Community High School	48.0%	30.0%
PS 133 Fred R Moore	40.1%	29.9%
PS 147 Isaac Remsen	37.1%	29.9%
PS 241 Emma L. Johnston	39.9%	29.9%
Lucero Elementary School	44.1%	29.8%
PS 16 Wakefield	41.3%	29.8%
PS 249 The Caton	37.3%	29.8%
Aspirations Diploma Plus High School	45.3%	29.8%
MS 935	37.2%	29.8%
PS/IS 384 Frances E. Carter	37.6%	29.8%
PS 30 Hernandez/Hughes	41.4%	29.7%
PS 304 Early Childhood School	38.7%	29.7%
PS 28 Mount Hope	39.8%	29.7%
PS 192 The Magnet School for Math and Science Inquiry	36.4%	29.7%
Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School	37.4%	29.6%
PS 250 George H. Lindsay	38.0%	29.6%
Concord High School	47.5%	29.6%
PS 8 Isaac Varian	38.1%	29.5%
PS 245	37.4%	29.5%
PS 123	37.6%	29.5%
PS 112 Dutch Kills	37.1%	29.5%
PS 10	38.5%	29.5%
Satellite Academy High School	50.0%	29.3%
PS 13 M. L. Lindemeyer	37.5%	29.2%
PS 106 Edward Everett Hale	39.1%	29.2%
School of Earth Exploration and Discovery Harlem	39.3%	29.1%
Helen M. Marshall School	45.4%	29.1%
PS 15 Roberto Clemente	36.7%	29.0%
STEM Institute of Manhattan	33.3%	29.0%
PS 152 Evergreen	37.9%	29.0%
Mount Eden Children's Academy	38.3%	29.0%
PS 178 Saint Clair Mckelway	35.3%	29.0%
Independence High School	46.0%	28.9%
Milton Fein School	38.6%	28.9%
PS 196 Ten Eyck	35.7%	28.9%
PS 82 Hammond	39.2%	28.9%
PS 186 Walter J. Damrosch School	38.5%	28.9%
PS 34 Franklin D. Roosevelt	39.9%	28.8%
PS 115 Alexander Humboldt	39.9%	28.8%
PS 264 Bay Ridge Elementary School For The Arts	37.0%	28.8%
PS 209 Margaret Mead	34.9%	28.8%
PS 277 Gerritsen Beach	32.4%	28.7%
PS 315	36.9%	28.7%
PS 141	33.9%	28.7%
PS 128 The Lorraine Tuzzo, Juniper Valley Elementary School	34.3%	28.6%
Naples Street Elementary School	34.9%	28.6%
PS 120 Carlos Tapia	34.9%	28.4%
James Baldwin School, The: A School for Expeditionary Learning	43.4%	28.3%
The Barbara Esselborn School	34.5%	28.3%
Cascades High School	45.2%	28.2%
Jill Chaifetz Transfer High School	38.0%	28.2%
PS 94 Kings College School	38.2%	28.2%
PS 83 Donald Hertz	35.5%	28.2%
Brownsville Academy High School	38.0%	28.2%
PS 160 Walter Francis Bishop	35.8%	28.2%
Grant Avenue Elementary School	38.1%	28.1%
PS 46 Edgar Allan Poe	40.3%	28.1%
School of Science & Technology	34.6%	28.1%
PS 50 Frank Hankinson	33.2%	28.1%
PS 72 Dr. William Dorney	35.3%	27.9%
VOYAGES Preparatory	49.5%	27.9%
PS 45 John Tyler	37.2%	27.9%
PS 105 The Bay School	37.5%	27.8%
PS 223 Lyndon B. Johnson	37.7%	27.8%
PS 48 William Wordsworth	40.0%	27.8%
The David Marquis School of the Arts	33.9%	27.8%
Samara Community School	40.2%	27.7%
PS 3 The Bedford Village	38.8%	27.7%
PS 8 Shirlee Solomon	32.1%	27.7%
The Vida Bogart School for All Children	38.5%	27.7%
PS 26 Jesse Owens	35.0%	27.6%
PS 35 Nathaniel Woodhull	37.3%	27.6%
PS 145 Andrew Jackson	37.1%	27.6%
PS 188 The Island School	38.1%	27.5%
PS 205 Fiorello LaGuardia	37.5%	27.5%
Archer Elementary School	38.1%	27.5%
PS/MS 114 Belle Harbor	32.7%	27.4%
The Longwood Academy of Discovery	37.7%	27.3%
PS 121 Throop	37.1%	27.2%
PS 346 Abe Stark	33.7%	27.2%
PS 47 Chris Galas	36.0%	27.2%
PS 100 Isaac Clason	39.9%	27.1%
Liberation Diploma Plus	39.9%	27.1%
PS 146 Edward Collins	41.0%	26.8%
School of the Future Brooklyn	39.2%	26.8%
PS 204 Morris Heights	38.5%	26.7%
PS 108 Philip J. Abinanti	33.6%	26.7%
PS 206 The Horace Harding School	33.1%	26.7%
Staten Island School of Civic Leadership	33.6%	26.7%
PS 4 Duke Ellington	37.5%	26.6%
Bronx Delta School	37.0%	26.6%
Bronx Arena High School	46.2%	26.6%
PS 88 Seneca	32.0%	26.6%
PS 596	31.6%	26.6%
PS 196	39.9%	26.4%
PS 2 Alfred Zimberg	34.7%	26.4%
PS 36 Margaret Douglas	36.4%	26.3%
PS 46 Arthur Tappan	37.7%	26.3%
PS 154 Harriet Tubman	35.8%	26.3%
PS/MS 29 Melrose School	36.5%	26.3%
PS 35 Franz Siegel	40.9%	26.3%
New Bridges Elementary	33.2%	26.3%
PS 109	36.3%	26.3%
Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School	46.2%	26.2%
PS 75 School of Research and Discovery	37.0%	26.2%
PS 41 Francis White	38.7%	26.2%
PS 183 Dr. Richard R. Green	34.3%	26.2%
PS 17 Henry D. Woodworth	34.2%	26.1%
PS 7 Abraham Lincoln	37.5%	26.1%
PS 65	34.6%	26.1%
PS 26 The Carteret School	30.6%	26.1%
PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell	35.8%	26.0%
PS 193 Gil Hodges	31.8%	26.0%
PS 115 Daniel Mucatel School	33.5%	25.9%
PS 32 Belmont	36.9%	25.8%
PS 177 The Marlboro	33.6%	25.8%
PS 154 Jonathan D. Hyatt	34.3%	25.7%
PS 377	35.2%	25.7%
PS 274 Kosciusko	35.8%	25.7%
PS 103 Hector Fontanez	36.3%	25.6%
PS 189 The Bilingual Center	32.6%	25.6%
PS 30 Westerleigh	29.6%	25.6%
PS 152 Dyckman Valley	36.3%	25.5%
PS 138 Samuel Randall	34.2%	25.5%
PS 536	41.7%	25.5%
PS 288 The Shirley Tanyhill	34.4%	25.5%
PS 236 Mill Basin	28.4%	25.5%
PS 130 Abram Stevens Hewitt	32.9%	25.4%
The Bronx STEM and Arts Academy	39.7%	25.4%
PS 340	34.3%	25.4%
PS 54 Samuel C. Barnes	33.3%	25.4%
PS 201 The Discovery School for Inquiry and Research	34.8%	25.4%
PS 192 Jacob H. Schiff	34.5%	25.3%
PS 279 Herman Schreiber	32.9%	25.3%
PS 19 The Curtis School	34.2%	25.3%
PS 28 Wright Brothers	37.4%	25.2%
PS 99 Isaac Asimov	28.9%	25.2%
PS 396	39.8%	25.1%
PS 105 Sen Abraham Bernstein	33.9%	25.0%
PS 111 Seton Falls	37.0%	25.0%
PS 176 Cambria Heights	33.9%	25.0%
PS 123 Mahalia Jackson	42.4%	24.9%
PS 86 Kingsbridge Heights	34.3%	24.9%
PS 375 Jackie Robinson School	29.6%	24.9%
PS 142 Amalia Castro	35.1%	24.8%
PS 98 Shorac Kappock	34.8%	24.8%
PS 173	32.9%	24.8%
PS 57 Crescent	37.7%	24.8%
Urban Scholars Community School	34.8%	24.8%
PS 134 Henrietta Szold	34.9%	24.7%
PS 159 Luis Munoz Marin Biling	37.0%	24.7%
PS 4 Maurice Wollin	28.6%	24.7%
PS 29 Bardwell	29.1%	24.7%
PS 306	32.3%	24.6%
PS 47 John Randolph	37.2%	24.6%
PS 312 Bergen Beach	30.4%	24.6%
PS 207 Rockwood Park	29.3%	24.6%
PS 134 Hollis	31.5%	24.6%
PS 9 Ryer Avenue Elementary School	34.2%	24.5%
PS 23 The New Children's School	34.5%	24.5%
PS 71 Forest	31.8%	24.5%
PS/MS 04 Crotona Park West	32.8%	24.4%
PS 70 Max Schoenfeld	35.6%	24.4%
Brooklyn Bridge Academy	37.0%	24.4%
PS 239	36.6%	24.4%
PS 91 Bronx	35.1%	24.3%
PS 78 Anne Hutchinson	33.4%	24.3%
Cornerstone Academy for Social Action	35.0%	24.3%
PS 18 Edward Bush	33.7%	24.3%
PS 208 Elsa Ebeling	29.7%	24.3%
PS/IS 155 Nicholas Herkimer	38.2%	24.3%
PS/IS 45 Horace E. Greene	34.8%	24.3%
Bronx Haven High School	45.5%	24.2%
East Brooklyn Community High School	41.6%	24.2%
Research and Service High School	40.5%	24.1%
PS 360	31.9%	24.1%
PS 87 Bronx	31.1%	24.0%
PS 108 Sal Abbracciamento	35.1%	24.0%
PS 33 Timothy Dwight	37.5%	23.9%
PS 136 Roy Wilkins	30.0%	23.9%
PS 246 Poe Center	34.7%	23.8%
PS 68 Bronx	33.9%	23.8%
Concourse Village Elementary School	34.8%	23.7%
PS 114 Luis Llorens Torres Schools	36.1%	23.7%
PS 184 Newport	30.7%	23.7%
PS/MS 138 Sunrise	30.6%	23.7%
PS 86 The Irvington	35.8%	23.7%
PS 236 Langston Hughes	33.5%	23.6%
Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders	40.6%	23.6%
School for Environmental Citizenship	35.3%	23.6%
PS 81 Thaddeus Stevens	34.6%	23.6%
PS 62 Inocensio Casanova	34.7%	23.5%
PS 238 Anne Sullivan	31.3%	23.5%
PS 25 Bilingual School	34.7%	23.4%
PS 73 Bronx	34.3%	23.4%
PS 61 Francisco Oller	35.4%	23.4%
PS 289 George V. Brower	28.5%	23.4%
PS 290 Juan Morel Campos	28.4%	23.4%
PS 253	30.4%	23.4%
PS 151 Mary D. Carter	33.2%	23.4%
PS 151 Lyndon B. Johnson	34.1%	23.4%
PS 242 The Young Diplomats Magnet Academy	39.7%	23.3%
PS 189	37.1%	23.3%
PS 5 Dr. Ronald McNair	33.0%	23.3%
PS 254 Dag Hammarskjold	27.7%	23.3%
Brooklyn Democracy Academy	32.2%	23.3%
Jamaica Children's School	33.2%	23.3%
PS 42 Eltingville	26.5%	23.3%
Providing Urban Learners Success In Education High School	43.5%	23.2%
PS 380 John Wayne Elementary	33.2%	23.2%
PS 306 Ethan Allen	33.9%	23.2%
PS 60 Alice Austen	27.9%	23.2%
PS 21 Philip H. Sheridan	32.0%	23.1%
PS 153 Homecrest	28.9%	23.1%
PS 134	28.0%	23.1%
PS 116 Elizabeth L Farrell	37.1%	23.1%
PS 41 Gun Hill Road	33.9%	23.0%
Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School	29.3%	23.0%
PS 23 Richmondtown	27.5%	23.0%
PS 42 Claremont	34.7%	22.9%
PS 109 Sedgwick	30.6%	22.9%
Bronx Regional High School	41.0%	22.9%
PS 373	32.3%	22.9%
PS 128 Bensonhurst	28.7%	22.8%
Port Richmond School for Visionary Learning	30.1%	22.8%
Elementary School for Math, Science, and Technology	32.4%	22.7%
The Matilda Avenue School	31.8%	22.7%
PS 181 Brooklyn	29.4%	22.7%
PS 163 Arthur A. Schomburg	35.6%	22.6%
PS 257 John F. Hylan	27.8%	22.6%
PS 255 Barbara Reing School	27.1%	22.5%
PS 175 Henry H Garnet	36.0%	22.4%
PS 335 Granville T. Woods	29.1%	22.4%
PS 111 Jacob Blackwell	34.2%	22.4%
PS 377 Alejandrina B. De Gautier	32.1%	22.4%
PS 67 Mohegan School	35.6%	22.3%
PS 118 Lorraine Hansberry	31.0%	22.3%
PS 396	30.1%	22.3%
PS/IS 137 Rachel Jean Mitchell	30.2%	22.2%
PS/IS 178 Holliswood	26.0%	22.1%
PS 199 The Shakespeare School	31.4%	22.0%
Olympus Academy	34.6%	22.0%
PS 200 Benson School	25.8%	22.0%
PS 91 Richard Arkwright	29.2%	22.0%
Baychester Academy	33.3%	21.9%
PS 59 William Floyd	30.1%	21.9%
PS 76 The Bennington School	33.7%	21.8%
Red Hook Neighborhood School	28.7%	21.8%
PS 32 The Gifford School	27.3%	21.8%
PS 18 John Peter Zenger	34.1%	21.7%
PS 014 Senator John Calandra	29.5%	21.7%
PS 182	32.4%	21.7%
PS 150 Charles James Fox	33.1%	21.7%
PS 75 Mayda Cortiella	33.5%	21.7%
PS 161 Juan Ponce De Leon School	37.5%	21.6%
PS 308 Clara Cardwell	36.8%	21.6%
PS 11 Highbridge	29.9%	21.5%
PS 44 David C. Farragut	33.8%	21.5%
PS 268 Emma Lazarus	33.2%	21.5%
PS 69 Journey Prep School	34.1%	21.4%
PS 22 Graniteville	29.0%	21.4%
PS 6 West Farms	32.4%	21.3%
Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community	37.6%	21.3%
PS 243 The Weeksville School	29.9%	21.3%
PS 49 Willis Avenue	30.1%	21.2%
The Family School	28.8%	21.2%
PS 309 The George E. Wibecan Preparatory Academy	30.8%	21.2%
PS 225 The Eileen E. Zaglin	26.6%	21.2%
PS 194 Raoul Wallenberg	27.6%	21.2%
PS 146 Ann M. Short	32.6%	21.1%
PS 23 Carter G. Woodson	30.6%	21.1%
PS 18 John G. Whittier	29.7%	21.1%
PS 43 Jonas Bronck	36.2%	21.0%
PS 251 Paerdegat	29.0%	21.0%
PS 361 East Flatbush Early Childhood School	29.4%	21.0%
Young Leaders Elementary School	34.9%	20.8%
PS/IS 54	34.2%	20.8%
PS 198 Brooklyn	29.1%	20.8%
PS 1 Courtlandt School	32.3%	20.7%
PS 48 Joseph R. Drake	32.9%	20.6%
PS 297 Abraham Stockton	30.9%	20.6%
Metropolitan Diploma Plus High School	35.3%	20.5%
PS 51	26.9%	20.5%
PS 15 Jackie Robinson	27.7%	20.5%
PS 53 Basheer Quisim	31.2%	20.4%
PS 226	29.0%	20.4%
PS 195	31.3%	20.4%
PS 21 Crispus Attucks	30.1%	20.4%
PS 326	27.2%	20.4%
PS 156 Waverly	29.4%	20.4%
PS 126 Dr Marjorie H Dunbar	32.1%	20.3%
East New York Elementary School of Excellence	26.8%	20.3%
PS 938	29.0%	20.3%
PS 93 Albert G. Oliver	31.7%	20.2%
The New American Academy at Roberto Clemente State	32.6%	20.2%
PS 200 The James McCune Smith School	30.3%	20.1%
PS 59 The Community School of Technology	31.7%	20.1%
PS 291	36.1%	20.1%
PS 244 Richard R. Green	28.4%	20.1%
PS 345 Patrolman Robert Bolden	29.4%	20.1%
PS/MS 42 R. Vernam	28.2%	20.1%
PS 132 Juan Pablo Duarte	32.9%	20.0%
PS 270 Johann DeKalb	34.7%	20.0%
Fairmont Neighborhood School	29.3%	19.9%
PS 74 Future Leaders Elementary School	31.0%	19.9%
PS 112 Bronxwood	28.2%	19.8%
PS 190 Sheffield	27.4%	19.7%
Christopher Avenue Community School	27.1%	19.7%
PS 30 Wilton	29.1%	19.6%
PS 110 Theodore Schoenfeld	29.8%	19.6%
PS 207	27.3%	19.6%
PS 46 Edward C. Blum	30.4%	19.6%
PS 194 Countee Cullen	27.9%	19.5%
PS 157 Grove Hill	31.0%	19.5%
PS 191 Paul Robeson	31.6%	19.5%
The Jermaine L. Green STEM Institute of Queens	25.7%	19.5%
PS 4	27.0%	19.5%
PS 92 Mary McLeod Bethune	28.3%	19.4%
PS 197 John B. Russwurm	30.6%	19.4%
PS 91 The Albany Avenue School	28.4%	19.4%
PS 188 Michael E. Berdy	25.4%	19.4%
The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability	21.7%	19.4%
PS 16 John J. Driscoll	31.7%	19.3%
PS 310 Marble Hill	31.0%	19.2%
PS 96 Richard Rodgers	27.7%	19.2%
Norma Adams Clemons Academy	26.7%	19.2%
Brooklyn Academy High School	28.2%	19.1%
PS 58	35.4%	19.0%
PS 38 Rosedale	23.6%	19.0%
PS 63 Author's Academy	28.0%	18.9%
PS 149 Danny Kaye	27.2%	18.9%
Brooklyn Gardens Elementary School	26.7%	18.9%
PS/IS 323	28.6%	18.9%
PS 43	28.0%	18.9%
PS 107	31.3%	18.8%
PS 273 Wortman	28.7%	18.8%
PS 36 Saint Albans School	25.4%	18.8%
PS 135 Sheldon A. Brookner	26.8%	18.7%
PS 34 John Harvard	28.1%	18.6%
PS 088 S. Silverstein Little Sparrow School	22.8%	18.5%
PS 209	23.1%	18.5%
PS 40 George W. Carver	26.4%	18.5%
PS 276 Louis Marshall	23.4%	18.5%
PS 11 Thomas Dongan School	25.5%	18.5%
PS 65 Mother Hale Academy	28.3%	18.4%
PS 20 Port Richmond	26.3%	18.4%
PS 78	27.3%	18.4%
PS 90 Edna Cohen School	27.9%	18.3%
PS 203 Floyd Bennett School	25.7%	18.3%
PS 45 Clarence Witherspoon	25.3%	18.3%
PS 55 Benjamin Franklin	28.3%	18.2%
The Walton Avenue School	29.4%	18.2%
PS 219 Kennedy-King	24.5%	18.2%
PS 67 Charles A. Dorsey	27.5%	18.1%
PS 216 Arturo Toscanini	22.3%	18.1%
PS 399 Stanley Eugene Clark	22.3%	18.0%
Wave Preparatory Elementary School	26.3%	18.0%
PS 251 Queens	23.4%	18.0%
PS 179	31.1%	17.9%
The STEAM Bridge School	27.1%	17.9%
The School of Science and Applied Learning	31.0%	17.9%
PS 199 Frederick Wachtel	21.7%	17.8%
PS 114 Ryder Elementary	23.0%	17.7%
PS 158 Warwick	28.5%	17.7%
PS 132 Ralph Bunche	24.4%	17.5%
PS 360	29.7%	17.4%
PS 93 William H. Prescott	21.7%	17.4%
Dr. Jacqueline Peek-Davis School	26.2%	17.4%
PS 272 Curtis Estabrook	23.8%	17.4%
PS 181 Brookfield	26.8%	17.4%
PS 195 William Haberle	23.8%	17.2%
PS 298 Dr. Betty Shabazz	25.9%	17.1%
PS 221 Toussaint L'Ouverture	23.2%	16.9%
PS 277	33.2%	16.8%
PS 36 J. C. Drumgoole	19.6%	16.8%
PS 155 William Paca	24.9%	16.6%
PS 398 Walter Weaver	24.4%	16.6%
PS 57 Hubert H. Humphrey	28.4%	16.6%
PS 319	27.4%	16.4%
PS 202 Ernest S. Jenkyns	27.1%	16.4%
PS 233 Langston Hughes	24.3%	16.2%
PS 170	28.6%	16.1%
PS 213 New Lots	26.0%	16.1%
PS 150 Christopher	23.1%	16.1%
PS 21 Margaret Emery-Elm Park	25.2%	16.1%
PS 132 Garret A. Morgan	24.5%	16.0%
PS 595	30.8%	16.0%
PS 104 The Bays Water	22.6%	16.0%
PS 253	23.0%	16.0%
PS 299 Thomas Warren Field	29.0%	15.9%
PS 197 The Ocean School	25.8%	15.7%
Mosaic Preparatory Academy	27.5%	15.6%
PS 262 El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Elementary School	18.9%	15.6%
The Fresh Creek School	23.0%	15.6%
PS 80 The Thurgood Marshall Magnet School of Multimedia and Communication	23.9%	15.6%
PS 3 The Margaret Gioiosa School	19.2%	15.4%
PS 5 Huguenot	18.6%	15.3%
PS 46 Albert V. Maniscalco	20.3%	15.3%
PS 66 School of Higher Expectations	26.8%	15.2%
PS 156 Laurelton	24.8%	15.2%
PS 161 The Crown	21.8%	15.0%
PS 397 Foster-Laurie	20.3%	15.0%
PS 6 Corporal Allan F. Kivlehan School	17.7%	15.0%
PS 197 The Kings Highway Academy	20.0%	14.9%
PS 56 The Louis Desario School	16.8%	14.9%
PS 195 Manhattan Beach	17.1%	14.8%
Riverdale Avenue Community School	25.4%	14.8%
PS 52 Queens	22.1%	14.8%
PS 134 George F. Bristow	28.8%	14.6%
PS 224 Hale A. Woodruff	25.0%	14.5%
PS 52 Sheepshead Bay	18.8%	14.4%
PS 140 Edward K Ellington	21.7%	14.4%
PS 38 Roberto Clemente	23.8%	14.3%
Lighthouse Elementary School	17.0%	14.1%
PS 13 Roberto Clemente	22.4%	14.0%
PS 287 Bailey K. Ashford	24.1%	13.9%
PS 55 Henry M. Boehm	17.7%	13.7%
PS 329 Surfside	22.8%	13.5%
PS 256 Benjamin Banneker	21.5%	13.3%
PS 44 Thomas C. Brown	21.4%	13.2%
PS 92 Adrian Hegeman	24.0%	13.1%
PS 31 William T. Davis	22.6%	13.1%
PS 16 Leonard Dunkly	21.4%	11.9%
Fort Hill Collaborative Elementary School	17.0%	11.7%
PS 25 Eubie Blake School	17.4%	11.6%
PS 328 Phyllis Wheatley	17.9%	11.5%
PS 44 Marcus Garvey	22.9%	11.4%
Cynthia Jenkins School	20.1%	11.2%
The Gregory Jocko Jackson School of Sports, Art, and Technology	17.0%	10.7%
PS 327 Dr. Rose B. English	21.4%	10.7%
PS 165 Ida Posner	19.7%	10.2%
PS 100 The Coney Island School	12.3%	9.9%
PS 1 Tottenville	12.0%	9.9%

NYC vaccination rates by school

NYC ends outdoor mask mandate for schools

2022-02-25T13:54:10+00:00

New York City students will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors on school grounds, the department announced Friday.

Masks will still be required inside of school buildings, officials said in a news release. The change, which goes into effect Monday, means students or anyone else on school property, including staff, can participate in recess or other outdoor activities without wearing masks.

Additionally, masks won’t be required for anyone participating in sports on outdoor school property.

Officials said they are lifting the outdoor mask mandate because the city’s in-school positivity rate has dropped under 1%. Those results, however, come from swabs taken at school and cover a tiny share of the school population. Cases spiked after winter break, as the omicron variant of COVID ripped through New York City — resulting in major disruptions in staffing and student attendance.

“Throughout the pandemic, our schools have remained some of the safest spaces for our students and staff, thanks to our gold standard health and safety protocol,” Chancellor David Banks said in a statement. “I am so pleased that we are able to make this exciting announcement and safely allow students and staff to remove their masks when outdoors at NYC public schools.”

While the indoor mask mandate remains in schools, changes could be on the horizon. Gov. Kathy Hochul said there’s a “very strong possibility” she will lift the statewide mask mandate for schools by the second week of March, after she reviews data on COVID positivity rates, vaccinations and hospitalizations.

If Hochul scraps the mandate, city schools could still choose to keep masks in place. Mayor Eric Adams appears eager to shed city masking rules in the coming weeks, though he’s provided no timeline.

No matter Hochul’s and Adams’ decisions, masking policies have already caused raucous debate, even as there is little high-quality evidence on the effectiveness of masking in schools. A recent Siena poll of 803 New York registered voters found that a majority – 58% – believe data should be examined in early March before a decision is made about masking in schools. That sentiment was even stronger, at 64%, among respondents from New York City. Just 10% said the mask mandate should end after February break, and another 30% believe mask mandates should have already ended.

Home schooling nearly doubled in NYC since pandemic’s start

2022-02-18T00:22:19+00:00

Mirroring trends across the nation, the number of children being home-schooled has dramatically increased in New York City.

This school year, roughly 14,800 children across the five boroughs have opted to learn outside of school walls, according to internal education department data obtained by Chalkbeat. That number jumped by nearly 7,000 — or 88% — since the pandemic hit with the biggest gain occurring this school year, as more than 4,000 new students registered to home-school.

The largest increases were in districts with higher shares of low-income students, a Chalkbeat analysis found.

The reasons families decide to educate their children at home vary. For some parents, the pandemic may have pushed them out of the workforce or into remote jobs where they found themselves with the time and desire to educate their children after getting a taste of it during remote learning.

This school year, roughly 14,800 children across the five boroughs have opted to learn outside of school walls, according to internal education department data obtained by Chalkbeat.

Some may have been unhappy with what they saw when their children were in online classes last year, and families of color, in particular, may have been upset witnessing firsthand curriculum that wasn’t culturally responsive. For others, it was a trust issue: They felt their children were safer at home because of COVID fears or other school-related violence.

Bushwick mom Shalonda Curtis-Hackett started out this school year keeping her three children home as a form of protest, striking along with other families who wanted a remote learning option in New York City amid the ongoing public health crisis.

On top of COVID, Curtis-Hackett has long been skeptical of her children’s public-school education, concerned about anti-Blackness and bias she saw in the teaching and curriculum. She officially notified the city’s education department in November of her plans to home-school her children.

Now, she’s deep in the process of “unschooling” her children, following their interests instead of a prescribed curriculum. She’s plugging into a growing movement of Black home-schoolers on Instagram, sharing tips and resources with other parents.

“Our kids are harmed in public school,” Curtis-Hackett said. “Because we’re unschooling, we play a lot of games. I let them play video games. We put together a puzzle globe, and we spin and pick a place to research.”

Yes, her fifth grader is playing a lot of Minecraft, Curtis-Hackett said, but she’s also reading more. Her second grader is playing a lot of board games, and he’s learning math in the process. Both of those children and her ninth grader have recently started learning instruments — one is doing piano, another is studying guitar, and the other is playing the flute.

Students in grades K-5 moved into home schooling at the highest rates, jumping 119% on average since the 2019-2020 school year, a Chalkbeat analysis found.

Home-schooling is hard for many families to pull off, and it still remains relatively rare, accounting for roughly 1.5% of students, city education department officials said. But the increase may explain part of the enrollment decline among the city’s traditional public schools.

Students in grades K-5 moved into home schooling at the highest rates, jumping 119% on average since the 2019-2020 school year, a Chalkbeat analysis of the data since the 2019-20 school year found. Middle school saw a 74% increase in home-schoolers, while high school home-schoolers increased by 64%.

There is also evidence that low-income families may have opted to homeschool at higher rates. The number of home-schooled students in the six highest poverty districts increased about 119%, on average, while home-schooling students in the six lowest poverty districts increased about 79% over the past two years.

“The past two years have been challenging for school communities across the nation, and families made the best decisions suited to their unique needs and circumstances,” education department spokesperson Sarah Casasnovas said. “As New York City recovers from the impacts of the pandemic, families are returning to classrooms. Chancellor Banks is committed to engaging with families and working to restore trust in New York City schools.”

COVID-era home schooling

Home schooling has grown in popularity across the country during the pandemic. The number of Florida students enrolled in home education jumped by 35% in the year after the pandemic started. In Virginia, there was a 56% jump in home schooling, though the numbers fell somewhat this school year. And in Michigan, researchers found students left public schools for home-schooling arrangements at significantly higher rates when the pandemic hit.

There are no official national counts of families who home-school. A Census survey found that home school rates roughly doubled in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, with an even more dramatic jump among Black families, though some analysts believe those figures are overstated.

The 88% increase in home schooling in New York City is consistent with large increases in other parts of the country, said Andrew Bacher-Hicks, an assistant professor at Boston University who has studied home-schooling trends during the pandemic. He noted that public school districts that offered in-person learning in the fall of 2020, such as New York City, tended to see larger increases in families choosing to home-school. Schools that did not offer in-person schooling tended to see more parents leave for private schools.

“The leave to home schooling might be related to health concerns,” Bacher-Hicks said. (New York City did not offer a virtual option this school year, which coincided with a larger increase in home schooling.) But “no matter what modality was offered, some subset of households and parents and families are going to be unhappy with the public offering.”

Bacher-Hicks added that Black and low-income families tended to opt for home schooling at higher rates. New York City education department officials declined repeated requests to share demographic data of home-schooled students and did not return a public records request for that information.

Historically, home schooling has generally been considered a “white phenomenon,” said James Dwyer, a professor at William and Mary Law School and co-author of “Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice.”

In the 1960s, home schooling was driven by left-wing concerns “about the authoritarian nature of public schooling” and skepticism toward the state. In the 1970s and 1980s, growth in home schooling was driven by evangelical Christians who were wary of secularization, desegregation, and liberal values in public education, Dwyer said.

The pandemic may have prompted a more diverse group of parents to try home schooling, Dwyer said, a claim backed up by the census figures and anecdotal reporting.

Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, co-editor of the book “Homeschooling Black Children in the U.S,” said the pandemic gave some parents a clearer sense of what their children are taught or how they’re treated — and some Black families didn’t like what they were seeing.

“You have this whole experience culturally — whether it’s the lack of cultural competency within the school or cultural relevance — to also some of the punitive responses to their children,” said Ali-Coleman. “It definitely led parents to realize and be more empowered that [homeschooling] is something they could do when things went virtual.”

District-level data obtained by Chalkbeat showed that the numbers of home-schooled students increased across the board since the 2019-2020 school year, but more than doubled in nine of the city’s 32 districts as well as District 75, which serves students with disabilities who need intensive support.

The top three districts with the largest percentage increase were all in Brooklyn: Bushwick’s District 32, District 13 (spanning Bedford-Stuyvesant, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights), and District 21, which includes Coney Island and Brighton Beach.

Curtis-Hackett, the Bushwick mom, said there were several reasons she decided to home-school her children this year. Some had been brewing for a while.

Curtis-Hackett struggled last year with her children’s elementary school. She wanted the school to teach more explicitly about the tenets of the Black Lives Matter movement and Black history, more broadly, as well as to include LGBTQ-affirming resources.

During online schooling, when she overheard her daughter’s then-fourth grade teacher talking about Susan B. Anthony, Curtis-Hackett piped up asking why Black women weren’t included. The teacher said, ‘If you know so much, why don’t you teach?’ Curtis-Hackett recounted. So Curtis-Hackett, who is Black, made a cameo, telling the class about Sojourner Truth, a former slave, abolitionist, and women’s rights activist.

“My kids are getting the same education I got, just with fancier books and technology. You might change ‘slavery’ to ‘enslaved.’ But there’s still a whole entire unit that says ‘European exploration’ written on the front page of the book,” said Curtis-Hackett, a doula and makeup artist. “To me that’s violence, I couldn’t take that chance for my children to not be recognized and seen in school.”

Whether most families who began home-schooling during the pandemic stick with it is an open question. Dwyer, the William and Mary professor, noted that home schooling can be resource-intensive for families, and some are likely to send their children back to traditional schools for extracurricular activities and other social opportunities that can be harder to replicate in a home-school environment.

“The reasons people have always had for sending their children to school every day still exist,” Dwyer said. “I expect most children will be returning to schools.”

Looking for home-school help

Seventeen-year-old Jonica Jenkins this week returned to finish her senior year at Frederick Douglass Academy II after spending these past several months as a home-school student, learning from her family’s Harlem apartment.

Jenkins developed a daily routine: After waking between 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. she would eat breakfast and then log onto an online learning platform where she took such courses as government and art history, wrapping up around noon or 1 p.m. Then she spent her afternoons watching YouTube videos and playing Roblox, Tycoons or other video games.

She had decided not to return to school this fall, not just because of coronavirus concerns, but also because of other safety issues.

“COVID was one of the reasons. But I had a lot of bad experiences in school. I dealt with a lot of bullying,” Jenkins said. “It’s not even having to deal with the bullying itself. When I see other kids acting out and fighting in school, it messes with my mood — it gives me anxiety. I’m tired of having to deal with that.”

Jenkins’ mother Johndca Spencer had wanted to home-school her three children years prior to the pandemic, but was too busy running a home cleaning business. When that business fell apart after the pandemic shut down many parts of New York City, Spencer reevaluated.

The main reason for the return to a traditional school: Spencer didn’t know how colleges would accept her daughter’s home-school diploma, and she worried it wouldn’t carry as much weight as a Regents diploma from a brick-and-mortar school.

Spencer wasn’t sure how to find out the answers to her questions.

“How can you prove you graduated — just because your mom said you’re done?” Spencer said. “Basically I was on my own with that. The red tape surrounding that for this state was too much to navigate, especially when you’re not getting any assistance … There’s not enough resources and not enough help, and I just didn’t know how to access it.”

Without finding a community of families with high school seniors, Spencer felt ill-equipped to navigate her daughter’s graduation.

She was incensed that New York, unlike most other states, has no virtual public school option. The home-school office advised her daughter to get her high school equivalency diploma by taking the General Educational Development, or GED, test, and suggested the family could reach out to individual colleges to see what they might accept, Spencer said.

Fortunately, Jenkins’ school will accept the credits from the online platform she had been using this year so far, the mom said. And she’s looking forward to seeing her daughter don a cap and gown.

“She needs to be celebrated. She’s so smart and has worked so hard,” Spencer said. “I could do an awards ceremony with just her, but she deserves to walk across a stage and for other people to clap for her.”

Back to online learning

Harlem mom Inaya Shujaat became a reluctant home-schooler last summer when it became clear the city’s schools weren’t going to provide a remote option.

Shujaat was nervous about sending her children back into classrooms that she believed were not safe, though city officials have insisted that all classrooms have proper ventilation and transmission in school buildings is rare.

When a remote option didn’t materialize, Shujaat opted to enroll her two children, who are in the fifth and sixth grades, in The Muslim Academy, a virtual school that includes a mix of religious and secular studies at a cost of about $600 a month for the pair. (The children are considered home-schooled.)

Inaya Shujaat with her two children, Zubeda and Asad.

“I never considered home-schooling them myself,” she said. “They provide the curriculum and all the parent has to do is provide support for the child.”

The curriculum is largely pre-recorded except for two classes: a creative art class and a course that focuses on the Quran, Arabic, and Islamic studies, Shujaat said. A recent art class involved her son constructing a three-dimensional fire using paper. Shujaat said her children have been able to participate with minimal support from her.

Shujaat said she’s generally happy with the program, though she noted her children receive little qualitative feedback from their teachers.

Still, she said the program is sufficient for now, as the family considers next steps. Shujaat’s husband, who is a physician, is considering jobs outside of New York City.

“It’s definitely a stopgap or a big frickin’ band-aid,” Shujaat said. “We’re playing it by ear.”

Cam Rodriguez contributed.

Bucking national trends, NYC’s 2021 graduation rates inched up as state eased requirements

2022-02-16T21:40:29+00:00

You can find your school’s graduation rate using the searchable table at the bottom of this story

Graduation rates in New York City rose to 81% last school year, about 2 percentage points higher than the previous year, state officials announced Wednesday.

Across the state, 86% of students graduated — roughly 1 percentage point higher than the previous school year.

New York’s data comes as graduation rates have dipped in at least 20 states.

For the second year in a row, as the pandemic disrupted teaching and learning, state education officials made it easier to graduate in the 2020-2021 school year. They canceled most Regents exams and allowed students to be exempt from taking the exams to graduate, since many students were learning exclusively from home. Instead, students had to pass the course tied to the normally required Regents exam.

In New York City, about 60% of students remained fully remote by the end of the school year, while the rest spent most of the year splitting their weeks between learning from home and inside a classroom.

With two years of school disruptions, many students who graduated in 2021 did not have the opportunity to take Regents exams during their junior or senior years, which is when many of the exit exams are typically taken, state officials said. Because of that, a total of 44,545 New York City seniors — or nearly three-quarters — were granted at least one waiver last year for the exams, compared with roughly 8,000 seniors in 2020. Statewide, 82% of seniors were granted an exemption.

Betty Rosa, the state education department’s commissioner, told reporters that canceling the Regents exams was “likely a factor” in the graduation rate increase. But, she added, the magnitude of the effect “can not be determined, as many of these affected students would have passed the Regents exam” had the tests still been offered.

Along with rising graduation rates, dropout rates dipped. Five percent of city students dropped out — 1 percentage point less than last school year — compared to 4.2% statewide.

‘Identify where inequities exist’

Graduation rates of New York City’s Asian students far outpaced their peers. Roughly 91% of Asian students graduated within four years, compared with 82% of white students, 79% percent of Black students and 78% of Latino students.

White students saw graduation rates dip by 2 percentage points year-over-year, unlike their Asian, Black and Latino peers, who saw rates increase.

Students learning English as a new language and children with disabilities continued to graduate at significantly lower rates than their peers — but there was improvement compared to last year.

English learners posted a graduation rate of 60%, more than 14 percentage points higher than last year. The big jump might be due to the cancellation of the English Regents exam, state officials said. Additionally, students who may no longer have met “English Language Learner” status could not test out of the program in 2020, since the exam was canceled that year, and was not required for remote learners last year. Former English language learners tend to post graduation rates that are higher than students citywide, and these students may have skewed this year’s results.

About 58% of students with disabilities earned their diplomas, 5 percentage points higher than 2020.

While graduation rates were highest in Staten Island and Queens at about 85%, they grew the most in the Bronx, to 77% up from 73% in 2020. About 82% of Manhattan seniors graduated, and 78% of Brooklyn’s did.

“Graduation rates are one metric we use to identify where inequities exist so we can better support our students and education communities,” Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young Jr. said in a statement. “Every student can succeed when given the support to do so. Until we address them, inequities will continue to diminish opportunities for too many students.”

‘Focused on graduating’

The state is planning to administer Regents exams this June and August, even though officials canceled the exams in January amid a spike in coronavirus cases, Rosa said.

“We’ve been having all of these conversations, with superintendents, with principals, all of our stakeholders,” she said. “And right now, the Regents exam is still on schedule.”

The lack of Regents exams helped Clementina Sarpong, who graduated last spring as valedictorian from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. She received an exemption her junior year for her Chemistry Regents and another waiver last year for Spanish, which she needed to earn an Advanced Regents diploma.

Teachers also seemed more flexible. For example, Sarpong’s teacher for Advanced Placement biology would give students more time to complete assignments when needed, she said. However, some of her peers said it was tough to grasp complicated concepts through remote learning. They felt it was harder to ask questions in a Zoom chat room, compared with raising their hand in class.

Clementina Sarpong

The isolation of remote learning took a “mental toll,” Sarpong said. She and her fellow student government board members tried to arrange various student events at the start of last year, but the administration denied most of their proposals out of concerns for COVID safety or lacking the funds to put on events, Sarpong said.

“It was a bunch of continuous ‘no’s,’ where we just gave up and focused on graduating,” said the 18-year-old, who now attends a 7-year program at the CUNY College of Medicine to earn her bachelor’s and medical degrees.

The Board of Regents is continuing long-delayed discussions on how to reconfigure New York graduation requirements and have created a blue ribbon commission to study potential changes, but tweaks wouldn’t be considered until at least 2024.

That discussion had been stalled from March 2020 until last fall as state officials responded to the public health crisis. In October, state officials announced a pilot program for alternate ways of earning a diploma that don’t involve taking a Regents exam.

Search for your school’s graduation rate below.

School	# Total Cohort	% Graduated
A PHILIP RANDOLPH CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL	338	83.4%
A-TECH HIGH SCHOOL	76	85.5%
ABRAHAM LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL	399	86.2%
ACADEMY FOR CAREERS IN TELEVISION AND FI	144	100.0%
ACADEMY FOR COLLEGE PREP & CAREER EXPLOR	59	81.4%
ACADEMY FOR CONSERVATION AND THE ENVIRON	65	98.5%
ACADEMY FOR EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP	64	84.4%
ACADEMY FOR HEALTH CAREERS	55	89.1%
ACADEMY FOR LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGY	77	100.0%
ACADEMY FOR SCHOLARSHIP AND ENTREPRENEUR	88	79.5%
ACADEMY FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING	109	92.7%
ACADEMY FOR YOUNG WRITERS	76	92.1%
ACADEMY OF AMERICAN STUDIES	293	99.0%
ACADEMY OF FINANCE AND ENTERPRISE	190	97.4%
ACADEMY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM	62	80.6%
ACADEMY OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY	107	90.7%
ACADEMY OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY - A COLLEG	101	76.2%
ACADEMY OF URBAN PLANNING AND ENGINEERIN	55	100.0%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST BROWNSVILLE CHARTER SC	77	71.4%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST CROWN HEIGHTS CHARTER	106	87.7%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST EAST NEW YORK CHARTER	87	95.4%
ALFRED E SMITH CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUC	101	94.1%
ALL CITY LEADERSHIP SECONDARY SCHOOL	64	98.4%
AMERICAN DREAM CHARTER SCHOOL	74	85.1%
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE & ENGLISH SECONDA	31	93.5%
ANTONIA PANTOJA PREPARATORY ACADEMY - A	60	86.7%
ARCHIMEDES ACADEMY FOR MATH SCIENCE AND	79	67.1%
ART AND DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL	328	93.0%
ARTURO A SCHOMBURG SATELLITE ACADEMY BRO	87	23.0%
ASPIRATIONS DIPLOMA PLUS HIGH SCHOOL	56	16.1%
ASTOR COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	113	78.8%
AUGUST MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL	80	95.0%
AVIATION CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION	459	98.5%
BACCALAUREATE SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL EDUCATIO	116	97.4%
BARD HIGH SCHOOL EARLY COLLEGE	161	95.0%
BARD HIGH SCHOOL EARLY COLLEGE QUEENS	160	98.1%
BARUCH COLLEGE CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL	127	99.2%
BAYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL	706	99.4%
BEACON HIGH SCHOOL	382	98.2%
BEDFORD ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	83	97.6%
BELMONT PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	91	75.8%
BENJAMIN BANNEKER ACADEMY	191	95.8%
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL FOR FINANC	106	92.5%
BENJAMIN N CARDOZO HIGH SCHOOL	799	93.4%
BOERUM HILL SCHOOL FOR INTERNATIONAL STU	52	92.3%
BOYS AND GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL	76	81.6%
BRONX ACADEMY FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (	81	81.5%
BRONX ACADEMY OF HEALTH CAREERS	83	92.8%
BRONX AEROSPACE HIGH SCHOOL	79	78.5%
BRONX ARENA HIGH SCHOOL	43	23.3%
BRONX BRIDGES HIGH SCHOOL	102	89.2%
BRONX CAREER AND COLLEGE PREPARATORY HIG	65	80.0%
BRONX CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS	110	94.5%
BRONX COLLABORATIVE HIGH SCHOOL	144	88.2%
BRONX COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	86	94.2%
BRONX COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	56	19.6%
BRONX COMPASS HIGH SCHOOL	102	87.3%
BRONX DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ACADEMY	84	72.6%
BRONX EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY FOR TEACHING	66	98.5%
BRONX ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY	81	79.0%
BRONX ENVISION ACADEMY	102	86.3%
BRONX HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL	51	25.5%
BRONX HEALTH SCIENCES HIGH SCHOOL	60	98.3%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL FOR LAW AND COMMUNITY	84	97.6%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL FOR MEDICAL SCIENCE	70	81.4%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE VISUAL ARTS	123	81.3%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL FOR WRITING AND COMMUN	89	73.0%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS	63	81.0%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE (THE)	740	100.0%
BRONX INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	98	88.8%
BRONX LAB SCHOOL	88	79.5%
BRONX LATIN SCHOOL	75	93.3%
BRONX LEADERSHIP ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	123	80.5%
BRONX LEADERSHIP ACADEMY II HIGH SCHOOL	144	80.6%
BRONX PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL	88	81.8%
BRONX REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	53	20.8%
BRONX RIVER HIGH SCHOOL	100	83.0%
BRONX SCHOOL FOR LAW GOVERNMENT AND JUS	115	83.5%
BRONX SCHOOL OF LAW AND FINANCE	100	83.0%
BRONX STUDIO SCHOOL FOR WRITERS AND ARTI	82	81.7%
BRONX THEATRE HIGH SCHOOL	76	88.2%
BRONXDALE HIGH SCHOOL	124	81.5%
BRONXWOOD PREPARATORY ACADEMY (THE)	86	84.9%
BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	53	11.3%
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF GLOBAL FINANCE (THE)	23	82.6%
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND THE ENVI	92	82.6%
BROOKLYN ASCEND CHARTER SCHOOL	88	72.7%
BROOKLYN BRIDGE ACADEMY	68	20.6%
BROOKLYN COLLABORATIVE STUDIES	94	91.5%
BROOKLYN COLLEGE ACADEMY	153	97.4%
BROOKLYN COLLEGIATE: A COLLEGE BOARD SCH	72	88.9%
BROOKLYN COMMUNITY ARTS AND MEDIA HIGH S	128	86.7%
BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL FOR EXCEL	51	80.4%
BROOKLYN DEMOCRACY ACADEMY	64	28.1%
BROOKLYN EMERGING LEADERS ACADEMY CHARTE	52	96.2%
BROOKLYN FRONTIERS HIGH SCHOOL	77	37.7%
BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL FOR LAW AND TECHNOL	109	82.6%
BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL FOR LEADERSHIP AND	61	19.7%
BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS	217	93.5%
BROOKLYN INSTITUTE FOR LIBERAL ARTS	95	91.6%
BROOKLYN INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	96	82.3%
BROOKLYN LAB SCHOOL	73	97.3%
BROOKLYN LABORATORY CHARTER SCHOOL	89	85.4%
BROOKLYN LATIN SCHOOL (THE)	162	97.5%
BROOKLYN PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	108	93.5%
BROOKLYN PROSPECT CHARTER SCHOOL-CSD 15	85	98.8%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL FOR MATH AND RESEARCH (T	60	93.3%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL FOR MUSIC & THEATER	68	80.9%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE (THE)	78	84.6%
BROOKLYN STUDIO SECONDARY SCHOOL	159	86.2%
BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	1476	96.1%
BROOKLYN THEATRE ARTS HIGH SCHOOL	78	78.2%
BROOME STREET ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH SCHOO	87	59.8%
BROWNSVILLE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	34	20.6%
BUSHWICK COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	53	22.6%
BUSHWICK LEADERS HIGH SCHOOL FOR ACADEMI	70	84.3%
BUSINESS OF SPORTS SCHOOL	98	86.7%
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY EARLY COLLEGE HIGH S	119	99.2%
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS ACADEMY	94	87.2%
CAPITAL PREPARATORY (CP) HARLEM CHARTER	17	70.6%
CAREERS IN SPORTS HIGH SCHOOL	114	77.2%
CASCADES HIGH SCHOOL	64	29.7%
CELIA CRUZ BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF MUSIC (T	90	100.0%
CENTRAL PARK EAST HIGH SCHOOL	130	99.2%
CHANNEL VIEW SCHOOL FOR RESEARCH	151	98.7%
CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR LAW AND SOCIAL J	122	79.5%
CHELSEA CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION H	108	88.9%
CINEMA SCHOOL (THE)	78	94.9%
CITY COLLEGE ACADEMY OF THE ARTS	88	100.0%
CITY POLYTECHNIC HIGH SCHOOL OF ENGINEER	80	96.3%
CIVIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY	143	94.4%
CLARA BARTON HIGH SCHOOL	277	76.2%
CLAREMONT INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	83	86.7%
CLINTON SCHOOL (THE)	124	97.6%
COBBLE HILL SCHOOL OF AMERICAN STUDIES	120	83.3%
COLLEGE ACADEMY (THE)	88	90.9%
COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE FOR MATH AND SCIENC	153	86.9%
COLUMBIA SECONDARY SCHOOL	94	96.8%
COMMUNITY HEALTH ACADEMY OF THE HEIGHTS	104	91.3%
COMMUNITY SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE	79	67.1%
COMPREHENSIVE MODEL SCHOOL PROJECT MS 32	107	87.9%
CONCORD HIGH SCHOOL	56	28.6%
CONEY ISLAND PREPARATORY PUBLIC CHARTER	78	85.9%
CROTONA INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	91	86.8%
CSI HIGH SCHOOL FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIE	126	100.0%
CULTURAL ACADEMY FOR THE ARTS AND SCIENC	61	88.5%
CURTIS HIGH SCHOOL	656	75.2%
CYBERARTS STUDIO ACADEMY	50	68.0%
CYPRESS HILLS COLLEGIATE PREPARATORY SCH	92	92.4%
DEMOCRACY PREP ENDURANCE CHARTER SCHOOL	76	68.4%
DEMOCRACY PREP HARLEM CHARTER SCHOOL	82	80.5%
DEMOCRACY PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL	80	72.5%
DEWITT CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL	206	90.8%
DIGITAL ARTS AND CINEMA TECHNOLOGY HIGH	72	97.2%
DISCOVERY HIGH SCHOOL	110	90.0%
DR RICHARD IZQUIERDO HEALTH AND SCIENCE	96	77.1%
DR SUSAN S MCKINNEY SECONDARY SCHOOL OF	54	87.0%
DREAM CHARTER SCHOOL	97	99.0%
DREAMYARD PREPARATORY SCHOOL	50	86.0%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN	71	83.1%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN II	80	95.0%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN III	52	86.5%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN OF HARLEM	47	72.3%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN OF STATEN IS	21	85.7%
EAST BRONX ACADEMY FOR THE FUTURE	106	79.2%
EAST BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	63	28.6%
EAST NEW YORK ARTS AND CIVICS HIGH SCHOO	62	82.3%
EAST NEW YORK FAMILY ACADEMY	66	100.0%
EAST SIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	79	92.4%
EAST WILLIAMSBURG SCHOLARS ACADEMY	51	76.5%
EAST-WEST SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIE	86	96.5%
EBC HIGH SCHOOL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE-BUSHW	116	93.1%
EDWARD A REYNOLDS WEST SIDE HIGH SCHOOL	85	11.8%
EDWARD R MURROW HIGH SCHOOL	867	85.9%
EL PUENTE ACADEMY FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE	47	76.6%
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL	133	100.0%
EMMA LAZARUS HIGH SCHOOL	95	48.4%
ENERGY TECH HIGH SCHOOL	110	94.5%
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND INTERNATIO	79	46.8%
EPIC HIGH SCHOOL - NORTH	111	92.8%
EPIC HIGH SCHOOL-SOUTH	97	91.8%
EQUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL	93	87.1%
ESPERANZA PREPARATORY ACADEMY	85	84.7%
ESSEX STREET ACADEMY	95	97.9%
EXCELLENCE GIRLS CHARTER SCHOOL	72	91.7%
EXCELSIOR PREPARATORTY HIGH SCHOOL	96	84.4%
EXIMIUS COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY: A	105	88.6%
EXPLORATIONS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	57	78.9%
FACING HISTORY SCHOOL (THE)	66	81.8%
FANNIE LOU HAMER FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL	113	81.4%
FDNY-CAPTAIN VERNON A RICHARDS HIGH SCHO	53	75.5%
FIORELLO H LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL OF MUSI	768	98.6%
FLUSHING HIGH SCHOOL	320	83.4%
FLUSHING INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	103	83.5%
FOOD AND FINANCE HIGH SCHOOL	81	81.5%
FORDHAM HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS	83	96.4%
FORDHAM LEADERSHIP ACADEMY	65	100.0%
FOREST HILLS HIGH SCHOOL	891	91.6%
FORSYTHE SATELLITE ACADEMY	55	36.4%
FORT HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL	1168	81.9%
FRANCIS LEWIS HIGH SCHOOL	1114	94.3%
FRANK MCCOURT HIGH SCHOOL	103	97.1%
FRANK SINATRA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS HIGH SC	208	98.6%
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL	760	74.5%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY	187	83.4%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY II SECONDARY	64	90.6%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY III SECONDARY	98	74.5%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY VI HIGH SCHOO	86	48.8%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY VII HIGH SCHO	26	100.0%
GAYNOR MCCOWN EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING SCH	105	95.2%
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER HIGH SCHOOL FOR	99	84.8%
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE CAREER AND TECHNICAL	181	90.6%
GLOBAL LEARNING COLLABORATIVE (THE)	113	89.4%
GOTHAM COLLABORATIVE HIGH SCHOOL	143	67.8%
GOTHAM PROFESSIONAL ARTS ACADEMY	31	96.8%
GRAMERCY ARTS HIGH SCHOOL	86	95.3%
GREGORIO LUPERON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE	156	96.2%
GROVER CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL	407	77.1%
HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE PROMISE ACADEMY C	59	98.3%
HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE PROMISE ACADEMY I	50	100.0%
HARLEM PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	75	66.7%
HARLEM RENAISSANCE HIGH SCHOOL	87	17.2%
HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY EAST CHARTER SCHO	33	97.0%
HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY WEST CHARTER SCHO	35	94.3%
HARRY S TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOL	523	80.3%
HARVEST COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	108	90.7%
HARVEY MILK HIGH SCHOOL	29	62.1%
HEALTH OPPORTUNITIES HIGH SCHOOL	110	75.5%
HERBERT H LEHMAN HIGH SCHOOL	172	80.2%
HERITAGE SCHOOL (THE)	68	75.0%
HERO (HEALTH EDUCATION AND RESEARCH OCC	91	92.3%
HIGH SCHOOL 560 CITY-AS-SCHOOL	196	55.6%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR ARTS AND BUSINESS	172	97.7%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR CIVIL RIGHTS	61	73.8%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE (THE)	134	83.6%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP	126	96.0%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS	109	78.9%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR DUAL LANGUAGE AND ASIAN	99	99.0%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY	81	93.8%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENTERPRISE BUSINESS & T	203	85.2%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES	286	93.0%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATIO	56	69.6%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP (THE)	46	87.0%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR HEALTH CAREERS & SCIENCE	112	72.3%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS & HUM	449	96.4%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR INNOVATION IN ADVERTISIN	55	78.2%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR LANGUAGE AND DIPLOMACY (	44	81.8%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR LANGUAGE AND INNOVATION	109	95.4%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR LAW ADVOCACY AND COMMUN	83	75.9%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR LAW & PUBLIC SERVICE	108	63.9%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS	89	86.5%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONS	117	89.7%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE-HEROES OF	107	92.5%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR SERVICE AND LEARNING AT	70	82.9%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR TEACHING AND THE PROFESS	102	78.4%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR VIOLIN AND DANCE	64	78.1%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVE	131	85.5%
HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS SCIENCE AND ENG	139	100.0%
HIGH SCHOOL OF AMERICAN STUDIES AT LEHMA	93	98.9%
HIGH SCHOOL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATIONS	83	98.8%
HIGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY	99	82.8%
HIGH SCHOOL OF COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY	116	82.8%
HIGH SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS & FINANCE	174	92.0%
HIGH SCHOOL OF FASHION INDUSTRIES (THE)	334	95.2%
HIGH SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT	88	79.5%
HIGH SCHOOL OF SPORTS MANAGEMENT	74	73.0%
HIGH SCHOOL OF TELECOMMUNICATION ARTS AN	303	97.0%
HIGH SCHOOL OF WORLD CULTURES	131	91.6%
HIGH SCHOOL-CONSTRUCTION TRADES ENGINE	257	98.8%
HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL	786	80.8%
HILLSIDE ARTS & LETTERS ACADEMY	105	96.2%
HOSTOS-LINCOLN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE	98	79.6%
HS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY	90	87.8%
HUDSON HIGH SCHOOL OF LEARNING TECHNOLOG	111	85.6%
HUMANITIES AND ARTS MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL	91	91.2%
HUMANITIES PREPARATORY ACADEMY	69	94.2%
HYDE LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL	19	68.4%
IN-TECH ACADEMY (MS/HS 368)	150	82.7%
INDEPENDENCE HIGH SCHOOL	124	26.6%
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL	243	88.5%
INNOVATION CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	101	82.2%
INNOVATION DIPLOMA PLUS	51	21.6%
INSTITUTE FOR COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION	71	98.6%
INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS AT CAMB	110	86.4%
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	103	71.8%
INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL AT LAFAYETTE	89	73.0%
INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL AT LAGUARDIA C	106	90.6%
INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL AT PROSPECT HE	83	80.7%
INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL AT UNION SQUAR	94	88.3%
INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FOR HEALTH SCI	70	80.0%
INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP CHARTER HIGH S	67	89.6%
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ARTS	93	79.6%
INWOOD ACADEMY FOR LEADERSHIP CHARTER SC	121	96.7%
INWOOD EARLY COLLEGE FOR HEALTH AND INFO	102	88.2%
IT TAKES A VILLAGE ACADEMY	165	81.8%
JACQUELINE KENNEDY-ONASSIS HIGH SCHOOL	65	83.1%
JAMAICA GATEWAY TO THE SCIENCES	122	93.4%
JAMES BALDWIN SCHOOL-A SCHOOL FOR EXPEDI	86	54.7%
JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL	994	91.5%
JHS 74 NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE	1
JILL CHAIFETZ TRANSFER HIGH SCHOOL	78	23.1%
JOHN ADAMS HIGH SCHOOL	659	83.8%
JOHN BOWNE HIGH SCHOOL	859	79.2%
JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL	558	82.6%
JOHN JAY SCHOOL FOR LAW	111	84.7%
JOHN V LINDSAY WILDCAT ACADEMY CHARTER S	97	15.5%
JOHN W LAVELLE PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOO	48	95.8%
JUAN MOREL CAMPOS SECONDARY SCHOOL	64	54.7%
JUDITH S KAYE SCHOOL (THE)	64	34.4%
KHALIL GIBRAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY	53	81.1%
KINGS COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCHOOL	81	92.6%
KINGSBOROUGH EARLY COLLEGE SCHOOL	91	100.0%
KINGSBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	119	58.8%
KIPP ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	69	85.5%
KIPP INFINITY CHARTER SCHOOL	237	89.0%
KNOWLEDGE AND POWER PREP ACADEMY INTERNA	110	100.0%
KURT HAHN EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING SCHOOL	74	67.6%
LABORATORY SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND TECHNOL	88	95.5%
LANDMARK HIGH SCHOOL	73	84.9%
LEADERS HIGH SCHOOL	88	93.2%
LEADERSHIP & PUBLIC SERVICE HIGH SCHOOL	93	87.1%
LEADERSHIP PREPARATORY BEDFORD STUYVESAN	55	94.5%
LEADERSHIP PREPARATORY OCEAN HILL CHARTE	92	90.2%
LEON M GOLDSTEIN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE SCI	240	95.4%
LIBERATION DIPLOMA PLUS	76	25.0%
LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY FOR NEWCOMER	155	36.8%
LIFE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL FOR FILM AND MU	59	96.6%
LONG ISLAND CITY HIGH SCHOOL	499	84.6%
LONGWOOD PREPARATORY ACADEMY	85	82.4%
LOWER EAST SIDE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	158	39.2%
LOWER MANHATTAN ARTS ACADEMY	76	80.3%
LYONS COMMUNITY SCHOOL	68	80.9%
MANHATTAN ACADEMY FOR ARTS AND LANGUAGES	62	66.1%
MANHATTAN BRIDGES HIGH SCHOOL	144	95.1%
MANHATTAN BUSINESS ACADEMY	103	93.2%
MANHATTAN CENTER FOR SCIENCE & MATHEMATI	429	97.2%
MANHATTAN COMPREHENSIVE NIGHT AND DAY HI	242	24.0%
MANHATTAN EARLY COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR ADVER	101	92.1%
MANHATTAN INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	72	69.4%
MANHATTAN VILLAGE ACADEMY	119	100.0%
MANHATTAN/HUNTER SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL	110	97.3%
MARBLE HILL HIGH SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL	106	99.1%
MARIE CURIE HIGH SCH-NURSING MEDICINE &	93	82.8%
MARTIN VAN BUREN HIGH SCHOOL	301	87.4%
MASPETH HIGH SCHOOL	400	99.3%
MATH ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE ACADEMY CH	125	94.4%
MATHEMATICS SCIENCE RESEARCH AND TECHNO	109	73.4%
MAXINE GREENE HIGH SCHOOL FOR IMAGINATIV	91	78.0%
MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL	234	96.2%
METROPOLITAN DIPLOMA PLUS HIGH SCHOOL	112	19.6%
METROPOLITAN EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING SCHO	102	100.0%
METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL (THE)	82	73.2%
METROPOLITAN SOUNDVIEW HIGH SCHOOL (THE)	101	76.2%
MICHAEL J PETRIDES SCHOOL (THE)	111	96.4%
MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL AT LAGUARDIA	109	89.0%
MIDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL	994	95.7%
MILLENIUM ART ACADEMY	100	79.0%
MILLENNIUM BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL	173	99.4%
MILLENNIUM HIGH SCHOOL	158	99.4%
MORRIS ACADEMY FOR COLLABORATIVE STUDIES	117	91.5%
MOTT HALL BRONX HIGH SCHOOL	86	84.9%
MOTT HALL HIGH SCHOOL	46	80.4%
MOTT HALL V	93	95.7%
MOTT HAVEN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	111	52.3%
MOTT HAVEN VILLAGE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHO	70	61.4%
MULTICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL	72	87.5%
MURRAY HILL ACADEMY	75	84.0%
MURRY BERGTRAUM HIGH SCHOOL FOR BUSINESS	21	81.0%
NELSON MANDELA HIGH SCHOOL	45	88.9%
NEW DAWN CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	99	29.3%
NEW DAWN CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL II	79	0.0%
NEW DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL	100	87.0%
NEW DIRECTIONS SECONDARY SCHOOL	60	36.7%
NEW DORP HIGH SCHOOL	755	88.9%
NEW EXPLORATIONS INTO SCIENCE TECH AND M	131	99.2%
NEW HEIGHTS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	81	88.9%
NEW UTRECHT HIGH SCHOOL	814	73.8%
NEW VENTURES CHARTER SCHOOL	67	34.3%
NEW VISIONS AIM CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL I	59	27.1%
NEW VISIONS AIM CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL II	110	12.7%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR ADVA	125	98.4%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR ADVA	118	95.8%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR ADVA	83	97.6%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR ADVA	124	96.0%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE	101	84.2%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE	114	100.0%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE	46	95.7%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE	68	94.1%
NEW WORLD HIGH SCHOOL	73	83.6%
NEW YORK CITY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR AR	106	94.3%
NEWCOMERS HIGH SCHOOL	217	74.7%
NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL	463	74.5%
NORTH QUEENS COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	41	2.4%
NORTHSIDE CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	82	93.9%
NUASIN NEXT GENERATION CHARTER SCHOOL	50	92.0%
NYC AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOL EAST HARLEM	8	0.0%
NYC ISCHOOL	116	100.0%
NYC LAB HIGH SCHOOL FOR COLLABORATIVE ST	109	96.3%
NYC MUSEUM SCHOOL	105	98.1%
OLYMPUS ACADEMY	61	27.9%
OPPORTUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL	52	90.4%
ORCHARD COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	65	93.8%
ORIGINS HIGH SCHOOL	83	92.8%
PACE HIGH SCHOOL	141	75.2%
PAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	102	93.1%
PAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL A	84	89.3%
PARK EAST HIGH SCHOOL	92	100.0%
PARK SLOPE COLLEGIATE	82	79.3%
PATHWAYS COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL: A	73	95.9%
PATHWAYS IN TECHNOLOGY EARLY COLLEGE HIG	106	81.1%
PELHAM LAB HIGH SCHOOL	119	75.6%
PELHAM PREPARATORY ACADEMY	123	92.7%
PERFORMING ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHO	75	86.7%
PHAROS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	51	64.7%
PORT RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOL	403	82.9%
PREPARATORY ACADEMY FOR WRITERS: A COLL	92	87.0%
PROFESSIONAL PATHWAYS HIGH SCHOOL	90	24.4%
PROFESSIONAL PERFORMING ARTS HIGH SCHOOL	96	99.0%
PROGRESS HIGH SCHOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL CA	166	71.7%
PROVIDING URBAN LEARNERS SUCCESS IN EDUC	67	10.4%
PS 116 MARY LINDLEY MURRAY	1
PS 24 SPUYTEN DUYVIL	1
PS 43	1
QUEENS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	132	15.2%
QUEENS COLLEGIATE - A COLLEGE BOARD SCHO	112	91.1%
QUEENS GATEWAY TO HEALTH SCIENCES SECOND	92	97.8%
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL FOR INFORMATION RESE	110	89.1%
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL FOR LANGUAGE STUDIES	105	91.4%
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE SCIENCES AT Y	129	100.0%
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL OF TEACHING LIBERAL	211	94.8%
QUEENS METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL	250	85.6%
QUEENS PREPARATORY ACADEMY	76	85.5%
QUEENS SATELLITE HIGH SCHOOL FOR OPPORTU	57	10.5%
QUEENS SCHOOL OF INQUIRY (THE)	81	95.1%
QUEENS TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	371	83.8%
QUEST TO LEARN	82	84.1%
RACHEL CARSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR COASTAL ST	151	88.7%
RALPH R MCKEE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCA	198	79.3%
RENAISSANCE CHARTER SCHOOL	53	86.8%
RENAISSANCE HIGH SCHOOL FOR MUSICAL THEA	115	85.2%
REPERTORY COMPANY HIGH SCHOOL FOR THEATR	57	96.5%
RESEARCH AND SERVICE HIGH SCHOOL	68	27.9%
RICHARD R GREEN HIGH SCHOOL OF TEACHING	86	88.4%
RICHMOND HILL HIGH SCHOOL	447	74.0%
RIVERDALE/KINGSBRIDGE ACADEMY (MS/HS 141	188	91.5%
ROBERT F KENNEDY COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	158	88.0%
ROBERT F WAGNER JR SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR	114	96.5%
ROBERT H GODDARD HIGH SCHOOL FOR COMMUNI	159	98.7%
ROCKAWAY COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	81	79.0%
ROCKAWAY PARK HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMEN	64	82.8%
SATELLITE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	80	12.5%
SCHOLARS' ACADEMY	179	100.0%
SCHOOL FOR CLASSICS HIGH SCHOOL	51	78.4%
SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE	85	60.0%
SCHOOL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (THE)	78	88.5%
SCHOOL FOR TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY	41	51.2%
SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE HIGH SCHOOL	101	97.0%
SCHUYLERVILLE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	101	85.1%
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH EARLY COL	85	100.0%
SCIENCE SKILLS CENTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR SC	154	99.4%
SOUTH BRONX COMMUNITY CHARTER HIGH SCHOO	85	75.3%
SOUTH BRONX PREPARATORY - A COLLEGE BOAR	81	97.5%
SOUTH BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	92	30.4%
SPECIAL MUSIC SCHOOL	45	100.0%
SPRING CREEK COMMUNITY SCHOOL	62	83.9%
STATEN ISLAND TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	332	99.7%
STEPHEN T MATHER BUILDING ARTS AND CRAFT	104	88.5%
STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL	809	99.5%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-HARLEM 1	70	81.4%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-HARLEM 3	64	82.8%
SUMMIT ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	38	73.7%
SUNSET PARK HIGH SCHOOL	269	88.5%
SUSAN E WAGNER HIGH SCHOOL	808	89.1%
TALENT UNLIMITED HIGH SCHOOL	110	98.2%
TEACHERS PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	41	75.6%
THEATRE ARTS PRODUCTION COMPANY SCHOOL	71	81.7%
THOMAS A EDISON CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU	558	94.1%
THURGOOD MARSHALL ACADEMY FOR LEARNING &	79	82.3%
TOTTENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL	953	95.9%
TOWNSEND HARRIS HIGH SCHOOL	292	100.0%
TRANSIT TECH CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCAT	132	86.4%
UNION SQUARE ACADEMY FOR HEALTH SCIENCES	89	87.6%
UNITY CENTER FOR URBAN TECHNOLOGIES	58	96.6%
UNITY PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL OF BROO	77	88.3%
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL-BRON	154	98.7%
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOL	134	98.5%
UNIVERSITY PREP CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	106	95.3%
URBAN ACADEMY LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL	44	56.8%
URBAN ACTION ACADEMY	48	66.7%
URBAN ASSEMBLY ACADEMY OF GOVERNMENT AND	60	88.3%
URBAN ASSEMBLY BRONX ACADEMY OF LETTERS	79	83.5%
URBAN ASSEMBLY CHARTER SCHOOL FOR COMPUT	2
URBAN ASSEMBLY GATEWAY SCHOOL FOR TECHNO	105	99.0%
URBAN ASSEMBLY INSTITUTE OF MATH AND SCI	61	96.7%
URBAN ASSEMBLY MAKER ACADEMY	104	95.2%
URBAN ASSEMBLY NEW YORK HARBOR SCHOOL	126	89.7%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR APPLIED MATH A	86	89.5%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR COLLABORATIVE	88	90.9%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR EMERGENCY MANA	55	92.7%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL COMMERC	59	78.0%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR GREEN CAREERS	75	94.7%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR LAW AND JUSTIC	108	92.6%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR LEADERSHIP AND	87	92.0%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR MEDIA STUDIES	98	88.8%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR MUSIC AND ART	23	82.6%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING	97	81.4%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FOR YO	35	74.3%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND CONS	57	84.2%
URBAN DOVE TEAM CHARTER SCHOOL	76	13.2%
URBAN DOVE TEAM CHARTER SCHOOL II	102	26.5%
VALIDUS PREPARATORY ACADEMY	90	71.1%
VANGUARD HIGH SCHOOL	102	67.6%
VERITAS ACADEMY	158	84.8%
VICTORY COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	68	86.8%
VOYAGES PREP-SOUTH QUEENS	117	42.7%
VOYAGES PREPARATORY	84	10.7%
W H MAXWELL CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATI	92	82.6%
WADLEIGH SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR THE PERFOR	46	100.0%
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS EXPEDITIONARY LEARNIN	100	93.0%
WEST BRONX ACADEMY FOR THE FUTURE	61	100.0%
WEST BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	62	19.4%
WESTCHESTER SQUARE ACADEMY	112	87.5%
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL	567	86.8%
WILLIAM E GRADY CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU	91	73.6%
WILLIAMSBURG CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	249	83.9%
WILLIAMSBURG HIGH SCHOOL FOR ARCHITECTUR	147	98.0%
WILLIAMSBURG HIGH SCHOOL OF ART AND TECH	76	94.7%
WILLIAMSBURG PREPARATORY SCHOOL	171	98.8%
WINGS ACADEMY	87	71.3%
WOMEN'S ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE	58	72.4%
WORLD ACADEMY FOR TOTAL COMMUNITY HEALTH	55	70.9%
WORLD JOURNALISM PREPARATORY: A COLLEGE	84	100.0%
WORLD VIEW HIGH SCHOOL	132	100.0%
YORK EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY	92	98.9%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL	79	100.0%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL OF BROOK	57	96.5%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL OF THE B	62	93.5%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL-QUEENS	66	92.4%
YOUNG WOMENS LEADERSHIP SCHOOL - ASTORIA	77	100.0%

School-by-school graduation rates

Kae Petrin

How NYC students feel about school mask mandates

2022-02-11T22:03:56+00:00

New York may be ending its school mask mandate next month.

So Chalkbeat asked some experts — New York City students — about what it’s like to wear a mask all day, whether it affects their learning, and if they’re ready to be in school without one.

Their experiences are nuanced. While some are frank about the drawbacks that masks can create, like discomfort and trouble hearing classmates, some of those same students also said it felt safer to have their mouth and nose covered.

Some were reluctant to remove masks if it could mean COVID infections spike and schools are closed again. Some can’t see themselves going to school maskless any time soon. But others, vaccinated and boosted, are ready to leave masks behind.

Evidence is slim on both the health benefits of masking in school and any harms that could be stemming from it. Polling shows strong support among parents and adults for keeping masks. But, the third school year into the pandemic, some loud voices are pushing for mask mandates to end, citing concerns about how they may be affecting learning and socializing.

Even if the state lifts masking requirements, it will likely be up to New York City officials to decide whether staff and students in the nation’s largest country will continue to mask up.

We spoke to more than a dozen students across Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan about how they feel about masking in schools. Here’s what some of them had to say:

“People miss their old life without wearing a mask,” Priya Lee, fifth grade.

Ten-year-old Priya Lee readily acknowledges the downsides of wearing masks in school.

It can be a struggle to understand what her classmates are saying and her teachers often have to prompt her classmates to repeat themselves. It’s disconcerting to not be able to see her friends smile at her.

“I miss not wearing the masks,” said Lee, a student at Manhattan’s P.S. 19.

Priya Lee

But Priya isn’t planning to shed her KN95 anytime soon. “It keeps kids safe and it prevents everybody from getting sick,” she said.

Priya’s family was initially reluctant to send her to school in person this year because she has a seizure disorder, which hasn’t flared up in years. The family worried her health condition could be a risk factor for a more severe reaction to the virus, but they sent her to school in person because the education options for medically fragile students are extremely limited.

Priya was infected with COVID in December, though her case was relatively mild and says she has no lasting symptoms. She credits her mask with helping to protect her relatives from the virus while she was sick.

For now, Priya said it makes sense to require face coverings in school. If the mandate is lifted, she plans to keep hers on, but she wouldn’t be frustrated with classmates who take them off.

“It’s ultimately their decision,” she said. “People miss their old life without wearing a mask.”

“It hurts my ears,” Oscar Guazhima, Jr., first grade.

Oscar Guazhima

Six-year-old Oscar Guazhima Jr. said it can be uncomfortable wearing his two surgical masks to Bushwick’s P.S. 145 every day.

“It hurts my ears,” the first grader said.

But after a while, he said, he forgets he’s wearing the masks. Masking also has not made it difficult for him to understand his teacher or his friends, he said.

Lucelie Alvarez, Oscar’s mother, said Oscar is fully vaccinated. She still sends him to school with two masks because of how rapidly the omicron variant spread.

“I’m worried about their health more than anything,” Alvarez said.

Oscar said he doesn’t feel nervous about getting sick, and would still choose to wear his masks — even with the option to take it off.

“I’m gonna keep it on because it is coronavirus,” he said.

“Better than remote learning,” Daneil Harrison, 11th grade.

For Daneil Harrison, wearing a mask in school “may be uncomfortable sometimes.” But the 16-year-old junior in Manhattan isn’t ready for the mandate to end. He worried that doing so might lead to more cases of the virus in schools — and shutdowns.

“It should be really required, because more masks equals less, you know, COVID cases. And I think that’s better than remote learning for our students,” he said.

Daneil struggled with remote learning, calling it “really bad.” Wearing a mask is worth it, if students can stay in school, he said.

“I think if you’re actually just paying attention and you just don’t let the mask bother you, then you’re good to go. I think in person is just the best way to learn,” Harrison said. “I would keep wearing one.”

“It’s kind of disgusting,” Kris Aguirre, 10th grade.

Kris Aguirre, 15, a sophomore, enjoyed a break from wearing his black surgical mask while walking to lunch off campus. He said the masks are a nuisance. If it was no longer required, Kris said he would probably stop wearing one.

“It’s just irritating… Like when I sneeze or something? Or cough? Like, there’s like a lot of spit in the mask,” he said. “It’s kind of disgusting.”

His school gives out high-quality masks to any student who needs one, but Kris said the fit is uncomfortable so he’d rather bring his own. Despite his frustration with covering his face in school, Kris said it’s better than remote school.

“It’s just, like, something to cover your mouth. That’s not really affecting my learning or anything. But if it goes on Zoom, it’s a different story,” he said.

“The pandemic can start again,” Destine DeJesus, fifth grade.

Destine DeJesus, who is a fifth grader at P.S. 145 in Bushwick, said her teacher allows children to take mask breaks in the hallway for a couple of minutes. Sometimes it gets tough for Destine, 10, to breathe in the mask after climbing multiple flights of stairs in her school.

“Usually I go in the corner so I’m staying away from all the classrooms, and I take my mask down for a little bit, and then I go back into the class,” Destine said.

Destine said it has not been a problem following along with her teacher because the teacher makes sure to ask the students whether they can hear. Sometimes Destine has to repeat herself to friends because some words sound muffled.

Destine would potentially be ready to ditch her mask in a month or two, but not right now, she said. She was infected with COVID around winter break, when cases began exploding citywide.

“You never know if it’s really gone,” she said of COVID. “It could still be out in the world and it can always come back and the pandemic can start again.”

“I would never want to be maskless in a classroom,” Jenny Liu, 12th grade.

Jenny Liu

Wearing a mask has become second nature for 18-year-old Jenny Liu, a senior at Stuyvesant High School. She said her mask helps her feel safe in the packed school, which enrolls nearly 3,400 students and can get chaotic during arrival and dismissal.

“I would never want to be maskless in a classroom, honestly,” she said. “It just feels like I’m naked in a way now.”

Masking has not interfered with instruction, and in fact, it’s been fun to be in person again, Liu said. She has, however, heard from classmates taking language classes, who get frustrated when they can’t see how their teachers are pronouncing certain words.

“Instead of the phrase, ‘Oh you’re muted,’ on Zoom, in person now it’s, ‘I can’t hear you. Speak up,’” she said of class time.

It has been tough for Liu, a co-captain of the volleyball team, and her teammates to stay masked during games and practice. Players will sometimes wear their masks below their nose or pull it forward to get an extra breath.

“It makes me less incentivized to go to school,” Thomas Fuller, 12th grade.

Thomas Fuller

Thomas Fuller, a senior at Millennium Brooklyn High School, felt that COVID cases have dropped enough to merit going maskless in schools. The mandate could be reinstated if cases were to increase again, he said.

“I’m boosted and vaccinated, and everyone I know is as well,” said Fuller, 18, about why he feels safe to ditch his mask.

“Some people see [masking] as a good thing, they feel more comfortable with it. But for me personally, I feel like it’s hard to talk, hard to breathe. It makes my face hot. It makes me less incentivized to go into school because I really don’t like wearing them,” he said.

Fuller hasn’t had much trouble hearing or communicating at school being masked, though some of his teachers now wear microphones because students couldn’t hear them too well, he said. At the same time, students have learned to advocate for themselves and speak up when they can’t hear their teachers, he added.

“I’m still not comfortable with all these viruses going around,” Avery Gibson, sixth grade.

When Avery Gibson, 11, returned to her Queens middle school after winter break last month, it felt like she was sent home with a set of rapid tests from her school almost every day because she was repeatedly exposed to the virus.

Avery Gibson and her mother, Sheree.

That experience during the height of the omicron surge makes Avery and her mother, Sheree, wary of ditching masks for now. Still, Avery said she is already exposed to maskless students. Her peers often take their face coverings off on the hour-long bus ride to school, and students in her class sometimes lower their masks to speak.

“A lot of kids in my class take off their mask, and I don’t like it,” Avery said, adding that she keeps her disposable mask on. “I’m still not comfortable with all these viruses going around and people not being vaccinated.”

Avery, who is vaccinated and recovered from a COVID infection over the summer, said she would feel more comfortable about ditching the mask mandate in schools if face coverings were removed in other places first without lots of people getting sick.

Correction: This story previously stated an incorrect enrollment figure for Stuyvesant High School. Roughly 3,400 students attend the school.

Non-English speaking parents turn to WhatsApp, community groups when COVID translations fall short

2022-02-01T16:11:19+00:00

When New York City school officials introduced a new COVID policy during winter break, panic spread among many Bangladeshi parents in parts of central Brooklyn.

In a letter to families, officials said students could now stay in school if exposed to COVID, as long as they tested negative on at-home tests. The letter also said officials “strongly encourage” children to get a test before returning to school — which, in the Bangla version, read like a mandate to families, said Tazin Azad, a member of District 22’s Community Education Council who speaks Bangla and monitors multiple WhatsApp groups for Bangladeshi parents.

“Our WhatsApp was blowing up: ‘I can’t find my site for testing,’ [and] ‘How am I gonna send my kids to school?’” Azad said. At the time, ballooning COVID cases in the city had created long lines for tests and delays in returning results. Some parents kept their children home from school because they didn’t have test results before the first day, she said.

“We had to go down the chat and say, ‘No, you do not require a test to return to school.’”

Evolving COVID rules have been confusing enough for native English speakers. Parents who speak limited or no English have found it difficult to understand and get answers about the protocols, say educators and advocates who work with immigrant families. That communication gap is often filled by parent leaders and community groups when families can’t get assistance from their schools or are waiting for translated versions of guidance from the education department.

“It’s us parent advocates who are filling in these gaps and making [sure] folks [are] really understanding what’s totally necessary and keeping them from burning out,” Azad said.

Suzan Sumer, a spokesperson for the education department, said translated COVID guidelines can be accessed through “family letters, over-the-phone translation services, and online services.” They can also call (718) 935-2013 for translation help or email Hello@schools.nyc.gov, and parents can choose from a dropdown menu of languages to translate the education department’s website.

But advocates have long said that many families are not aware of those options, don’t know how to navigate the internet, or can’t get the help they need quickly.

Clearing up confusion

Many of the misunderstandings stem from English words that don’t cleanly translate into other languages.

Many Spanish-speaking families also thought that they had to get their children tested before returning to school, said Vanessa Luna, co-founder of ImmSchools, a nonprofit that holds family workshops and professional development for educators on supporting undocumented students. Families “are aiming to follow what the school is telling us, so a term like ‘strongly encourage’ — even if you translate that in Spanish, it sounds like it is a mandate,” she said.

Parents may also want to be extra cautious: If they’re not sure about whether something is a requirement, they may do it anyway to ensure their children can be in school and they can go to work, she said. Less than a month after the city announced its “test-to-stay” policy, officials announced they would shorten the quarantine period to five days if sick children meet certain criteria first. The announcement of that policy, which went into effect Monday, has caused a new wave of questions from parents, according to teachers and advocates.

Undocumented parents are also asking about how required paperwork, such as permission slips for in-school COVID testing, will be used because those families often fear that sharing personal information will negatively impact their immigration status, Luna said.

She’s heard of some schools calling parents to ensure they understand the guidance. But both she and Azad think schools should hold more meetings for parents to ask questions that may not be clear from reviewing the letters that go home to families.

“My argument and my push would be, can we create spaces where families can engage in dialogue and conversations?” Luna said.

Earlier this month at Brooklyn’s P.S. 194, where about 11% of the students are English language learners, some children who needed to take at-home tests told teachers that their parents couldn’t figure out the instructions, said teacher Kathryn Malara.

One family sent two of their children to the school with their positive at-home tests in their backpacks, which teachers discovered later that day. Malara believes that the parents, who do not speak English at home, were simply unsure about what the results meant and what to do next.

When a child is exposed to COVID, the school has emailed guidance to families with attachments in Spanish, Urdu, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole and Bangla, made available by the education department. But some families don’t have computers at home and use their phones, so the attachments might not show up well on the screen, Malara said.

Sometimes parents have come to the school for help with COVID guidance. Malara said the school will use Google translate to communicate with families or ask a parent for help with Urdu and Arabic, because they don’t have staffers who “speak every language that is spoken at home.”

Parent leaders and community groups step in

When schools were first charged with distributing at-home test kits to children, Azad heard from school leaders who were concerned about the lack of translated instructions for certain brands. So, in the first week of January, Azad created Bangla and Urdu versions of instructions for the FlowFlex brand of COVID tests, which District 22 leaders later distributed to schools, she said. (The education department declined to confirm that.)

One of the city’s Internationals Network high schools, which serve new immigrants, made their own video tutorials in Spanish, French, and Arabic when they discovered their iHealth at-home test kits did not come with written, translated instructions, according to a teacher there who asked to remain anonymous because she feared retribution.

The videos, reviewed by Chalkbeat, are a compilation of photos, videos, text and cartoons to explain how to properly swab your nose and test the sample. Staffers made and emailed out the videos soon after kits were distributed to schools, and some teachers also called parents to ensure they understood the instructions, the teacher said.

The education department posted links to various translated instructions for iHealth and FlowFlex on Jan. 12 — 10 days after winter break ended — though no translations are posted for brands BinaxNow and Carestart, and some of the brands don’t have all of the city’s ten most commonly spoken languages.

A department spokesperson said New York City schools are legally not permitted to translate documents made by third parties, and the translated instructions on their site are compiled from other sources. Interestingly, one set of translated instructions was created by Boston Public Schools.

COVID guidance distributed to families have links to the department’s COVID web page, but not a direct link to the translations they’ve made available.

“Do they consider the steps parents have to go through to even find it?” wondered the Internationals school teacher, adding that could be particularly difficult for families who are not used to navigating the internet.

Luna’s organization has been creating slide decks that go through testing requirements for schools.

They’re also hosting in-person meetings for families next month around COVID protocols so parents can ask follow-up questions instead of relying on written guidance.

Turning to WhatsApp

Parents are also turning to their group chats for support, as many families did when COVID first hit. In a WhatsApp group monitored by Luna’s organization, she’s seen parents help each other parse through COVID rules, figure out how to take the at-home COVID tests, and dispel vaccine misinformation, she said.

“It’s families really informing each other,” she said. “I think for us, the WhatsApp group has become a virtual hub of resources.”

Azad, the District 22 parent, said her WhatsApp groups explode any time new guidance drops. She and others are constantly clarifying new COVID rules. It’s especially hectic if new guidance becomes public on the evening news or on a Friday night but isn’t yet available in Bangla, Azad said.

The confusion about COVID rules and protocols has persisted through January. One parent recently told Azad that her child’s prekindergarten center was requiring a negative test before her child returned to school, following a COVID infection and 10 days of quarantine. Azad informed the parent that is not city policy, she said.

“When non-English speakers are faced with varying types of guidances, they can’t push back and demand the way English speakers do,” Azad said. “People who don’t speak English wait for us on the ground who are translators, who are supporters and advocates to give them legit information, translate it and give it back.”

As cases plummet, NYC tweaks COVID testing at schools and limits remote learning

2022-01-31T23:22:01+00:00

New York City is tweaking the formula it uses to calculate how many students should get swabbed for each school’s weekly coronavirus testing program, school officials announced Monday.

In another change, officials announced that starting Wednesday only students who test positive or fail the city’s health screener will be eligible for remote instruction, reversing the policy from just two weeks ago that gave schools discretion to provide online work for students who stayed home for a variety of reasons.

A press release noted the move to limit remote learning was thanks to “improving conditions of the pandemic and increased levels of testing.” A record high of more than 14,000 COVID cases among students and staff was reported on Jan. 10, officials said. On Monday, three weeks later, the number dropped to 810, though New York City is still currently considered to have high transmission levels.

The COVID testing tweak aims to boost the number of PCRs for children on campuses with high vaccination rates. Despite that change, public health experts continue to raise concerns about whether the school-based testing protocols are an effective strategy for either interrupting transmission or giving city officials a sense of whether other measures such as mask wearing or ventilation are working.

Getting more kids tested

The city’s testing formula is complicated. Schools currently test the equivalent of 20% of their unvaccinated population who consented to testing, meaning schools with higher rates of vaccinated children have fewer students getting swabbed each week. For example, a school with 100 students and a 70% vaccination rate would test just six students. Those six students, however, are supposed to be a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated students.

Starting on Feb. 7, that formula will stay in place for many schools. But others can test 10% of their overall student population — up to 250 — if that would result in more students being tested. So, for that same school with 100 students and a 70% vaccination rate, 10 students would be tested each week rather than six.

The testing program will still allow up to 10% of interested staff at a given school to be tested, though in practice some staff have reported challenges getting swabbed. (Pre-K and kindergarten students continue to be excluded from the school-based testing program.)

The change is designed to increase the number of students who are tested on campuses with high vaccination rates, which in some cases have seen tiny portions of their school community tested. But education department officials did not respond to questions about how many more students will be tested each week due to the policy change nor have they released vaccination or testing consent rates by school. The vast majority of students have not consented to testing, according to the most recent data, severely limiting the pool of students who are eligible in the first place.

Education officials have said they are considering automatically opting students into the testing program with an option to opt out, but have not done so.

More testing might not interrupt transmission

Officials have previously said their testing protocol is consistent with federal and state guidance, but did not offer an explanation of what goals the program is designed to accomplish.

Public health experts said the program has two possible objectives. One is to interrupt transmission by identifying students or staff who are infectious and removing them from school. The other is to monitor whether other measures like ventilation and masking are working and detect large-scale outbreaks in school communities.

Multiple experts said the city’s testing policy, even with the latest tweaks, was unlikely to have a big effect on interrupting transmission since the number of people being tested was too modest as was the frequency of testing. The increased speed of the omicron variant also means that if the test results take a few days to process, quarantines may be issued too late to have a large effect.

“As long as the random testing is done through PCR, it’s not going to accomplish a lot” in terms of preventing transmission, said Susan Hassig, an epidemiologist at Tulane University, especially because the results can take days to be reported.

Hassig said she would instead recommend deploying rapid tests for a given percentage of each school’s population, rather than PCR tests based on the share of unvaccinated students. PCR tests, she noted, may come back positive even if a person is not contagious, which appears to be less likely with rapid tests.

Experts offered differing views of whether the testing program could still be helpful to monitor whether other mitigation measures such as ventilation upgrades and mask-wearing were having the desired effect.

Anna Bershteyn, an assistant professor of population health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the school-based COVID testing program still offers some value and the latest tweaks could provide a broader sample of students to be tested at some schools.

“Even as vaccination numbers rise, it’s important to continue surveillance testing to make sure schools are not sites of transmission, and if they are, to devote more resources to strengthen layers of protection as needed,” she wrote in an email. “Testing can help to prioritize where the investments are needed most.”

City officials have said they will investigate schools when there are at least 10 positive cases in one classroom and determine whether to prioritize investments in ventilation at those campuses. Despite the post-winter break surge in cases, no investigations have been logged, according to public data.

Other experts said the city should consider ditching the in-school testing program entirely, especially as the city has rolled out a “test-to-stay” program that distributes at-home COVID tests to students and staff exposed to COVID in the classroom, allowing them to remain in school as long as they test negative.

Such a move, however, would likely frustrate the city’s teachers union and many educators who have called for increased PCR testing.

“The city has not made it clear what the goal of the policy is,” said Ben Linas, an epidemiologist at Boston University. “I think that the city should stop its random testing program and reinvest those resources into testing to stay and other mitigation measures.”

Pre-K added to at-home rapid kit distribution

Also on Monday, city officials said they are planning to expand the distribution of rapid tests before midwinter recess, which runs Feb. 21-25.

Gov. Kathy Hochul previously announced that the state would provide enough at-home tests for every K-12 student in the state. City officials said they would make the test kits available to preschool students as well.

Families will be encouraged, but not required, to use the tests before the break ends.

“Because of our extensive health and safety measures, COVID-19 cases in our schools have decreased 95%, and the in-school positivity rate remains significantly lower than the city-wide rate,” Nathaniel Styer, an education department spokesperson said in a statement. “Expanding in-school testing and at-home rapid tests will ensure every student is ready to safely attend instruction in-person after Midwinter Break.”

75% of NYC public schools enrolled fewer students this year. Here’s a breakdown of every school.

2022-01-28T22:25:53+00:00

A searchable database of school-level enrollment trends is at the end of this article.

New York City school enrollment declines have accelerated during the pandemic, but the losses have not been distributed equally across schools or demographic groups, according to state data released this week.

About three quarters of the city’s public schools saw enrollment declines this year, with nearly 23% losing 10% or more of their students, state figures show. Black and white students in grades K-12 saw the largest drops of all racial groups this school year, declining about 7.5% each. Asian American student enrollment dropped 5%. For Latino students, the drop was 4.5%.

Although some schools with more affluent students have seen significant enrollment declines during the pandemic, with families decamping to the Hamptons or enrolling in private schools, drops among low-income students were far more significant. Enrollment among low-income students fell nearly 7% this year, more than twice the decline of students who are not classified as living in poverty.

Enrollment among students with disabilities, many of whom have struggled with disruptions to in-person services during the pandemic, fell nearly 8% — possibly reflecting significant reductions in referrals for special education services during the pandemic.

The state figures show that overall enrollment in the city’s traditional public schools dropped 5.6% this year among students in grades K-12 to roughly 821,000 students, according to a Chalkbeat analysis. Since the pandemic hit in the 2019-2020 school year, K-12 enrollment has dropped by 9%. City officials noted the state data does not include a slew of nontraditional programs, so the figures are lower compared with the city’s own enrollment tallies.

Due to differences in how city and state education departments report preschool enrollment figures, Chalkbeat has excluded those numbers from its analysis of demographic data. Overall enrollment declines are less significant if preschool is factored in, largely because the city used an influx of federal dollars to expand its prekindergarten offerings for 3-year-olds.

Including pre-K, enrollment is down just 1.9% with 938,000 students in the city’s public schools, not including charter schools, according to city figures released in October.

Enrollment declines matter because the majority of a school’s funding is allocated on a per-student basis. And if a school ultimately enrolls fewer students than the city projected, they may be forced to hand funding back, a practice that generated criticism last school year, as some schools owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

City officials wound up allowing schools to keep the funding they owed, and that policy will continue this school year, officials said. Reduced funding based on lower enrollment may also be offset to some degree by a boost to school budgets spurred by federal relief money and a long-term increase in state funding.

Student exodus

The state statistics don’t reveal what is causing the declines, which have persisted since well before the pandemic, though the drop has accelerated over the last two years. Some caretakers may have opted to home-school their children out of fear of the coronavirus or the disruptions that classroom quarantines have caused. Others may have opted for charter schools, which have seen enrollment increase. Some families may have left the city entirely. City officials also said that declining birth rates are playing a role.

School systems across the country have also experienced enrollment declines this year, including nearly 6% in Los Angeles and 3% in Chicago, the nation’s second and third largest districts.

At the Earth School in Manhattan, enrollment declined by about 18% to 241 students, state data show. Jia Lee, a fourth and fifth grade teacher, said the drop has meant her classroom has 28 students instead of a more typical 21-24, in part because the school can’t justify hiring a teacher to staff an additional classroom.

“We were told we couldn’t keep our class sizes low because it’s a budgetary issue,” she said, a challenge given the school’s focus on evaluating students narratively instead of with grades. She added that the enrollment drop has not affected the school’s ability to provide art or other programs.

In line with national trends, enrollment declines in New York City have been sharpest in the younger grades. Overall, enrollment in grades K-8 fell 7%, compared with just 2.5% among high schools. Kindergarten enrollment fell nearly 4%, lower than last year’s nearly 11% drop. But first through third grades still saw higher-than-average declines of between 7% and 9%.

For schools that have lost significant numbers of students, there are likely multiple factors at play in and outside of the building. Some parents at the Earth School have opted to move out of state or home-school their children, Lee said.

At Brooklyn’s P.S. 295 which lost about 22% of its students over the past year, and about 15% the previous year, there was a confluence of events that may have led to the decline, families said.

A change in leadership last year may have given some parents pause, and the year before that a beloved parent coordinator left. That parent coordinator was a big help to the school’s Spanish-speaking families who needed free after-care — which the school does not offer on site. He would bring some students to a free program at a nearby school, said P.S. 295’s PTA president Tina Habib. Without that, some families may not have been able to send their children to the school.

Another reason: The school has been embroiled in a high-profile fight since this summer when officials removed a Black Lives Matter and Black Trans Lives Matter mural with a quote from feminist author Audre Lorde: “Your Silence Will Not Protect You.”

“People have expressed concern about the reduced numbers,” Habib said, “But the response from the administration has been: ‘It’s COVID. This is normal. All schools are losing students. Don’t worry about the funding because of the stimulus money.’”

High schools serving most vulnerable take a hit

But even as elementary schools are bearing the brunt of enrollment declines, high schools designed to serve students at risk of dropping out have also seen steep drops.

Among the city’s roughly 50 transfer high schools, which typically serve students who are older and behind in credits, the average enrollment decline was 10%.

At Brooklyn Frontiers High School, a transfer school that aims to graduate students who have struggled with traditional schools, enrollment has declined about 24% this year to just 127 students, state data show.

Eric Wilson, who teaches English, computer science and math, said there have been some unexpected benefits to the drop, including smaller class sizes where teachers can offer more individual support.

But the school is also working to recruit more students because low enrollment can pose an existential threat as it becomes harder to hire staff and run a full set of programs. This year, the school struggled to field a basketball team owing in part to logistical complications related to the pandemic and also since they had fewer students to draw from.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Wilson said. “We’re going out to neighborhoods and business and posting flyers.”

The state data also reveals significant differences by geography. Brooklyn’s District 18, which includes Flatbush and Canarsie, saw enrollment plunge by 11%. In District 9, which includes the South Bronx, enrollment fell 9%.

At the other end of the spectrum, enrollment in Brooklyn’s District 32, which covers Bushwick, fell by less than 1%. District 31, covering Staten Island, also saw low attrition at roughly 2%.

Below you can find a searchable table to see how enrollment trends are playing out across the city:

Amy Zimmer contributed reporting.

School	2021-2022	2020-2021	YoY change
BROOKLYN EAST COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCH	83	192	-56.77%
MAXINE GREENE HS-IMAGINATIVE INQUIRY	114	194	-41.24%
SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE	112	185	-39.46%
KIPP BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL II	153	248	-38.31%
BROWNSVILLE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	50	81	-38.27%
PS 399 STANLEY EUGENE CLARKE	145	234	-38.03%
BUSHWICK COMMUNITY HS	93	145	-35.86%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-HARLEM 2	464	692	-32.95%
NEW AMERICAN ACAD CHARTER SCH (THE)	193	287	-32.75%
QUEENS SATELLITE HS-OPPORTUNITY	112	166	-32.53%
IS 339	213	313	-31.95%
PS 147 ISSAC REMSEN	213	310	-31.29%
INNOVATION DIPLOMA PLUS	98	141	-30.50%
MOTT HALL IV	93	133	-30.08%
KAPPA V	95	134	-29.10%
LA CIMA CHARTER SCHOOL	190	265	-28.30%
BROOKLYN THEATRE ARTS HIGH SCHOOL	207	288	-28.13%
BROWNSVILLE COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCH	186	257	-27.63%
MS 266 PARK PLACE COMMUNITY MS	109	150	-27.33%
NEW MILLENNIUM BRONX ACAD ARTS	231	317	-27.13%
JAMES BALDWIN SCHOOL (THE)	149	202	-26.24%
RESEARCH AND SERVICE HIGH SCHOOL	182	246	-26.02%
MS 297	609	816	-25.37%
KINGSBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL HS	260	345	-24.64%
BROOKLYN FRONTIERS HIGH SCHOOL	127	168	-24.40%
IT TAKES A VILLAGE ACADEMY	366	482	-24.07%
PS 73 BRONX	304	400	-24.00%
SATELLITE ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	152	200	-24.00%
HIGH SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY MGMNT	241	316	-23.73%
COMMUNITY ACTION SCHOOL-MS 258	177	229	-22.71%
IS 285 MEYER LEVIN	590	762	-22.57%
EAST NY ARTS-CIVICS HIGH SCHOOL	130	167	-22.16%
PS 295	287	368	-22.01%
MAURICE SENDAK COMMUNITY SCHOOL	219	280	-21.79%
HEALTH OPPORTUNITIES HIGH SCHOOL	299	382	-21.73%
GIRLS PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	421	534	-21.16%
PELHAM GARDENS MIDDLE SCHOOL	328	416	-21.15%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR VIOLIN AND DANCE	164	208	-21.15%
HAROLD O LEVY SCHOOL	194	246	-21.14%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-HARLEM 4	329	417	-21.10%
JHS 118 WILLIAM W NILES	763	967	-21.10%
BRONX REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	90	114	-21.05%
MS OF MEDIA, LAW, FINE ARTS	167	211	-20.85%
BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	103	130	-20.77%
NEW PATHWAYS ACADEMY	188	237	-20.68%
PS/MS 4 CROTONA PARK WEST	330	416	-20.67%
HIGH SCHOOL-LAW & PUBLIC SERVICE	351	442	-20.59%
URBAN ACTION ACADEMY	135	170	-20.59%
EDWARD A REYNOLDS WEST SIDE HS	170	214	-20.56%
PS 129 JOHN H FINLEY	248	312	-20.51%
PS 30 HERNANDEZ/HUGHES	168	211	-20.38%
MS 129 ACAD FOR INDEPENDENT LRNING	389	487	-20.12%
PS 17 HENRY D WOODWORTH	215	269	-20.07%
PS 163 ARTHUR A SCHOMBERG	292	365	-20.00%
WEST PREP ACADEMY	148	185	-20.00%
JHS 98 HERMAN RIDDER	148	185	-20.00%
URBAN SCH-BUSINESS-YNG WOMEN	116	145	-20.00%
FDA VIII MIDDLE SCHOOL	225	281	-19.93%
PS 18 JOHN PETER ZENGER	356	444	-19.82%
PS 87	356	444	-19.82%
THOMAS C GIORDANO MS 45	565	703	-19.63%
GOTHAM COLLABORATIVE HIGH SCHOOL	295	367	-19.62%
VILLAGE ACADEMY	296	368	-19.57%
PS 132 JUAN PABLO DUARTE	148	184	-19.57%
REDWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL	218	271	-19.56%
HIGH SCHOOL-ENTERPRISE, BUS & TECH	556	691	-19.54%
MOTT HALL CHARTER SCHOOL	219	272	-19.49%
CASCADES HIGH SCHOOL	116	144	-19.44%
IS 303 HERBERT S EISENBERG	425	527	-19.35%
PS 128 LORRAINE TUZZO-JUNIPER VALLEY	680	843	-19.34%
PS 65 MOTHER HALE ACADEMY	257	318	-19.18%
HIGHLAND PARK COMMUNITY SCHOOL	291	360	-19.17%
MANHATTAN CHARTER SCHOOL II	114	141	-19.15%
HARBOR HEIGHTS	76	94	-19.15%
PS 506 JOURNALISM AND TECHNOLOGY	539	666	-19.07%
AMBER CHARTER SCHOOL EAST HARLEM	396	489	-19.02%
BROOKLYN CHARTER SCHOOL	171	211	-18.96%
PELHAM LAB HIGH SCHOOL	344	424	-18.87%
HIGH SCHOOL-SERVICE & LEARNING	212	261	-18.77%
VAN SICLEN COMMUNITY MIDDLE SCHOOL	234	288	-18.75%
ACADEMY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS	161	198	-18.69%
PS 195 MANHATTAN BEACH	332	408	-18.63%
SUMMIT ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	223	274	-18.61%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-FORT GREENE	185	227	-18.50%
PROGRESS HS-PROFESSIONAL CAREERS	428	525	-18.48%
ALBERT SHANKER SCH-VISUAL/PERF ARTS	473	580	-18.45%
PAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL HS-MONROE	302	370	-18.38%
JHS 88 PETER ROUGET	1,160	1,421	-18.37%
EARTH SCHOOL	241	295	-18.31%
MOTT HAVEN VILLAGE PREP HIGH SCHOOL	208	254	-18.11%
PS 134 HENRIETTA SZOLD	172	210	-18.10%
PS 8 LUIS BELLIARD	360	439	-18.00%
JHS 292 MARGARET S DOUGLAS	406	495	-17.98%
MS 113 RONALD EDMONDS LEARNING CTR	270	329	-17.93%
BRONX LAB SCHOOL	252	307	-17.92%
PS 179	223	271	-17.71%
SCHOOL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (THE)	223	271	-17.71%
PS 327 DR ROSE B ENGLISH	214	260	-17.69%
PS 236 LANGSTON HUGHES	239	290	-17.59%
PS 111 ADOLPH S OCHS	329	399	-17.54%
BROOKLYN BRIDGE ACADEMY	104	126	-17.46%
HS 560 CITY-AS-SCHOOL	402	487	-17.45%
PULSE HIGH SCHOOL	133	161	-17.39%
VICTORY COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	230	278	-17.27%
PS 38 ROBERTO CLEMENTE	178	215	-17.21%
HUDSON HS OF LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES	309	373	-17.16%
PS 193 GIL HODGES	485	585	-17.09%
BRONX HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL	97	117	-17.09%
OLYMPUS ACADEMY	127	153	-16.99%
WINGS ACADEMY	279	336	-16.96%
JHS 131 ALBERT EINSTEIN	343	413	-16.95%
ANDRIES HUDDE	488	587	-16.87%
PS/MS 147 RONALD MCNAIR	422	507	-16.77%
KURT HAHN EXPEDITIONARY LRNING SCH	179	215	-16.74%
IS 211 JOHN WILSON	209	251	-16.73%
FAMILY SCHOOL (THE)	416	499	-16.63%
CHRISTOPHER AVENUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	231	277	-16.61%
ESMT-IS 190	228	273	-16.48%
BRONX AEROSPACE HIGH SCHOOL	168	201	-16.42%
NEW DESIGN MIDDLE SCHOOL	112	134	-16.42%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-BRONX 1	536	641	-16.38%
METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL (THE)	133	159	-16.35%
PS 169 ROBERT F KENNEDY	302	361	-16.34%
MUSCOTA	246	294	-16.33%
PS 291	447	534	-16.29%
IS 340	186	222	-16.22%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN-HARLEM	274	327	-16.21%
PS 19 ASHER LEVY	176	210	-16.19%
LOCKE SCHOOL OF ARTS & ENGINEERING	272	324	-16.05%
LUCERO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	270	321	-15.89%
NY FRENCH-AMERICAN CHARTER SCHOOL	249	296	-15.88%
NELSON MANDELA HIGH SCHOOL	154	183	-15.85%
PS 48 PO MICHAEL J BUCZEK	356	423	-15.84%
FAIRMONT NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL	202	240	-15.83%
IS 318 MATH, SCIENCE & TECH THRO ART	155	184	-15.76%
PS 57 CRESCENT	396	470	-15.74%
PS 121 THROOP	589	699	-15.74%
WATERSIDE SCHOOL FOR LEADESHIP	166	197	-15.74%
PS 188 MICHAEL E BERDY	258	306	-15.69%
PS 112 JOSE CELSO BARBOSA	224	265	-15.47%
PS 105 SEN ABRAHAM BERNSTEIN	743	878	-15.38%
PS 163 ALFRED E SMITH	413	488	-15.37%
PS 9 SARAH SMITH GARNET SCHOOL	728	860	-15.35%
PS 88 S SILVERSTEIN LITTLE SPARROW	83	98	-15.31%
PS 175 CITY ISLAND	244	288	-15.28%
PS 100 ISAAC CLASON	444	524	-15.27%
MS 319 MARIE TERESA	278	328	-15.24%
PS 161 CROWN (THE)	273	322	-15.22%
URBAN ASSEMBLY ACAD FUTURE LEADERS	78	92	-15.22%
PS 154 JONATHAN D HYATT	258	304	-15.13%
PELHAM ACAD-ACADEMICS AND COMMUNITY	275	324	-15.12%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR CIVIL RIGHTS	163	192	-15.10%
CONCOURSE VILLAGE ES	242	285	-15.09%
IS 313 SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP DEV	203	239	-15.06%
WEST BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	176	207	-14.98%
PS 53 BASHEER QUISIM	711	836	-14.95%
MS 158 MARIE CURIE	837	984	-14.94%
BRONX DESIGN-CONSTRUCTION ACADEMY	263	309	-14.89%
IS 206 ANN MERSEREAU	212	249	-14.86%
PS 91	448	526	-14.83%
PS 153 HELEN KELLER	460	540	-14.81%
PS 130 ABRAM STEVENS HEWITT	305	358	-14.80%
COMMUNITY SCHOOL-SOCIAL JUSTICE	288	338	-14.79%
JHS 202 ROBERT H GODDARD	876	1,028	-14.79%
PS 68	445	522	-14.75%
JAMES J AMBROSE SCHOOL (THE)	652	764	-14.66%
MS 301 PAUL L DUNBAR	169	198	-14.65%
VALIDUS PREP ACADEMY	287	336	-14.58%
MS 250 WEST SIDE COLLABORATIVE	94	110	-14.55%
PS 195 WILLIAM HABERLE	355	415	-14.46%
PS 170	190	222	-14.41%
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER II	309	361	-14.40%
JOHN ERICSSON MIDDLE SCHOOL 126	226	264	-14.39%
WORLD ACAD FOR TOTAL COM HEALTH	143	167	-14.37%
PROFESSIONAL PATHWAYS HIGH SCHOOL	143	167	-14.37%
JHS 194 WILLIAM CARR	1,016	1,186	-14.33%
ST HOPE LEADERSHIP ACAD CHARTER SCH	264	308	-14.29%
MS 180 DR DANIEL HALE WILLIAMS	848	988	-14.17%
STOREFRONT ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	285	332	-14.16%
NEW AMERICAN ACAD-R CLEMENTE STATE	437	509	-14.15%
URBAN ASSEMBLY FOR GREEN CAREERS	255	297	-14.14%
PS 268 EMMA LAZARUS	244	284	-14.08%
FORSYTHE SATELLITE ACADEMY	116	135	-14.07%
SISULU-WALKER CHARTER SCHOOL	171	199	-14.07%
PS 130 HERNANDO DE SOTO	642	747	-14.06%
PARKSIDE PREP ACADEMY	355	413	-14.04%
JHS 62 DITMAS	955	1,111	-14.04%
NEW HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL	203	236	-13.98%
SCHOOL OF INTEGRATED LEARNING	277	322	-13.98%
IS 219 NEW VENTURE SCHOOL	242	281	-13.88%
PS 39 HENRY BRISTOW	342	397	-13.85%
PS 35 NATHANIEL WOODHULL	557	646	-13.78%
SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS	263	305	-13.77%
PS 84 JOSE DE DIEGO	609	706	-13.74%
PS 20 ANNA SILVER	352	408	-13.73%
PS 69 VINCENT D GRIPPO SCHOOL	648	751	-13.72%
IS 232	321	372	-13.71%
YOUNG LEADERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	221	256	-13.67%
PS/IS 54	373	432	-13.66%
PS 58 CARROLL (THE)	740	857	-13.65%
PS 310 MARBLE HILL	501	580	-13.62%
CORNERSTONE ACAD-SOCIAL ACTION-MS	203	235	-13.62%
PS 189	489	566	-13.60%
PS 212 MIDTOWN WEST	286	331	-13.60%
MS 390	471	545	-13.58%
PS 78 ANNE HUTCHINSON	592	685	-13.58%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-COBBLE HILL	382	442	-13.57%
STAR ACADEMY PS 63 (THE)	185	214	-13.55%
PS 503 SCHOOL OF DISCOVERY (THE)	742	857	-13.42%
PS 2 MEYER LONDON	363	419	-13.37%
PS 131	649	749	-13.35%
ANGELO PATRI MIDDLE SCHOOL (THE)	353	407	-13.27%
MILTON FEIN SCHOOL	425	490	-13.27%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST VOYAGER CHARTER	190	219	-13.24%
PS 94 KINGS COLLEGE SCHOOL	924	1,065	-13.24%
EAST BRONX ACADEMY FOR THE FUTURE	565	651	-13.21%
PS 19 CURTIS SCHOOL (THE)	460	530	-13.21%
NEW WORLD HIGH SCHOOL	316	364	-13.19%
PS 199 JESSIE ISADOR STRAUS	541	623	-13.16%
PS 175 LYNN GROSS DISCOVERY (THE)	667	768	-13.15%
PS 333 MANHATTAN SCHOOL-CHILDREN	503	579	-13.13%
PS 217 COL DAVID MARCUS SCHOOL	914	1,052	-13.12%
IS 181 PABLO CASALS	745	857	-13.07%
PS 209	220	253	-13.04%
PS 75 SCHOOL OF RESEARCH-DISCOVERY	454	522	-13.03%
PS 139 REGO PARK	570	655	-12.98%
PS 196 GRAND CENTRAL PARKWAY	825	948	-12.97%
SUNSET PARK PREP	458	526	-12.93%
PS 150 CHARLES JAMES FOX	538	617	-12.80%
PS 211	402	461	-12.80%
MANHATTAN COMP NIGHT AND DAY HS	546	626	-12.78%
PS 41 CROCHERON	397	455	-12.75%
JHS 14 SHELL BANK	459	526	-12.74%
IVAN LAFAYETTE EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOO	220	252	-12.70%
MIDDLE SCHOOL 322	255	292	-12.67%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACAD III	255	292	-12.67%
PS 52	290	332	-12.65%
PS 150	159	182	-12.64%
PS 380 JOHN WAYNE ELEMENTARY	422	483	-12.63%
PS 18 PARK TERRACE	277	317	-12.62%
FDNY-CAPTAIN VERNON A RICHARDS HS	236	270	-12.59%
PS/IS 137 RACHAEL JEAN MITCHELL	153	175	-12.57%
BAYCHESTER ACADEMY	327	374	-12.57%
PS 98 DOUGLASTON SCHOOL (THE)	230	263	-12.55%
ELEM SCHOOL FOR MATH, SCIENCE, TECH	237	271	-12.55%
PS 45 CLARENCE WITHERSPOON	265	303	-12.54%
MS 246 WALT WHITMAN	315	360	-12.50%
COBBLE HILL SCHOOL-AMERICAN STUDIES	414	473	-12.47%
PS 272 CURTIS ESTABROOK	344	393	-12.47%
PS 250 GEORGE H LINDSAY	316	361	-12.47%
FIORELLO H LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL	2,383	2,722	-12.45%
PS 169 SUNSET PARK	1,058	1,208	-12.42%
HIGH SCHOOL-LANGUAGE AND DIPLOMACY	212	242	-12.40%
PS 279 CAPT MANUEL RIVERA JR	779	889	-12.37%
PS 251 PAERDEGAT	341	389	-12.34%
PS 161 JUAN PONCE DE LEON SCHOOL	334	381	-12.34%
MASPETH HIGH SCHOOL	1,068	1,218	-12.32%
BROOKLYN LAB SCHOOL	356	406	-12.32%
PS 8 ISAAC VARIAN	735	838	-12.29%
NORTH BRONX SCHOOL OF EMPOWERMENT	372	424	-12.26%
PAULA HEDBAVNY SCHOOL	415	473	-12.26%
PS 242 YOUNG DIPLOMATS MAGNET	129	147	-12.24%
CONCORD HIGH SCHOOL	122	139	-12.23%
PS 290 MANHATTAN NEW SCHOOL	412	469	-12.15%
BROOKLYN ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLORATION	152	173	-12.14%
BRONX LEADERSHIP ACAD HIGH SCHOOL	348	396	-12.12%
PS 340	457	520	-12.12%
SOUTH BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL	415	472	-12.08%
PS 95 EASTWOOD	1,232	1,401	-12.06%
PS 41 FRANCIS WHITE	256	291	-12.03%
PS 140 EAGLE SCHOOL (THE)	417	474	-12.03%
JHS 220 JOHN J PERSHING	1,254	1,425	-12.00%
PS 46 ALBERT V MANISCALCO	213	242	-11.98%
BRONX GREEN MIDDLE SCHOOL	360	409	-11.98%
BRONX ENVISION ACADEMY	338	384	-11.98%
PS 13 CLEMENT C MOORE	1,103	1,253	-11.97%
PS 76 BENNINGTON SCHOOL (THE)	692	786	-11.96%
MS 302 LUISA DESSUS CRUZ	398	452	-11.95%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-PROSPECT	553	628	-11.94%
MARIE CURIE HIGH SCHOOL-NURSING	332	377	-11.94%
JHS 143 ELEANOR ROOSEVELT	192	218	-11.93%
NORTH QUEENS COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	96	109	-11.93%
JOHN V LINDSAY WILDCAT ACAD CHARTER	318	361	-11.91%
PS 158 WARWICK	429	487	-11.91%
PS 15 INST FOR ENVIRON LRNG	407	462	-11.90%
RESTORIATION ACADEMY	74	84	-11.90%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS - WASHINGTON HGTS	559	634	-11.83%
PENINSULA PREP ACAD CHARTER SCH	269	305	-11.80%
JHS 104 SIMON BARUCH	897	1,017	-11.80%
PS 277	329	373	-11.80%
PS 306	479	543	-11.79%
PS 361 E FLATBUSH EARLY CHILDHOOD	427	484	-11.78%
PS 36 SAINT ALBANS SCHOOL	286	324	-11.73%
PS 102 JACQUES CARTIER	166	188	-11.70%
PS 101 SCHOOL IN THE GARDENS	536	607	-11.70%
JHS 216 GEORGE J RYAN	1,399	1,584	-11.68%
DAVID N DINKINS SCHOOL	454	514	-11.67%
PS 100 GLEN MORRIS	750	849	-11.66%
ACAD-PERSONAL LDSHP AND EXCELLENCE	723	818	-11.61%
PS 160 WILLIAM T SAMPSON	1,005	1,137	-11.61%
LIBERATION DIPLOMA PLUS	160	181	-11.60%
JHS 223 MONTAUK (THE)	785	888	-11.60%
NEW DIRECTIONS SECONDARY SCHOOL	122	138	-11.59%
PS 37 MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE SCHOOL	504	570	-11.58%
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & APPLIED LRNG	443	501	-11.58%
MS 267 MATH, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY	176	199	-11.56%
PS 315 LAB SCHOOL	199	225	-11.56%
PS 9 RYER AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	663	749	-11.48%
MS 131	224	253	-11.46%
KEY COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCHOOL	116	131	-11.45%
PECK SLIP SCHOOL (THE)	379	428	-11.45%
PS 811 CONNIE LEKAS SCHOOL	294	332	-11.45%
BRONX DELTA SCHOOL	395	446	-11.43%
SUNSET PARK AVENUES ELEMENTARY	395	446	-11.43%
PS 71 FOREST	574	648	-11.42%
MERRICK ACADEMY-QUEENS PUBLIC CHARTE	512	578	-11.42%
JHS 8 RICHARD S GROSSLEY	396	447	-11.41%
PS 86	624	704	-11.36%
IS 289	234	264	-11.36%
PS 14 FAIRVIEW	1,141	1,287	-11.34%
FUTURE LEADERS INST CHARTER SCHOOL	344	388	-11.34%
PS 204 MORRIS HEIGHTS	549	619	-11.31%
MS 247 DUAL LANGUAGE MS	204	230	-11.30%
MANHATTAN CHARTER SCHOOL	204	230	-11.30%
PS 222 KATHERINE R SNYDER	699	788	-11.29%
IS 349 MATH, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY	252	284	-11.27%
KHALIL GIBRAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY	134	151	-11.26%
PS 71 ROSE E SCALA	1,247	1,405	-11.25%
FORT GREEN PREPARATORY ACADEMY	166	187	-11.23%
PS 202 ERNEST S JENKYNS	253	285	-11.23%
KAPPA	285	321	-11.21%
PS 165 IDA POSNER	214	241	-11.20%
PS 58 SCHOOL OF HEROES (THE)	826	930	-11.18%
PS 191 PAUL ROBESON	143	161	-11.18%
YORKVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	382	430	-11.16%
PS 54 HILLSIDE	422	475	-11.16%
BROWNSVILLE ASCEND CHARTER SCHOOL	932	1,049	-11.15%
CENTRAL PARK EAST II	383	431	-11.14%
PS 723	423	476	-11.13%
PS 164 CAESAR RODNEY	551	620	-11.13%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY	888	999	-11.11%
PS 190 SHEFFIELD	136	153	-11.11%
EDMUND W GORDON BROOKLYN LABORATORY	265	298	-11.07%
PS 138 SAMUEL RANDALL	516	580	-11.03%
PS 126 JACOB AUGUST RIIS	599	673	-11.00%
SOUTH BROOKLYN COMM HIGH SCHOOL	130	146	-10.96%
LIBERTY HIGH SCH ACAD-NEWCOMERS	317	356	-10.96%
PS 134	513	576	-10.94%
PS 153 MASPETH ELEMENTARY	841	944	-10.91%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL OF INQUIRY	469	526	-10.84%
PS 89 ELMHURST	1,371	1,537	-10.80%
PS 261 PHILIP LIVINGSTON	612	686	-10.79%
PS 57 HUBERT H HUMPHREY	515	577	-10.75%
PS 166 HENRY GRADSTEIN	798	894	-10.74%
PS 105 BAY SCHOOL (THE)	691	774	-10.72%
PS 94 HENRY LONGFELLOW (THE)	1,008	1,129	-10.72%
PS 205 FIORELLO LAGUARDIA	700	784	-10.71%
PS 29 JOHN M HARRIGAN	727	814	-10.69%
PS 207	351	393	-10.69%
PS 86 KINGSBRIDGE HEIGHTS	1,356	1,518	-10.67%
PS 1 BERGEN (THE)	847	948	-10.65%
PS 63 AUTHOR'S ACADEMY	454	508	-10.63%
PS 135 SHELDON A BROOKNER	370	414	-10.63%
PS 34 OLIVER H PERRY	404	452	-10.62%
PS 120	741	829	-10.62%
KAPPA III	320	358	-10.61%
URBAN ASSEMBLY FOR THE PERFORM ARTS	337	377	-10.61%
PS 33 EDWARD M FUNK	792	886	-10.61%
JHS 259 WILLIAM MCKINLEY	1,562	1,747	-10.59%
SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL	440	492	-10.57%
ELIJAH STROUD MIDDLE SCHOOL	127	142	-10.56%
BRONX ALLIANCE MIDDLE SCHOOL	271	303	-10.56%
PS 100 CONEY ISLAND SCHOOL (THE)	619	692	-10.55%
PS 7 SAMUEL STERN	314	351	-10.54%
PS 108 ASSEMBLYMAN ANGELO DEL TORO	382	427	-10.54%
HS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE-HEROES OF TOM	467	522	-10.54%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-HELL'S KITC	391	437	-10.53%
PS 206 HORACE HARDING SCHOOL (THE)	503	562	-10.50%
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	333	372	-10.48%
PS 264 BAY RIDGE ELEMENTARY-ARTS	376	420	-10.48%
PS 11 HIGHBRIDGE	445	497	-10.46%
JEAN NUZZI INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL	1,006	1,123	-10.42%
PS 78	594	663	-10.41%
PS 251	267	298	-10.40%
SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZENSHIP	466	520	-10.38%
PS 12 JAMES B COLGATE	952	1,062	-10.36%
LPF SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY	251	280	-10.36%
JAMES WELDON JOHNSON	554	618	-10.36%
PS 5 ELLEN LURIE	469	523	-10.33%
PS 125 RALPH BUNCHE	261	291	-10.31%
PS 165 ROBERT E SIMON	357	398	-10.30%
JHS 218 JAMES P SINNOTT	297	331	-10.27%
PS 24 SPUYTEN DUYVIL	717	799	-10.26%
PS 33 CHELSEA PREP	499	556	-10.25%
URBAN ASSEMBLY-GLOBAL COMMERCE	184	205	-10.24%
PS 229 EMANUEL KAPLAN	1,158	1,290	-10.23%
PS 81 THADDEUS STEVENS	237	264	-10.23%
PS 242 LP STAVISKY EARLY CHILDHOOD	360	401	-10.22%
JHS 189 DANIEL CARTER BEARD	643	716	-10.20%
PS 110 FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE	335	373	-10.19%
IS 238 SUSAN B ANTHONY ACADEMY	1,016	1,131	-10.17%
LEADERS OF TOMORROW	391	435	-10.11%
BILINGUAL BICULTURAL SCHOOL (THE)	240	267	-10.11%
PS 132 CONSELYEA SCHOOL (THE)	614	683	-10.10%
PS 199 SHAKESPEARE SCHOOL (THE)	534	594	-10.10%
JHS 291 ROLAND HAYES	276	307	-10.10%
JHS 217 ROBERT A VAN WYCK	1,426	1,586	-10.09%
PS 22 THOMAS JEFFERSON	741	824	-10.07%
PS 721 STEPHEN MCSWEENEY SCHOOL	527	586	-10.07%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 6	295	328	-10.06%
METROPOLITAN DIPLOMA PLUS HIGH SCH	179	199	-10.05%
PS 254 DAG HAMMARSKJOLD	618	687	-10.04%
PS 233	493	548	-10.04%
PS 11 KATHRYN PHELAN	747	830	-10.00%
PS 1 COURTLANDT SCHOOL	477	530	-10.00%
NYC AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOL EAST HARLE	36	40	-10.00%
PS 28 THOMAS EMANUEL EARLY CHILD CTR	388	431	-9.98%
HS FOR LANGUAGE-INNOVATION	325	361	-9.97%
JHS 210 ELIZABETH BLACKWELL	1,536	1,706	-9.96%
JHS 167 ROBERT F WAGNER	1,148	1,275	-9.96%
PS 346 ABE STARK	434	482	-9.96%
PS 152 GWENDOLINE N ALLEYNE	745	827	-9.92%
GIRLS PREP CHARTER SCH-BRONX	664	737	-9.91%
BRONX THEATRE HIGH SCHOOL	282	313	-9.90%
BRONXDALE HIGH SCHOOL	410	455	-9.89%
HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL	2,593	2,877	-9.87%
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS-INTER SUPP	212	235	-9.79%
QUEENS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	295	327	-9.79%
PS 47 JOHN RANDOLPH	839	930	-9.78%
SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL LEADERS	166	184	-9.78%
PS 41 GUN HILL ROAD	646	716	-9.78%
ACADEMY OF TALENTED SCHOLARS (THE)	342	379	-9.76%
DR EMMETT W BASSETT SCHOOL (THE)	565	626	-9.74%
PS/IS 384 FRANCES E CARTER	362	401	-9.73%
PS 41 GREENWICH VILLAGE	492	545	-9.72%
BRONX SCHOOL OF YOUNG LEADERS (THE)	409	453	-9.71%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-HUDSON YARDS	372	412	-9.71%
TEACHERS PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	140	155	-9.68%
RONALD EDMONDS LEARNING CTR II	159	176	-9.66%
SCHOOL OF MATH, SCIENCE, HEALTHY	234	259	-9.65%
GREGORY JOCKO JACKSON-SPORTS-ARTS	234	259	-9.65%
PS 173	395	437	-9.61%
PS 69 JOURNEY PREP SCHOOL	511	565	-9.56%
EXCELLENCE BOYS CHAR SCH-BED STUY	606	670	-9.55%
PS 98 SHORAC KAPPOCK	332	367	-9.54%
PS 306 ETHAN ALLEN	257	284	-9.51%
PS 51	191	211	-9.48%
PS 133 WILLIAM A BUTLER	602	665	-9.47%
PS 43 JONAS BRONCK	316	349	-9.46%
VIDA BOGART SCHOOL FOR ALL CHILDREN	499	551	-9.44%
PS 198 ISADOR E IDA STRAUS	413	456	-9.43%
PS 26 JESSE OWENS	183	202	-9.41%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHL-LEADER-EMPOWER	530	585	-9.40%
PS 536	318	351	-9.40%
MOTT HALL II	358	395	-9.37%
BRONX CENTER FOR SCI & MATH	397	438	-9.36%
IS 229 ROLAND PATTERSON	184	203	-9.36%
PS 44 DAVID C FARRAGUT	223	246	-9.35%
BRONX COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL	476	525	-9.33%
BROOKLYN NEW SCHOOL-PS 146 (THE)	651	718	-9.33%
MS 224 MANHATTAN EAST	185	204	-9.31%
PS 134 GEORGE F BRISTOW	448	494	-9.31%
PS 161 PEDRO ALBIZU CAMPOS	614	677	-9.31%
PS/IS 218 R H DUAL LANG MAGNET	908	1,001	-9.29%
PS 221 TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE	166	183	-9.29%
PS 9 SARAH ANDERSON	470	518	-9.27%
PS/IS 45 HORACE E GREENE	519	572	-9.27%
PS 254 ROSA PARKS SCHOOL (THE)	529	583	-9.26%
JHS 144 MICHELANGELO	392	432	-9.26%
PS 111 JACOB BLACKWELL	294	324	-9.26%
WALTON AVENUE SCHOOL (THE)	402	443	-9.26%
PS 89	1,267	1,396	-9.24%
PS 150	835	920	-9.24%
PS 159 ISAAC PITKIN	629	693	-9.24%
PS 30 WESTERLEIGH	698	769	-9.23%
PS 235 JANICE MARIE KNIGHT SCHOOL	1,007	1,109	-9.20%
PS 21 CRISPUS ATTUCKS	484	533	-9.19%
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY	367	404	-9.16%
PS 182	516	568	-9.15%
PS 15 PATRICK F DALY	387	426	-9.15%
EXPLORE EXCEED CHARTER SCHOOL	418	460	-9.13%
PS 257 JOHN F HYLAN	469	516	-9.11%
PS 207 ELIZABETH G LEARY	929	1,022	-9.10%
PS 11 WILLIAM T HARRIS	730	803	-9.09%
HEBREW LANGUAGE ACADEMY CHARTER 2	300	330	-9.09%
HEBREW LANGUAGE ACADEMY CHARTER	541	595	-9.08%
DISCOVERY HIGH SCHOOL	422	464	-9.05%
EPIC HIGH SCHOOL - NORTH	383	421	-9.03%
PS 102 BAYVIEW (THE)	1,181	1,298	-9.01%
IS 59 SPRINGFIELD GARDENS	465	511	-9.00%
GLOBAL LEARNING COLLABORATIVE (THE)	415	456	-8.99%
COLLEGE ACADEMY (THE)	325	357	-8.96%
RIVER EAST ELEMENTARY	244	268	-8.96%
PS 165 EDITH K BERGTRAUM	652	716	-8.94%
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY	510	560	-8.93%
EAST BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	143	157	-8.92%
IRWIN ALTMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL 172	893	980	-8.88%
PS/IS 157 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN	298	327	-8.87%
NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL	247	271	-8.86%
47 AMER SIGN LANG & ENG LOWER	175	192	-8.85%
ROBERT F KENNEDY COMMUNITY HS	599	657	-8.83%
BATTERY PARK CITY SCHOOL	726	796	-8.79%
NEW EXPLORATIONS SCI, TECH & MATH	1,639	1,797	-8.79%
JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL	3,499	3,836	-8.79%
LIBERTY AVENUE MIDDLE SCHOOL	488	535	-8.79%
PS 15 ROBERTO CLEMENTE	177	194	-8.76%
PARK SLOPE COLLEGIATE	625	685	-8.76%
GRANT AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	375	411	-8.76%
PS 35 CLOVE VALLEY SCHOOL (THE)	386	423	-8.75%
SAMARA COMMUNITY SCHOOL	251	275	-8.73%
VOYAGES PREPARATORY	199	218	-8.72%
MANHATTAN VILLAGE ACADEMY	419	459	-8.71%
PS 108 CAPTAIN VINCENT G FOWLER	1,177	1,289	-8.69%
MS 596	368	403	-8.68%
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE CAREER/TECH HS	663	726	-8.68%
VOICE CHARTER SCHOOL OF NEW YORK	664	727	-8.67%
PS 103 HECTOR FONTANEZ	749	820	-8.66%
IS 364 GATEWAY	190	208	-8.65%
SCIENCE SKILLS CENTER HIGH SCHOOL	528	578	-8.65%
BROOKLYN ASCEND CHARTER SCHOOL	1,511	1,654	-8.65%
30TH AVENUE SCHOOL (THE)	488	534	-8.61%
PS/MS 498 VAN NEST ACADEMY	585	640	-8.59%
IS 237	1,203	1,316	-8.59%
PS 108 SAL ABBRACCIAMENTO	781	854	-8.55%
PS 122 MAMIE FAY	1,156	1,264	-8.54%
URBAN DOVE TEAM CHARTER SCHOOL	236	258	-8.53%
PS 93 WILLIAM H PRESCOTT	161	176	-8.52%
DEMOCRACY PREP HARLEM CHARTER SCHOOL	1,052	1,150	-8.52%
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOL	526	575	-8.52%
RIVERDALE/KINGSBRIDGE (MS/HS 141)	1,439	1,573	-8.52%
PS 61 FRANCISCO OLLER	237	259	-8.49%
PS 109 SEDGWICK	485	530	-8.49%
ROCKAWAY COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	259	283	-8.48%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-HARLEM 1	1,285	1,404	-8.48%
PS 16 NANCY DEBENEDITTIS SCHOOL (THE	1,188	1,298	-8.47%
BRONX COLLABORATIVE HIGH SCHOOL	497	543	-8.47%
PS 31 WILLIAM T DAVIS	335	366	-8.47%
BACCALAUREATE SCHOOL-GLOBAL ED	530	579	-8.46%
PS 114 LUIS LLORENS TORRES SCHOOL	541	591	-8.46%
PS 65 RAYMOND YORK ELEMENTARY	390	426	-8.45%
BALLET TECH/NYC PS FOR DANCE	130	142	-8.45%
PS 124 YUNG WING	596	651	-8.45%
CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP SCHOOL (THE)	282	308	-8.44%
PS 225 EILEEN E ZAGLIN (THE)	869	949	-8.43%
TOMPKINS SQUARE MIDDLE SCHOOL	326	356	-8.43%
PS 153 ADAM CLAYTON POWELL	392	428	-8.41%
PS 192 MAGNET SCHOOL-MATH AND SCI	589	643	-8.40%
PS 70 MAX SCHOENFELD	830	906	-8.39%
PS 175 HENRY H GARNET	284	310	-8.39%
FORT HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL	4,255	4,644	-8.38%
SCHOLARS' ACADEMY	1,139	1,243	-8.37%
JHS 22 JORDAN L MOTT	318	347	-8.36%
PS 224 HALE A WOODRUFF	253	276	-8.33%
PS 156 WAVERLY	474	517	-8.32%
PS 233 LANGSTON HUGHES	276	301	-8.31%
YORKVILLE EAST MIDDLE SCHOOL	221	241	-8.30%
PS 128 AUDUBON	531	579	-8.29%
JHS 74 NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE	1,020	1,112	-8.27%
PS 220 EDWARD MANDEL	588	641	-8.27%
TEACHERS COLLEGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	344	375	-8.27%
COMPASS CHARTER SCHOOL	300	327	-8.26%
JHS 201 DYKER HEIGHTS (THE)	1,579	1,721	-8.25%
PS/MS 114 BELLE HARBOR	591	644	-8.23%
URBAN SCHOLARS COMMUNITY SCHOOL	357	389	-8.23%
LEADERSHIP PREP CANARSIE CHARTER SCH	783	853	-8.21%
VISTA ACADEMY	437	476	-8.19%
HS-DUAL LANGUAGE & ASIAN STUDIES	370	403	-8.19%
HUNTERS POINT COMMUNITY MS	382	416	-8.17%
PS 90 HORACE MANN	618	673	-8.17%
ACADEMY FOR HEALTH CAREERS	259	282	-8.16%
MOTT HALL SCHOOL (THE)	248	270	-8.15%
PS 197 OCEAN SCHOOL (THE)	408	444	-8.11%
PS 245	238	259	-8.11%
MS 35 STEPHEN DECATUR	170	185	-8.11%
MS 137 AMERICA'S SCHOOL OF HEROES	1,768	1,923	-8.06%
NEW VOICES SCH-ACAD & CREATIVE ARTS	526	572	-8.04%
IS 171 ABRAHAM LINCOLN	309	336	-8.04%
PS 48 MAPLETON	516	561	-8.02%
PS/IS 266	540	587	-8.01%
PS 312 BERGEN BEACH	645	701	-7.99%
PS 28 WRIGHT BROTHERS	427	464	-7.97%
PS 5 PORT MORRIS	566	615	-7.97%
LOWER MANHATTAN COMMUNITY MS	347	377	-7.96%
ARCHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	359	390	-7.95%
LAB SCHOOL OF FIN & TECH: X223	661	718	-7.94%
PS 368	232	252	-7.94%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 4	302	328	-7.93%
JHS 234 ARTHUR W CUNNINGHAM	1,301	1,413	-7.93%
PS 59 COMM SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY	430	467	-7.92%
PS 87 WILLIAM SHERMAN	629	683	-7.91%
PS 226	338	367	-7.90%
PS 161 ARTHUR ASHE SCHOOL	537	583	-7.89%
LAFAYETTE ACADEMY	164	178	-7.87%
MS 61 DR GLADSTONE H ATWELL	457	496	-7.86%
HYDE LEADERSHIP CS-BROOKLYN	528	573	-7.85%
PS/IS 104 FORT HAMILTON SCHOOL (THE)	1,104	1,198	-7.85%
MOTT HALL III	329	357	-7.84%
PS 81 ROBERT J CHRISTEN	683	741	-7.83%
SEEALL ACADEMY (THE)	955	1,036	-7.82%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST ENDEAVOR CHARTER	790	857	-7.82%
HARBOR VIEW SCHOOL (THE)	283	307	-7.82%
BRONX STEM AND ARTS ACADEMY (THE)	177	192	-7.81%
PS 371 LILLIAN L RASHKIS	201	218	-7.80%
GROWING UP GREEN CHARTER SCHOOL	758	822	-7.79%
PS 164 QUEENS VALLEY	569	617	-7.78%
CHILDREN'S AID COLLEGE PREP CHARTER	581	630	-7.78%
PS 95 SHEILA MENCHER	949	1,029	-7.77%
PS/IS 155 NICHOLAS HERKIMER	309	335	-7.76%
EBBETS FIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL	119	129	-7.75%
PS 110 MONITOR (THE)	488	529	-7.75%
PS 56 LEWIS H LATIMER	250	271	-7.75%
PS 48 JOSEPH R DRAKE	501	543	-7.73%
PS 159	597	647	-7.73%
PS/MS 29 MELROSE SCHOOL	705	764	-7.72%
JHS 127 CASTLE HILL (THE)	801	868	-7.72%
PS 106 PARKCHESTER	897	972	-7.72%
PS 42 CLAREMONT	311	337	-7.72%
PS 180 HUGO NEWMAN	397	430	-7.67%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-BUSHWICK	482	522	-7.66%
HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY EAST CHARTER	603	653	-7.66%
PS 157 GROVE HILL	486	526	-7.60%
YOUNG VOICES ACADEMY-BRONX	365	395	-7.59%
EAST HARLEM SCHOLARS ACADEMY CS II	487	527	-7.59%
PS 118 LORRAINE HANSBERRY	379	410	-7.56%
PS 72 DR WILLIAM DORNEY	624	675	-7.56%
PS 40 AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS	612	662	-7.55%
IS 318 EUGENIO MARIA DE HOSTOS	1,179	1,275	-7.53%
PS/MS 20 PO GEORGE J WERDAN III	789	853	-7.50%
PS 124 OSMOND A CHURCH	999	1,080	-7.50%
PS 214 CADWALLADER COLDEN	347	375	-7.47%
PS 396	248	268	-7.46%
ACADEMY OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY	422	456	-7.46%
JOSEPH F QUINN IS 77	721	779	-7.45%
PS 172 BEACON SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE	523	565	-7.43%
BROOKLYN PROSPECT CHARTER-CSD 13	636	687	-7.42%
BRONX HIGH SCH-WRITING & COMM ARTS	237	256	-7.42%
PS 6 WEST FARMS	462	499	-7.41%
EXCELLENCE GIRLS CHARTER SCHOOL	1,277	1,379	-7.40%
URBAN ASSMBLY SCH-DESIGN & CONST	238	257	-7.39%
PS 75 EMILY DICKINSON	439	474	-7.38%
PS 144 COL JEROMUS REMSEN	830	896	-7.37%
PS 139 ALEXINE A FENTY	770	831	-7.34%
QUEENS PREPARATORY ACADEMY	215	232	-7.33%
PS 23 NEW CHILDREN'S SCHOOL (THE)	367	396	-7.32%
PS 198	304	328	-7.32%
PS 249 CATON (THE)	748	807	-7.31%
PS 140 EDWARD K ELLINGTON	368	397	-7.30%
PS 66 SCHOOL OF HIGHER EXPECTATIONS	470	507	-7.30%
MILLENNIUM HIGH SCHOOL	648	699	-7.30%
PS 44 THOMAS C BROWN	585	631	-7.29%
MOTT HALL BRIDGES ACADEMY	191	206	-7.28%
PS 25 BILINGUAL SCHOOL	484	522	-7.28%
PS 154	549	592	-7.26%
ELLA BAKER SCHOOL	320	345	-7.25%
NEW VISIONS CHTR HS-ADV MA/SCI III	296	319	-7.21%
PS 219 PAUL KLAPPER	580	625	-7.20%
PS 197 JOHN B RUSSWURM	220	237	-7.17%
PS 17	506	545	-7.16%
PS 32 STATE STREET	884	952	-7.14%
SCHOOL FOR INQUIRY & SOCIAL JUSTICE	429	462	-7.14%
JHS 162 WILLOUGHBY (THE)	299	322	-7.14%
PS 13 ROBERTO CLEMENTE	365	393	-7.12%
LIFE ACAD HS FOR FILM AND MUSIC	235	253	-7.11%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP	222	239	-7.11%
PS 236 MILL BASIN	523	563	-7.10%
BRONX LEADERSHIP ACAD II HIGH SCHOOL	458	493	-7.10%
CITY KNOLL MIDDLE SCHOOL	118	127	-7.09%
IS 98 BAY ACADEMY	1,549	1,667	-7.08%
HS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES	1,104	1,188	-7.07%
PS 32 BELMONT	618	665	-7.07%
PS 329 SURFSIDE	329	354	-7.06%
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL	882	949	-7.06%
PS 3 RAUL JULIA MICRO SOCIETY	303	326	-7.06%
PS 188 KINGSBURY	674	725	-7.03%
PS 115 DANIEL MUCATEL SCHOOL	767	825	-7.03%
PS 65	477	513	-7.02%
SCIENCE & MEDICINE MIDDLE SCHOOL	359	386	-6.99%
PS 186 WALTER J DAMROSCH SCHOOL	654	703	-6.97%
PS 21 EDWARD HART	1,137	1,222	-6.96%
PS 183 ROBERT L STEVENSON	511	549	-6.92%
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ART	485	521	-6.91%
JHS 50 JOHN D WELLS	310	333	-6.91%
PS 21 PHILIP H SHERIDAN	486	522	-6.90%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 7	297	319	-6.90%
PS 62 CHESTER PARK SCHOOL	824	885	-6.89%
PS 191 MAYFLOWER	365	392	-6.89%
JHS 54 BOOKER T WASHINGTON	771	828	-6.88%
EXPLORE EMPOWER CHARTER SCH	460	494	-6.88%
NEW SCHOOL-LEADERSHIP & JOURNAL	636	683	-6.88%
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL	596	640	-6.88%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 3	298	320	-6.88%
PS 149 CHRISTA MCAULIFFE	800	859	-6.87%
NEW HEIGHTS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	721	774	-6.85%
BROOKLYN INTERNATIONAL HS	314	337	-6.82%
PS 114 RYDER ELEMENTARY	396	425	-6.82%
PS 1 ALFRED E SMITH	219	235	-6.81%
PS 75 MAYDA CORTIELLA	233	250	-6.80%
DR JACQUELINE PEEK-DAVIS SCHOOL	192	206	-6.80%
MURRAY HILL ACADEMY	247	265	-6.79%
PS 36 MARGARET DOUGLAS	289	310	-6.77%
EXIMIUS COLLEGE PREP ACADEMY	372	399	-6.77%
EMMA LAZARUS HIGH SCHOOL	221	237	-6.75%
PS 140	318	341	-6.74%
PS 215 MORRIS H WEISS	710	761	-6.70%
MADIBA PREP MIDDLE SCHOOL	209	224	-6.70%
DEMOCRACY PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	669	717	-6.69%
SO BRONX ACADEMY-APPLIED MEDIA	223	239	-6.69%
JAMAICA CHILDREN'S SCHOOL	223	239	-6.69%
IS 528 BEA FULLER RODGERS SCHOOL	237	254	-6.69%
PS 110	893	957	-6.69%
RALPH R MCKEE CAREER-TECH HIGH SCH	788	844	-6.64%
PS 66 JACQUELINE KENNEDY-ONASSIS	465	498	-6.63%
PS 7 ABRAHAM LINCOLN	663	710	-6.62%
SHERIDAN ACADEMY FOR YOUNG LEADERS	467	500	-6.60%
PS/IS 208	680	728	-6.59%
CONSELYEA PREPARATORY SCHOOL	441	472	-6.57%
PS 146 HOWARD BEACH	513	549	-6.56%
BGLIG-SHIRLEY RODRIGUEZ-REMENESKI CS	371	397	-6.55%
PS 35	243	260	-6.54%
RENAISSANCE SCHOOL OF THE ARTS	186	199	-6.53%
PS 205 CLARION	1,163	1,244	-6.51%
IS 75 FRANK D PAULO	1,350	1,444	-6.51%
PS 148	675	722	-6.51%
PS 209 CLEARVIEW GARDENS	518	554	-6.50%
QUEENS SCHOOL FOR LDSHP-EXCELLENCE	564	603	-6.47%
PS 199 FREDERICK WACHTEL	510	545	-6.42%
BEDFORD STUY COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCH	336	359	-6.41%
PS 117 J KELD/BRIARWOOD SCHOOL	806	861	-6.39%
SOUTH RICHMOND HIGH SCH IS/PS 25	557	595	-6.39%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS - BENSONHURST	601	642	-6.39%
BUSHWICK ASCEND CHARTER SCHOOL	836	893	-6.38%
TAG YOUNG SCHOLARS	528	564	-6.38%
PS 246 POE CENTER	543	580	-6.38%
YOUNG WOMENS LEADERSHIP SCH-BROOKLY	353	377	-6.37%
SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE BROOKLYN	103	110	-6.36%
PS 105 BLYTHEBOURNE (THE)	1,275	1,361	-6.32%
AMPARK NEIGHBORHOOD	341	364	-6.32%
PS 34 JOHN HARVARD	506	540	-6.30%
PS 214	926	988	-6.28%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-HARLEM 3	1,181	1,260	-6.27%
BRONX SCHOOL OF LAW & FINANCE	329	351	-6.27%
PS 22 GRANITEVILLE	793	846	-6.26%
PS/MS 42 R VERNAM	572	610	-6.23%
HARBOR SCI & ARTS CHARTER SCHOOL	211	225	-6.22%
PS 174 WILLIAM SIDNEY MOUNT	558	595	-6.22%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE	332	354	-6.21%
IS 73 FRANK SANSIVIERI INTER SCHOOL	1,962	2,092	-6.21%
PS 31 SAMUEL F DUPONT	544	580	-6.21%
KNOWLEDGE, POWER PREP ACAD INTER HS	379	404	-6.19%
MS 245 COMPUTER SCHOOL (THE)	364	388	-6.19%
JHS 185 EDWARD BLEEKER	1,309	1,395	-6.16%
MS 442 CARROLL GARDENS SCHOOL	335	357	-6.16%
CHRISTA MCAULIFFE SCH (THE)/IS 187	929	990	-6.16%
JOHN BOWNE HIGH SCHOOL	3,077	3,279	-6.16%
URBAN ASSEMBLY BRONX OF LETTERS	579	617	-6.16%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS	305	325	-6.15%
TALENT UNLIMITED HIGH SCHOOL	489	521	-6.14%
QUEENS EXPLORERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	428	456	-6.14%
PS 99 ISAAC ASIMOV	795	847	-6.14%
PS 3 CHARRETTE SCHOOL	566	603	-6.14%
COLUMBIA SECONDARY SCHOOL	658	701	-6.13%
PS 226 ALFRED DE B MASON	888	946	-6.13%
NYC LAB MS-COLLABORATIVE STUDIES	537	572	-6.12%
PS 115 ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT	369	393	-6.11%
IS 93 RIDGEWOOD	1,019	1,085	-6.08%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HS-HUMANITIES	541	576	-6.08%
IS 5 WALTER CROWLEY INTERMEDIATE	1,552	1,652	-6.05%
FAMILY LIFE ACADEMY CHARTER	388	413	-6.05%
PS 186 DR IRVING A GLADSTONE	995	1,059	-6.04%
KAPPA VI	265	282	-6.03%
EVERGREEN MS-URBAN EXPLORATION	344	366	-6.01%
PS 21 MARGARET EMERY-ELM PARK	376	400	-6.00%
PS 119 AMERSFORT	392	417	-6.00%
PS 208 ELSA EBELING	283	301	-5.98%
PS 55 MAURE	456	485	-5.98%
PS 192 JACOB H SCHIFF	299	318	-5.97%
EXPLORE EXCEL CHARTER SCHOOL	537	571	-5.95%
BROOKLYN EXCELSIOR CHARTER SCH	667	709	-5.92%
PS 49 WILLIS AVENUE	556	591	-5.92%
PS 184 NEWPORT	429	456	-5.92%
IS 141 STEINWAY (THE)	1,097	1,166	-5.92%
YORK EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY	591	628	-5.89%
PS/IS 113 ANTHONY J PRANZO	791	840	-5.83%
ACTIVE LEARNING ELEMENTARY SCH (THE)	453	481	-5.82%
PS 360	341	362	-5.80%
PS 31 BAYSIDE	423	449	-5.79%
BRONX ARENA HIGH SCHOOL	114	121	-5.79%
PS 18 WINCHESTER	424	450	-5.78%
PAVE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	473	502	-5.78%
MARK TWAIN IS 239-GIFTED & TALENTED	1,258	1,335	-5.77%
PS 209 MARGARET MEAD	654	694	-5.76%
PERFORMING ARTS & TECH HS	327	347	-5.76%
PS 7 LOUIS F SIMEONE	1,194	1,267	-5.76%
PS/IS 224	230	244	-5.74%
PS 121	723	767	-5.74%
PS 199 MAURICE A FITZGERALD	577	612	-5.72%
PS 188	529	561	-5.70%
NYC CHARTER SCHOOL OF THE ARTS	248	263	-5.70%
PS 52 SHEEPSHEAD BAY	711	754	-5.70%
PS 83 LUIS MUNOZ RIVERA	331	351	-5.70%
CANARSIE ASCEND CHARTER SCHOOL	1,061	1,125	-5.69%
CULTURAL ACADEMY-ARTS AND SCIENCES	199	211	-5.69%
CELIA CRUZ BRONX HS OF MUSIC (THE)	432	458	-5.68%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HS-ADV MATH/SCIE	482	511	-5.68%
PS 60 ALICE AUSTEN	715	758	-5.67%
MS 51 WILLIAM ALEXANDER	1,081	1,146	-5.67%
PS 201 DISCOVERY SCHOOL (THE)	416	441	-5.67%
WILLIAMSBURG COLLEGIATE CHRTR SCH	250	265	-5.66%
NEIGHBORHOOD CHARTER SCHOOL OF HARLE	634	672	-5.65%
DOCK STREET SCHOOL-STEAM STUDIES	267	283	-5.65%
HAMILTON GRANGE MIDDLE SCHOOL	318	337	-5.64%
PS 35 FRANZ SIEGEL	452	479	-5.64%
HARLEM PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	989	1,048	-5.63%
BROOKLYN LANDMARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	386	409	-5.62%
PS 179 KENSINGTON	723	766	-5.61%
HYDE LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL	942	998	-5.61%
PS 136 ROY WILKINS	455	482	-5.60%
PS 85 GREAT EXPECTATIONS	726	769	-5.59%
BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL-LAW AND TECH	591	626	-5.59%
CORNERSTONE ACAD FOR SOCIAL ACTION	304	322	-5.59%
BRONX LATIN SCHOOL	524	555	-5.59%
PS 80 THURGOOD MARSHALL MAGNET	372	394	-5.58%
PS 177 MARLBORO (THE)	884	936	-5.56%
PS 150 CHRISTOPHER	153	162	-5.56%
NUASIN NEXT GENERATION CHARTER SCH	647	685	-5.55%
CURTIS HIGH SCHOOL	2,320	2,456	-5.54%
PS 84 LILLIAN WEBER	580	614	-5.54%
PS 214 MICHAEL FRIEDSAM	769	814	-5.53%
LONG ISLAND CITY HIGH SCHOOL	2,027	2,145	-5.50%
PS 42 ELTINGVILLE	998	1,056	-5.49%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE VISUAL ART	448	474	-5.49%
NEW DAWN CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	242	256	-5.47%
PS 120 CARLOS TAPIA	329	348	-5.46%
MS 582	329	348	-5.46%
PS 369 COY L COX SCHOOL	485	513	-5.46%
PS 36 UNIONPORT	693	733	-5.46%
PS 116 MARY LINDLEY MURRAY	382	404	-5.45%
PS 232 LINDENWOOD	836	884	-5.43%
PS 178 DR SELMAN WAKSMAN	331	350	-5.43%
PS 88 SENECA	664	702	-5.41%
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL	2,013	2,128	-5.40%
JOHN ADAMS HIGH SCHOOL	2,294	2,425	-5.40%
PS 247	753	796	-5.40%
PS 46 EDGAR ALLAN POE	686	725	-5.38%
PS 107 JOHN W KIMBALL	475	502	-5.38%
ESSEX STREET ACADEMY	353	373	-5.36%
OPPORTUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL	424	448	-5.36%
EMILY WARREN ROEBLING SCHOOL	584	617	-5.35%
CRESTON ACADEMY	427	451	-5.32%
BRILLA PAX CHARTER SCHOOL	89	94	-5.32%
PS 46 ARTHUR TAPPAN	463	489	-5.32%
ACADEMY OF APPLIED MATH AND TECH	285	301	-5.32%
KIPP STAR COLLEGE PREP CHARTER	784	828	-5.31%
LEON M GOLDSTEIN HIGH SCH-SCIENCES	965	1,019	-5.30%
IS 230	1,073	1,133	-5.30%
PS 92 HARRY T STEWART SR	805	850	-5.29%
RALPH A FABRIZIO SCHOOL	913	964	-5.29%
PS 97 FOREST PARK	591	624	-5.29%
SPRING CREEK COMMUNITY SCHOOL	502	530	-5.28%
NEW VISIONS CHTR HS-ADV MA/SCI II	556	587	-5.28%
PS 239	449	474	-5.27%
ACADEMY OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY	683	721	-5.27%
BROOKLYN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ACA	342	361	-5.26%
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD MIDDLE	198	209	-5.26%
MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH SCH AT LAGUARDIA	487	514	-5.25%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONS	451	476	-5.25%
PS 76 WILLIAM HALLET	379	400	-5.25%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN	326	344	-5.23%
PS 54 SAMUEL C BARNES	163	172	-5.23%
PS 203 OAKLAND GARDENS	763	805	-5.22%
BLUEPRINT MIDDLE SCHOOL	530	559	-5.19%
PS 160 WALTER FRANCIS BISHOP	586	618	-5.18%
PS 26 RUFUS KING	641	676	-5.18%
EAST SIDE ELEMENTARY-PS 267	385	406	-5.17%
IS 117 JOSEPH H WADE	385	406	-5.17%
PS 16 WAKEFIELD	277	292	-5.14%
LYONS COMMUNITY SCHOOL	388	409	-5.13%
NEW UTRECHT HIGH SCHOOL	3,371	3,553	-5.12%
FAMILY LIFE ACADEMY CHARTER SCH II	760	801	-5.12%
IS 49 BERTA A DREYFUS	594	626	-5.11%
ALL CITY LEADERSHIP SECONDARY SCH	409	431	-5.10%
IS 192 LINDEN (THE)	391	412	-5.10%
PS 56 NORWOOD HEIGHTS	634	668	-5.09%
JHS 67 LOUIS PASTEUR	991	1,044	-5.08%
COMMUNITY HEALTH ACAD OF THE HEIGHTS	619	652	-5.06%
PS 90 EDNA COHEN SCHOOL	488	514	-5.06%
PS 50 TALFOURD LAWN ELEMENTARY	752	792	-5.05%
PS 748 BROOKLYN SCH-GLOBAL SCHOLARS	470	495	-5.05%
PS 123	546	575	-5.04%
DOS PUENTES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	396	417	-5.04%
JHS 278 MARINE PARK	1,190	1,253	-5.03%
PS 527 EAST SIDE SCHOOL-SOCIAL ACTIO	435	458	-5.02%
MANHATTAN CENTER-SCIENCE & MATH	1,551	1,633	-5.02%
DR SUSAN S MCKINNEY SEC SCH-ARTS	303	319	-5.02%
PS 162 JOHN GOLDEN	550	579	-5.01%
PS 993	569	599	-5.01%
PS 811	588	619	-5.01%
SIXTH AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	342	360	-5.00%
CULTURAL ARTS ACADEMY-SPRING CREEK	228	240	-5.00%
PS 69 JACKSON HEIGHTS	818	861	-4.99%
PS 207 ROCKWOOD PARK	630	663	-4.98%
PS 321 WILLIAM PENN	1,223	1,287	-4.97%
BRONX EARLY COL ACAD-TEACH/LEARN	478	503	-4.97%
ISAAC NEWTON MS FOR MATH & SCI	306	322	-4.97%
PS 238 ANNE SULLIVAN	574	604	-4.97%
IS 27 ANNING S PRALL	995	1,047	-4.97%
ROBERT F WAGNER JR SECONDARY SCHOOL	613	645	-4.96%
BRONX RIVER HIGH SCHOOL	441	464	-4.96%
ASTOR COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	461	485	-4.95%
PARK EAST HIGH SCHOOL	366	385	-4.94%
WINDSOR TERRACE SCHOOL (THE)	424	446	-4.93%
BRONX SCHOOL FOR LAW, GOV, JUSTICE	715	752	-4.92%
PS 194 COUNTEE CULLEN	155	163	-4.91%
HARVEST COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	446	469	-4.90%
PS 182 SAMANTHA SMITH	602	633	-4.90%
IS 303 LEADERSHIP & COMM SERVICE	311	327	-4.89%
NEW VISIONS CHTR HS-HUMANITIES III	175	184	-4.89%
MANHATTAN BRIDGES HIGH SCHOOL	488	513	-4.87%
PS 145 BLOOMINGDALE SCHOOL (THE)	371	390	-4.87%
PS 153 HOMECREST	528	555	-4.86%
GROVER CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL	1,487	1,563	-4.86%
JHS 80 MOSHOLU PARKWAY (THE)	568	597	-4.86%
IS 584	216	227	-4.85%
MIDDLE VILLAGE PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	393	413	-4.84%
PS 95 GRAVESEND (THE)	944	992	-4.84%
PS 280 HOME OF THE LIONHEARTS	512	538	-4.83%
PS 133 FRED R MOORE	197	207	-4.83%
EAST SIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL	416	437	-4.81%
PS 63 OLD SOUTH	1,035	1,087	-4.78%
BRONXWOOD PREP ACADEMY (THE)	341	358	-4.75%
LEADERSHIP PREP OCEAN HILL CHARTER	1,284	1,348	-4.75%
JHS 157 STEPHEN A HALSEY	1,567	1,645	-4.74%
ONE WORLD MS AT EDENWALD	322	338	-4.73%
HILLSIDE ARTS & LETTERS ACADEMY	424	445	-4.72%
PS 29 BARDWELL	607	637	-4.71%
RENAISSANCE HIGH SCHOOL-MTA	426	447	-4.70%
NAPLES STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	284	298	-4.70%
PS 290 JUAN MOREL CAMPOS	366	384	-4.69%
JHS 227 EDWARD B SHALLOW	1,466	1,538	-4.68%
PS 65 ACAD OF INNOVATIVE LEARNING	387	406	-4.68%
PS 194 RAOUL WALLENBERG	489	513	-4.68%
FRANCIS LEWIS HIGH SCHOOL	4,198	4,404	-4.68%
PS 230 DORIS L COHEN	1,007	1,056	-4.64%
URBAN ASSEMBLY INST OF MATH AND SCIE	473	496	-4.64%
PS 39 FRANCIS J MURPHY JR	473	496	-4.64%
PS 373 BROOKLYN TRANSITION CENTER	453	475	-4.63%
PS 373	579	607	-4.61%
BROOKLYN STUDIO SECONDARY SCHOOL	910	954	-4.61%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST E NY CHARTER SCH	1,159	1,215	-4.61%
COLLABORATIVE ARTS MIDDLE SCHOOL	373	391	-4.60%
QUEENS SCHOOL OF INQUIRY (THE)	581	609	-4.60%
PS 213 CARL ULLMAN SCHOOL (THE)	415	435	-4.60%
JHS 190 RUSSELL SAGE	1,080	1,132	-4.59%
HAWTREE CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL	374	392	-4.59%
MOSAIC PREPARATORY ACADEMY	209	219	-4.57%
BROOKLYN ARBOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	544	570	-4.56%
EXPLORE CHARTER SCHOOL	544	570	-4.56%
PS 17 HENRY DAVID THOREAU	546	572	-4.55%
BRONX WRITING ACADEMY	315	330	-4.55%
PS 200 BENSON SCHOOL	1,241	1,300	-4.54%
R HOLDER SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE	821	860	-4.53%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL FOR MUSIC & THEATER	274	287	-4.53%
IS 25 ADRIEN BLOCK	991	1,038	-4.53%
PS 107	485	508	-4.53%
UNIVERSITY PREP CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	443	464	-4.53%
PS 69 DANIEL D TOMPKINS	845	885	-4.52%
PS 110 THEODORE SCHOENFELD	338	354	-4.52%
QUEST TO LEARN	574	601	-4.49%
PS 55 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN	512	536	-4.48%
HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY WEST CHARTER	790	827	-4.47%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LRDSHP SCHOOL	556	582	-4.47%
BENJAMIN BANNEKER ACADEMY	838	877	-4.45%
PS 160 WALT DISNEY	328	343	-4.37%
PS 6 CPL ALLAN F KIVLEHAN SCHOOL	460	481	-4.37%
PS 109	482	504	-4.37%
HARLEM HEBREW LANGUAGE ACADEMY	483	505	-4.36%
ROSALYN YALOW CHARTER SCHOOL	505	528	-4.36%
BELLAIRE SCHOOL (THE)	747	781	-4.35%
PS 55 HENRY M BOEHM	528	552	-4.35%
COLLEGE POINT COLLABORATIVE	462	483	-4.35%
PS 51 ELIAS HOWE	442	462	-4.33%
BROOKLYN COMM ARTS-MEDIA HS	532	556	-4.32%
ARTURO A SCHOMBURG SATELLITE-BRONX	133	139	-4.32%
PS/IS 87 MIDDLE VILLAGE	534	558	-4.30%
PS 20 JOHN BOWNE	1,113	1,163	-4.30%
WORLD VIEW HIGH SCHOOL	579	605	-4.30%
COMP MODEL SCH PROJECT MS 327	669	699	-4.29%
PS 76 A PHILLIP RANDOLPH	290	303	-4.29%
PS 256	491	513	-4.29%
JACQUELINE KENNEDY-ONASSIS HIGH SCH	201	210	-4.29%
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HS-FINANCE-INFO	403	421	-4.28%
IS 2 GEORGE L EGBERT	941	983	-4.27%
PS 24	520	543	-4.24%
ACCION ACADEMY	294	307	-4.23%
HS FOR TEACHING AND PROFESSIONS	386	403	-4.22%
MS 255 SALK SCHOOL OF SCIENCE	341	356	-4.21%
MANHATTAN/HUNTER SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL	433	452	-4.20%
PS 127 AEROSPACE SCIENCE MAGNET	1,049	1,095	-4.20%
PS 20 PORT RICHMOND	388	405	-4.20%
PROFESSIONAL PERF ARTS HIGH SCHOOL	548	572	-4.20%
LAUNCH EXPEDITIONARY LRNING CHARTER	275	287	-4.18%
HS-HEALTH PROFESSIONS & HUMAN SVCS	1,724	1,799	-4.17%
BRONX DANCE ACADEMY SCHOOL	253	264	-4.17%
MAGNET SCH OF MATH, SCI, DESIGN	831	867	-4.15%
EMERSON SCHOOL (THE)	370	386	-4.15%
PS 212 LADY DEBORAH MOODY	579	604	-4.14%
NYC ISCHOOL	468	488	-4.10%
PS 185 WALTER KASSENBROCK	562	586	-4.10%
PS 30 WILTON	445	464	-4.09%
CHELSEA CAREER AND TECH ED HS	447	466	-4.08%
LANDMARK HIGH SCHOOL	354	369	-4.07%
STEPHANIE A VIERNO SCHOOL (THE)	639	666	-4.05%
PS/MS 194	1,138	1,186	-4.05%
HUNTS POINT SCHOOL (THE)	261	272	-4.04%
HARRIET TUBMAN CHARTER SCHOOL	617	643	-4.04%
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL	570	594	-4.04%
CITY COLLEGE ACADEMY OF THE ARTS	599	624	-4.01%
IN-TECH ACADEMY (MS/HS 368)	963	1,003	-3.99%
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS ACADEMY	531	553	-3.98%
MARTIN VAN BUREN HIGH SCHOOL	1,112	1,158	-3.97%
PS 60 WOODHAVEN	1,017	1,059	-3.97%
PS 222-FF CHRISTOPHER A SANTORA	218	227	-3.96%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-HARLEM 6	364	379	-3.96%
PS 96 RICHARD RODGERS	826	860	-3.95%
BENJAMIN N CARDOZO HIGH SCHOOL	3,276	3,410	-3.93%
MOTT HALL HIGH SCHOOL	196	204	-3.92%
PS 8 SHIRLEE SOLOMON	540	562	-3.91%
SCHUYLERVILLE PREP HS	345	359	-3.90%
PS 13 M L LINDEMEYER	790	822	-3.89%
SOUNDVIEW ACADEMY	346	360	-3.89%
PS 181	569	592	-3.89%
THURGOOD MARSHALL ACAD FOR LEARNING	520	541	-3.88%
HIGH SCH-EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION	149	155	-3.87%
PS/IS 119 GLENDALE (THE)	1,217	1,266	-3.87%
PS 6 LILLIE D BLAKE	572	595	-3.87%
MARBLE HILL HS-INTRNTNL STUDIES	424	441	-3.85%
HS-LAW ENFORCEMENT & PUB SAFETY	375	390	-3.85%
CINEMA SCHOOL (THE)	350	364	-3.85%
PS 38 GEORGE CROMWELL	376	391	-3.84%
EMBER CHARTER SCHOOL	527	548	-3.83%
PS 255 BARBARA REING SCHOOL	778	809	-3.83%
PS 315	528	549	-3.83%
PS/IS 268	606	630	-3.81%
IS 7 ELIAS BERNSTEIN	1,147	1,192	-3.78%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL	459	477	-3.77%
PS 212	690	717	-3.77%
FANNIE LOU HAMER FREEDOM HS	461	479	-3.76%
WATERSIDE CHILDREN'S STUDIO SCHOOL	463	481	-3.74%
PS 216 ARTURO TOSCANINI	676	702	-3.70%
MOTT HALL BRONX HIGH SCHOOL	338	351	-3.70%
ACAD FOR CAREERS IN TELEVISION-FILM	548	569	-3.69%
PS 234	392	407	-3.69%
PS 138	471	489	-3.68%
HARRY S TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOL	2,156	2,238	-3.66%
EAST NEW YORK ELEMENTARY-EXCELLENCE	424	440	-3.64%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-WILLIAMSBURG	398	413	-3.63%
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL OF TEACHING	932	967	-3.62%
PS 205 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL	269	279	-3.58%
PS 158 BAYARD TAYLOR	647	671	-3.58%
PS 163 BATH BEACH	595	617	-3.57%
ACADEMY FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING	433	449	-3.56%
VOYAGES PREP-SOUTH QUEENS	190	197	-3.55%
LINDEN TREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	353	366	-3.55%
DEMOCRACY PREP ENDURANCE CHARTER	679	704	-3.55%
THOMAS A EDISON CAREER-TECH HS	2,256	2,339	-3.55%
PS 126 DR MARJORIE H DUNBAR	518	537	-3.54%
PS 169 BAY TERRACE	355	368	-3.53%
SCIENCE, TECH & RESEARCH EARLY COLLE	634	657	-3.50%
PS 206 JOSEPH F LAMB	1,462	1,515	-3.50%
MS 394	276	286	-3.50%
BROOKLYN BROWNSTONE SCHOOL	305	316	-3.48%
QUEENS METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL	1,029	1,066	-3.47%
FLUSHING INTRNL HIGH SCHOOL	390	404	-3.47%
PS 372 CHILDREN'S SCHOOL (THE)	449	465	-3.44%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 5	309	320	-3.44%
PS 89 CYPRESS HILLS	456	472	-3.39%
LEADERSHIP & PUBLIC SERVICE HIGH SCH	285	295	-3.39%
PS 140 NATHAN STRAUS	343	355	-3.38%
BRONX PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	803	831	-3.37%
PS 38 PACIFIC (THE)	519	537	-3.35%
PS 34 FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT	260	269	-3.35%
NEW DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL	492	509	-3.34%
HARLEM LINK CHARTER SCHOOL	408	422	-3.32%
BARD HIGH SCHOOL EARLY COLLEGE	614	635	-3.31%
PS 66	644	666	-3.30%
BEDFORD ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	381	394	-3.30%
PS 375 JACKIE ROBINSON SCHOOL	235	243	-3.29%
PS 12 LEWIS AND CLARK SCHOOL	294	304	-3.29%
PS 277 GERRITSEN BEACH	354	366	-3.28%
JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL	2,187	2,261	-3.27%
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY EARLY COLLEGE HS	532	550	-3.27%
MOUNT EDEN CHILDREN'S ACADEMY	414	428	-3.27%
PS 721 BROOKLYN OCCUP TRNING CTR	444	459	-3.27%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN II	593	613	-3.26%
PS 146 ANN M SHORT	327	338	-3.25%
SOUTH BRONX EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY CS	298	308	-3.25%
URBAN INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS	358	370	-3.24%
MORRIS ACADEMY FOR COLLA STUDIES	448	463	-3.24%
PS 155 WILLIAM PACA	210	217	-3.23%
FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL	3,159	3,264	-3.22%
PS 189 BILINGUAL CENTER (THE)	904	934	-3.21%
PS 131 ABIGAIL ADAMS	664	686	-3.21%
ROCKAWAY PARK HS-ENVIRONMENT SUSTAIN	244	252	-3.17%
PIONEER ACADEMY	794	820	-3.17%
YOUNG WOMENS LEADERSHIP SCHOOL	581	600	-3.17%
IS 227 LOUIS ARMSTRONG	1,499	1,548	-3.17%
PS 104 BAYS WATER (THE)	563	581	-3.10%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 2	313	323	-3.10%
IS 68 ISAAC BILDERSEE	220	227	-3.08%
INWOOD EARLY COLLEGE FOR HEALTH-INFO	411	424	-3.07%
PS 193 ALFRED J KENNEDY	570	588	-3.06%
PS/IS 210 21ST CENTURY ACADEMY	414	427	-3.04%
MARSH AVE SCH FOR EXPEDITIONARY LRN	447	461	-3.04%
PS 112 LEFFERTS PARK	703	725	-3.03%
IS 72 ROCCO LAURIE	1,473	1,519	-3.03%
PS 102 BAYVIEW	1,192	1,229	-3.01%
PS/IS 295	518	534	-3.00%
PS 289 GEORGE V BROWER	259	267	-3.00%
HOSTOS-LINCOLN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE	553	570	-2.98%
INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH PROFESIONS	457	471	-2.97%
WILLAMSBURG HS-ARCH & DESIGN	588	606	-2.97%
IS 254	458	472	-2.97%
LEADERSHIP PREP BROWNSVILLE CHARTER	690	711	-2.95%
JHS 78 ROY H MANN	498	513	-2.92%
PS 11 PURVIS J BEHAN	834	859	-2.91%
BEGINNING WITH CHILDREN CHARTER II	469	483	-2.90%
MILLENNIUM BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL	671	691	-2.89%
PS 70	776	799	-2.88%
PS 99 KEW GARDENS	677	697	-2.87%
PS 171 PATRICK HENRY	750	772	-2.85%
PS 92 MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE	207	213	-2.82%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-BED STUY 1	731	752	-2.79%
PS 279 HERMAN SCHREIBER	279	287	-2.79%
PS 360	315	324	-2.78%
PS 42 BENJAMIN ALTMAN	527	542	-2.77%
FOREST HILLS HIGH SCHOOL	3,663	3,766	-2.73%
PS 67 MOHEGAN SCHOOL	357	367	-2.72%
EXCELSIOR PREP HIGH SCHOOL	393	404	-2.72%
HIGH SCHOOL OF WORLD CULTURES	287	295	-2.71%
PS 3 BEDFORD VILLAGE (THE)	252	259	-2.70%
LEXINGTON ACADEMY (THE)	541	556	-2.70%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL-LAW & COMM SVC	397	408	-2.70%
PS 96 JOSEPH LANZETTA	362	372	-2.69%
PS/IS 187 HUDSON CLIFFS	726	746	-2.68%
SCHOOL FOR FUTURE LEADERS (THE)	476	489	-2.66%
CLINTON SCHOOL (THE)	769	790	-2.66%
PS/MS 200 MAGNET SCHOOL-GLOBAL STUDI	514	528	-2.65%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST BROWNSVILLE CHARTE	1,175	1,207	-2.65%
JOHN JAY SCHOOL FOR LAW	478	491	-2.65%
PS 452	369	379	-2.64%
IS 10 HORACE GREELEY	744	764	-2.62%
PS 32 SAMUEL MILLS SPROLE	449	461	-2.60%
PS 108 PHILIP J ABINANTI	524	538	-2.60%
IS 96 SETH LOW	791	812	-2.59%
PS 370	226	232	-2.59%
ACADEMY FOR YOUNG WRITERS	528	542	-2.58%
PS 234 INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL	456	468	-2.56%
BROOKLYN HS-LEADERSHIP & COMMUNITY	114	117	-2.56%
PS 59 BEEKMAN HILL INTERNATIONAL	572	587	-2.56%
IS 281 JOSEPH B CAVALLARO	1,156	1,186	-2.53%
WOODSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOL (THE)	466	478	-2.51%
RIVERSIDE SCHOOL FOR MAKERS-ARTISTS	506	519	-2.50%
REPERTORY COMPANY HS FOR THEATRE ART	234	240	-2.50%
FORT HILL COLLABORATIVE ELEMENTARY	195	200	-2.50%
RIVERVIEW SCHOOL (THE)	664	681	-2.50%
SUSAN E WAGNER HIGH SCHOOL	3,222	3,304	-2.48%
PS 67 CHARLES A DORSEY	197	202	-2.48%
PS 166 RICHARD ROGERS-ARTS & SCI	592	607	-2.47%
GREGORIO LUPERON HS-SCI & MATH	516	529	-2.46%
PS 149 DANNY KAYE	480	492	-2.44%
PS 46 ALLEY POND	480	492	-2.44%
CYNTHIA JENKINS SCHOOL	282	289	-2.42%
PS 56 HARRY EICHLER	323	331	-2.42%
PS 276 LOUIS MARSHALL	485	497	-2.41%
PS 176 CAMBRIA HEIGHTS	648	664	-2.41%
CHILDREN'S LAB SCHOOL (THE)	447	458	-2.40%
WILLIAMSBURG PREPARATORY SCHOOL	698	715	-2.38%
MOTT HAVEN ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	457	468	-2.35%
DIGITAL ARTS AND CINEMA TECH HS	333	341	-2.35%
BRONX ACADEMY OF HEALTH CAREERS	376	385	-2.34%
PS 196	713	730	-2.33%
CENTRAL PARK EAST HIGH SCHOOL	507	519	-2.31%
LEADERS HIGH SCHOOL	382	391	-2.30%
PS/MS 280 MOSHOLU PARKWAY	723	740	-2.30%
SID MILLER ACADEMY	468	479	-2.30%
BROWNSVILLE COLLABORATIVE MIDDLE	256	262	-2.29%
PS 92 ADRIAN HEGEMAN	300	307	-2.28%
LEARNERS AND LEADERS	515	527	-2.28%
URBAN ASSMBLY SCHOOL-APPL MATH	601	615	-2.28%
PS 64 ROBERT SIMON	215	220	-2.27%
KIPP INFINITY CHARTER SCHOOL	1,850	1,893	-2.27%
PS 130	389	398	-2.26%
IS 228 DAVID A BOODY	1,559	1,595	-2.26%
MANHATTAN SCHOOL FOR CAREER DVLPMNT	219	224	-2.23%
BARUCH COLLEGE CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL	482	493	-2.23%
MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE PREP SCHOOL	1,457	1,490	-2.21%
PS 221 NORTH HILLS SCHOOL (THE)	574	587	-2.21%
GOLDIE MAPLE ACADEMY	357	365	-2.19%
BRONX STUDIO SCHOOL-WRITERS-ARTISTS	629	643	-2.18%
PS 48 WILLIAM G WILCOX	947	968	-2.17%
THURGOOD MARSHALL ACADEMY LOWER SCH	181	185	-2.16%
PS/IS 178 HOLLISWOOD	504	515	-2.14%
CIVIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY	642	656	-2.13%
IS 145 JOSEPH PULITZER	1,573	1,607	-2.12%
QUEENS TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	1,451	1,482	-2.09%
PS 85 JUDGE CHARLES VALLONE	567	579	-2.07%
PS 197 KINGS HIGHWAY ACADEMY (THE)	852	870	-2.07%
IS 24 MYRA S BARNES	1,284	1,311	-2.06%
COLLEGIATE INST FOR MATH & SCI	572	584	-2.05%
PS 79 FRANCIS LEWIS	1,051	1,073	-2.05%
RICHMOND HILL HIGH SCHOOL	1,582	1,615	-2.04%
HS FOR CON, TRADES, ENGINEER AND ARC	1,067	1,089	-2.02%
PS 23 AT QUEENS CHILDREN CENTER	243	248	-2.02%
MATILDA AVENUE SCHOOL (THE)	243	248	-2.02%
ALFRED E SMITH CAREER-TECH HIGH SCH	440	449	-2.00%
MILLENIUM ART ACADEMY	392	400	-2.00%
BARBARA ESSELBORN SCHOOL (THE)	794	810	-1.98%
YOUNG WOMEN'S LDSHP SCHOOL-BRONX	546	557	-1.97%
MS 243 CENTER SCHOOL	250	255	-1.96%
PS 316 ELIJAH STROUD	552	563	-1.95%
BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS	613	625	-1.92%
PS 145 ANDREW JACKSON	465	474	-1.90%
PS 226	259	264	-1.89%
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 1	313	319	-1.88%
URBAN ASSMBLY SCH-MEDIA STUDIES	368	375	-1.87%
OCEAN HILL COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCH	428	436	-1.83%
PS 288 SHIRLEY TANYHILL (THE)	538	548	-1.82%
BRONX INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	324	330	-1.82%
PS 111 SETON FALLS	487	496	-1.81%
PS 94	381	388	-1.80%
PS 58	339	345	-1.74%
PS 62 INOCENSIO CASANOVA	512	521	-1.73%
GORDON PARKS SCHOOL (THE)	684	696	-1.72%
URBAN ACADEMY-GOVERNMENT & LAW	343	349	-1.72%
METROPOLITAN EXPEDITIONARY LRNING	825	839	-1.67%
KIPP NYC WASHINGTON HEIGHTS CHARTER	830	844	-1.66%
MS 839	356	362	-1.66%
BROOKLYN COLLEGE ACADEMY	655	666	-1.65%
BROOKLYN ARTS AND SCIENCE ELEMENTARY	298	303	-1.65%
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL	537	546	-1.65%
BRIGHTER CHOICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	302	307	-1.63%
EAST NEW YORK MIDDLE SCH-EXCELLENCE	242	246	-1.63%
LOWER EAST SIDE PREP HIGH SCHOOL	424	431	-1.62%
PS 53	425	432	-1.62%
PS 253	491	499	-1.60%
PS 184 FLUSHING MANOR	492	500	-1.60%
ANDERSON SCHOOL (THE)	508	516	-1.55%
PS 241 EMMA L JOHNSTON	385	391	-1.53%
HIGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY	452	459	-1.53%
BRONX BRIDGES HIGH SCHOOL	323	328	-1.52%
HS-APPLIED COMMUNICATIONS	389	395	-1.52%
PROFESSOR JUAN BOSCH PS	260	264	-1.52%
PS 130 PARKSIDE (THE)	854	867	-1.50%
WAVE PREPARATORY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	464	471	-1.49%
UNITY PREP CHARTER SCH OF BROOKLYN	532	540	-1.48%
EAST-WEST SCHOOL OF INTERNATION STUD	671	681	-1.47%
MS 101 EDWARD R BYRNE	542	550	-1.45%
MURRY BERGTRAUM HS FOR BUS CAR	136	138	-1.45%
PS 45 JOHN TYLER	821	833	-1.44%
PS 29	690	700	-1.43%
QUEENS GATEWAY TO HEALTH SCI SEC	698	708	-1.41%
QUEENS COLLEGIATE	634	643	-1.40%
PS Q811	424	430	-1.40%
MS 890	285	289	-1.38%
EAST ELMHURST COMMUNITY SCHOOL	434	440	-1.36%
MOTT HAVEN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	220	223	-1.35%
SPECIAL MUSIC SCHOOL	294	298	-1.34%
BRIDGES: A SCHOOL FOR EXPLOR-EQUITY	294	298	-1.34%
INTERNATIONAL HS AT UNION SQUARE	298	302	-1.32%
PS 176 OVINGTON	1,128	1,143	-1.31%
TRANSIT TECH CAREER AND TECH EDU	834	845	-1.30%
PS 50 FRANK HANKINSON	689	698	-1.29%
UNITY CENTER FOR URBAN TECHNOLOGIES	309	313	-1.28%
PS 223 LYNDON B JOHNSON	464	470	-1.28%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN	480	486	-1.23%
PS 152 DYCKMAN VALLEY	481	487	-1.23%
ROBERT E PEARY SCHOOL	562	569	-1.23%
DREAMYARD PREPARATORY SCHOOL	332	336	-1.19%
IMAGINE ME LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL	249	252	-1.19%
PS 229 DYKER	1,187	1,201	-1.17%
BROOKLYN COLLABORATIVE STUDIES	684	692	-1.16%
PS 77 LOWER LAB SCHOOL	345	349	-1.15%
URBAN ASSEMBLY SCHOOL FOR MUSIC-ART	173	175	-1.14%
MIDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL	4,071	4,117	-1.12%
JONAS BRONCK ACADEMY	267	270	-1.11%
SOUTH BRONX PREPARATORY	637	644	-1.09%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP	458	463	-1.08%
CITY POLYTECHNIC HIGH SCHOOL	460	465	-1.08%
PS 186 CASTLEWOOD	371	375	-1.07%
BRONX COMPASS HIGH SCHOOL	374	378	-1.06%
PS 26 CARTERET SCHOOL (THE)	281	284	-1.06%
PS 721 MANHATTAN OCC TRNING CTR	189	191	-1.05%
JHS 383 PHILIPPA SCHUYLER	883	892	-1.01%
PS 107 THOMAS A DOOLEY	885	894	-1.01%
ROBERT H GODDARD HS-COMM/TECH	596	602	-1.00%
PELHAM PREPARATORY ACADEMY	498	503	-0.99%
AMISTAD DUAL LANGUAGE SCHOOL	400	404	-0.99%
PS 36 J C DRUMGOOLE	815	823	-0.97%
PS 273	307	310	-0.97%
MATH & SCIENCE EXPLORATORY SCH (THE)	525	530	-0.94%
PS 128 BENSONHURST	421	425	-0.94%
COMMUNITY VOICES MIDDLE SCHOOL	316	319	-0.94%
PS/IS 30 MARY WHITE OVINGTON	959	968	-0.93%
PS 319	113	114	-0.88%
URBAN ASSMBLY SCH-LAW & JSTCE	456	460	-0.87%
URBAN ASSEMBLY-COLLABORATIVE HEALTHC	343	346	-0.87%
ARCHIMEDES ACAD-MATH, SCI, TECH	579	584	-0.86%
PS 133	588	593	-0.84%
WILLIAMSBURG CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	964	972	-0.82%
JOHN F KENNEDY JR SCHOOL	486	490	-0.82%
SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE HIGH SCHOOL	731	737	-0.81%
OUR WORLD NEIGHBORHOOD CHARTER SCHOO	733	739	-0.81%
CORONA ARTS AND SCIENCES ACADEMY	735	741	-0.81%
KIPP ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	1,115	1,124	-0.80%
EMOLIOR ACADEMY	372	375	-0.80%
IS 34 TOTTENVILLE	996	1,004	-0.80%
TOTTENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL	3,688	3,717	-0.78%
PS 155	512	516	-0.78%
PS 44 MARCUS GARVEY	128	129	-0.78%
PS 79 HORAN SCHOOL	261	263	-0.76%
MS 324 PATRIA MIRABAL	262	264	-0.76%
PS 123 SUYDAM	525	529	-0.76%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS - SPRINGFIELD	923	930	-0.75%
PREP ACADEMY FOR WRITERS	535	539	-0.74%
PS 163 FLUSHING HEIGHTS	806	812	-0.74%
FRANK MCCOURT HIGH SCHOOL	407	410	-0.73%
PS 328 PHYLLIS WHEATLEY	276	278	-0.72%
BROOKLYN GARDENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	278	280	-0.71%
IS 61 WILLIAM A MORRIS	993	1,000	-0.70%
PS 59 WILLIAM FLOYD	286	288	-0.69%
KINGSBOROUGH EARLY COLLEGE SCHOOL	749	754	-0.66%
IS 51 EDWIN MARKHAM	1,365	1,374	-0.66%
BRONX HS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCE	492	495	-0.61%
QUEENS COLLEGE SCHOOL-MATH, SCI, TEC	498	501	-0.60%
STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL	3,324	3,344	-0.60%
BEDFORD PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	499	502	-0.60%
AVIATION CAREER AND TECH ED HS	1,839	1,850	-0.59%
PS 304 EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL	505	508	-0.59%
MOTT HALL COMMUNITY SCHOOL	338	340	-0.59%
PS 19 MARINO JEANTET	1,692	1,702	-0.59%
LOWER MANHATTAN ARTS ACADEMY	339	341	-0.59%
LONGWOOD PREPARATORY ACADEMY	349	351	-0.57%
PS 203 FLOYD BENNETT SCHOOL	537	540	-0.56%
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS ACADEMY	359	361	-0.55%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR ARTS & BUSINESS	764	768	-0.52%
WOMEN'S ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE	197	198	-0.51%
HS FOR LAW ADVCY & COMM JUST	400	402	-0.50%
VERITAS ACADEMY	609	612	-0.49%
FORDHAM LEADERSHIP ACADEMY	413	415	-0.48%
PS 3 MARGARET GIOIOSA SCHOOL (THE)	631	634	-0.47%
IS 61 LEONARDO DA VINCI	2,110	2,120	-0.47%
METROPOLITAN SOUNDVIEW HS (THE)	444	446	-0.45%
RIVER SCHOOL (THE)	452	454	-0.44%
URBAN ASSEMBLY GATEWAY SCHOOL-TECH	455	457	-0.44%
QUEENS HS FOR INFOR AND RESEARCH	478	480	-0.42%
HIGH SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS & FINANCE	732	735	-0.41%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACAD VI HS	247	248	-0.40%
HELLENIC CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL	495	497	-0.40%
INTNTL HIGH SCHOOL AT LA GUARDIA	508	510	-0.39%
EDWARD R MURROW HIGH SCHOOL	3,679	3,693	-0.38%
JOHN W LAVELLE PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	792	795	-0.38%
FANNIE LOU HAMER MIDDLE SCHOOL	270	271	-0.37%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-BED STUY 2	287	288	-0.35%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST APOLLO CHARTER	916	919	-0.33%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST BUSHWICK CHARTER	940	943	-0.32%
WASHINGTON HGTS EXPEDITIONARY LEARN	954	957	-0.31%
PS 307 DANIEL HALE WILLIAMS	322	323	-0.31%
NYC ACADEMY FOR DISCOVERY	346	347	-0.29%
PS 4 MAURICE WOLLIN	734	736	-0.27%
ACADEMY-FINANCE & ENTERPRISE	739	741	-0.27%
BELMONT PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL	397	398	-0.25%
STEPHEN T MATHER BLDG ARTS-CRAFTSMAN	407	408	-0.25%
ESPERANZA PREPARATORY ACADEMY	462	463	-0.22%
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL	507	508	-0.20%
PS 24 ANDREW JACKSON	1,069	1,071	-0.19%
BRONX CHARTER SCH BETTER LEARNING	550	551	-0.18%
BEACON HIGH SCHOOL	1,508	1,510	-0.13%
PS 54 CHARLES W LENG	800	801	-0.12%
FRANK SINATRA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS HS	877	878	-0.11%
LEADERSHIP PREP BEDFORD STUYVESANT	1,215	1,215	0.00%
BRILLA COLLEGE PREP CHARTER	793	793	0.00%
PS 43	759	759	0.00%
RENAISSANCE CHARTER SCHOOL	655	655	0.00%
PS 177	491	491	0.00%
COMMUNITY ROOTS CHARTER SCHOOL	474	474	0.00%
JM RAPPORT SCHOOL FOR CAREER DVLPMNT	463	463	0.00%
FORDHAM HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS	400	400	0.00%
EPIC HIGH SCHOOL-SOUTH	396	396	0.00%
BRONX PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL	389	389	0.00%
IS 204 OLIVER W HOLMES	378	378	0.00%
BRONX ENG & TECH ACADEMY	372	372	0.00%
MS 358	340	340	0.00%
PS 94 DAVID D PORTER	307	307	0.00%
PS 273 WORTMAN	304	304	0.00%
BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HS-EXCEL-EQUITY	209	209	0.00%
PS 335 GRANVILLE T WOODS	189	189	0.00%
HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE PROMISE	1,166	1,165	0.09%
PS/IS 116 WILLIAM C HUGHLEY	799	798	0.13%
BOERUM HILL SCHOOL FOR INTERNATIONAL	781	780	0.13%
MOTT HALL V	673	672	0.15%
PS 32 GIFFORD SCHOOL (THE)	643	642	0.16%
WORLD JOURNALISM PREPARATORY	626	625	0.16%
AMERICAN DREAM CHARTER SCHOOL	589	588	0.17%
PS 469-BRONX SCHOOL FOR CONTINUOUS	521	520	0.19%
PS 204 VINCE LOMBARDI	1,035	1,033	0.19%
PS 97	502	501	0.20%
PS 376	475	474	0.21%
INWOOD ACAD FOR LEADERSHIP CHARTER	947	945	0.21%
NYC CHARTER HS - AECI	467	466	0.21%
PS 224	392	391	0.26%
ELM TREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	758	756	0.26%
PS 112 BRONXWOOD	371	370	0.27%
PS 33 TIMOTHY DWIGHT	735	733	0.27%
EQUITY PROJECT CHARTER SCHOOL (THE)	1,089	1,086	0.28%
HARLEM CHLDRN ZONE ACADEMY II	1,069	1,066	0.28%
PS 93 ALBERT G OLIVER	356	355	0.28%
PS 89	347	346	0.29%
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER HS	341	340	0.29%
PS 40 SAMUEL HUNTINGTON	338	337	0.30%
PS 146 EDWARD COLLINS	336	335	0.30%
PS 132 RALPH BUNCHE	326	325	0.31%
CLAREMONT INTERNATIONAL HS	324	323	0.31%
PS 121 NELSON A ROCKEFELLER	314	313	0.32%
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF SCI & ENVIRON	309	308	0.32%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS - BRONX 4	610	608	0.33%
PS 28 MOUNT HOPE	601	599	0.33%
RIVERDALE AVENUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	300	299	0.33%
PS 38 ROSEDALE	250	249	0.40%
PS 171 PETER G VAN ALST	399	397	0.50%
PS 1 TOTTENVILLE	398	396	0.51%
BRONX ACADEMY OF PROMISE CHARTER SCH	591	588	0.51%
HIGHBRIDGE GREEN SCHOOL (THE)	382	380	0.53%
PS 86 IRVINGTON (THE)	382	380	0.53%
HIGH SCHOOL OF TELECOMMUNICATION	1,280	1,273	0.55%
BEDFORD STUY NEW BEGINNINGS CHARTER	725	721	0.55%
DREAM CHARTER SCHOOL	901	896	0.56%
ENERGY TECH HIGH SCHOOL	524	521	0.58%
PS 309 GEORGE E WIBECAN PREP	172	171	0.58%
CHANNEL VIEW SCHOOL FOR RESEARCH	1,187	1,180	0.59%
INST FOR COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION	497	494	0.61%
NYC LAB HS-COLLABORATIVE STUDIES	485	482	0.62%
BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	5,980	5,943	0.62%
PS 138	646	642	0.62%
PS 183 DR RICHARD R GREEN	465	462	0.65%
PS 200 JAMES MCCUNE SMITH SCHOOL	303	301	0.66%
EAST VILLAGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL (THE)	301	299	0.67%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-FLATBUSH	591	587	0.68%
PS 184 SHUANG WEN	720	715	0.70%
ORIGINS HIGH SCHOOL	415	412	0.73%
PS/IS 78	691	686	0.73%
A PHILIP RANDOLPH CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL	1,517	1,506	0.73%
PATHWAYS TECH EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCH	548	544	0.74%
ANTONIA PANTOJA PREP ACADEMY	403	400	0.75%
PS 112 DUTCH KILLS	394	391	0.77%
CAREERS IN SPORTS HS	522	518	0.77%
BRONX CAREER AND COLLEGE PREP HS	260	258	0.78%
RIVERDALE AVENUE MIDDLE SCHOOL	128	127	0.79%
PS 244 RICHARD R GREEN	380	377	0.80%
PATHWAYS COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL	626	621	0.81%
ACADEMY FOR LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGY	374	371	0.81%
PS 4	372	369	0.81%
PS 141	371	368	0.82%
PS 308 CLARA CARDWELL	245	243	0.82%
PS 52 JOHN C THOMPSON	601	596	0.84%
PS 771	466	462	0.87%
RACHEL CARSON HS FOR COASTAL STUDIES	578	573	0.87%
WESTCHESTER SQUARE ACADEMY	455	451	0.89%
PS 82 HAMMOND	565	560	0.89%
FACING HISTORY SCHOOL (THE)	339	336	0.89%
QUEENS HS FOR LANGUAGE STUDIES	449	445	0.90%
EL PUENTE ACAD FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE	222	220	0.91%
RIVERTON STREET CHARTER SCHOOL	996	987	0.91%
VANGUARD HIGH SCHOOL	436	432	0.93%
ART AND DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL	1,523	1,509	0.93%
RICHARD H HUNGERFORD SCHOOL (THE)	432	428	0.93%
MANHATTAN BUSINESS ACADEMY	406	402	1.00%
PS 173 FRESH MEADOWS	897	888	1.01%
STATEN ISLAND SCH-CIVIC LEADERSHIP	874	865	1.04%
PS 282 PARK SLOPE	481	476	1.05%
PS 64 JOSEPH P ADDABBO	475	470	1.06%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL FOR MATH AND RESEARC	377	373	1.07%
EQUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL	626	619	1.13%
URBAN ASSEMBLY NY HARBOR SCHOOL	526	520	1.15%
PS 106 EDWARD EVERETT HALE	344	340	1.18%
PS 14 SENATOR JOHN CALANDRA	599	592	1.18%
PS/IS 323	510	504	1.19%
PS 397 FOSTER-LAURIE	168	166	1.20%
IS 392	330	326	1.23%
HIGH SCHOOL-YOUTH & COMM DVLPMNT	462	456	1.32%
PS 159 LUIS MUNOZ MARIN BILING	153	151	1.32%
PS 231	303	299	1.34%
ORCHARD COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	299	295	1.36%
MATH, ENG, SCI ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH	512	505	1.39%
PS 49 DOROTHY BONAWIT KOLE	1,160	1,144	1.40%
PS 18 JOHN G WHITTIER	435	429	1.40%
BELL ACADEMY	357	352	1.42%
STATEN ISLAND TECH HIGH SCHOOL	1,355	1,336	1.42%
WILLIAM LYNCH SCHOOL (THE)	212	209	1.44%
BROOKLYN SCHOLARS CHARTER SCHOOL	706	696	1.44%
PS 132 GARRETT A MORGAN	331	326	1.53%
IS 250 ROBERT F KENNEDY COMM MS (THE	330	325	1.54%
HUMANITIES PREP ACADEMY	262	258	1.55%
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL SCI AT YORK COLL	520	512	1.56%
MANHATTAN ACAD-ARTS AND LANGUAGE	195	192	1.56%
HERITAGE SCHOOL (THE)	324	319	1.57%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HS-HUMANITIES IV	316	311	1.61%
PS 47 CHRIS GALAS	251	247	1.62%
BRONX MATHEMATICS PREP SCH (THE)	188	185	1.62%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE	2,985	2,937	1.63%
CATHERINE & COUNT BASIE MS 72	247	243	1.65%
NYC MONTESSORI CHARTER SCHOOL	247	243	1.65%
FORTE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER	364	358	1.68%
MICHAEL J PETRIDES SCHOOL (THE)	1,390	1,367	1.68%
NEW DORP HIGH SCHOOL	3,184	3,131	1.69%
MANHATTAN EARLY COLLEGE SCH-ADVERTIS	468	460	1.74%
PS 77	290	285	1.75%
PS 23 RICHMONDTOWN	575	565	1.77%
INTERNTL HS AT PROSPECT HGHTS	285	280	1.79%
PS 10	624	613	1.79%
ACE ACADEMY FOR SCHOLARS	564	554	1.81%
PS 152 EVERGREEN	717	704	1.85%
EXPLORATIONS ACADEMY HS	323	317	1.89%
NEW VISIONS CHTR HS-ADV MA/SCI IV	483	474	1.90%
ACAD-SCHOLARSHIP & ENTREPRENEURSHIP	369	362	1.93%
BROOKLYN URBAN GARDEN CHARTER SCHOOL	310	304	1.97%
HIGH SCHOOL-HEALTH CAREERS & SCIES	406	398	2.01%
PS 40 GEORGE W CARVER	452	443	2.03%
DR R IZQUIERDO HEALTH/SCIENCE CHARTE	751	736	2.04%
PS 151 MARY D CARTER	300	294	2.04%
PS 83 DONALD HERTZ	1,624	1,591	2.07%
BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS	974	954	2.10%
BROOME ST ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH SCHOO	338	331	2.11%
PS 4 DUKE ELLINGTON	463	453	2.21%
PS 377	412	403	2.23%
PS 15 JACKIE ROBINSON	363	355	2.25%
BAYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL	3,025	2,955	2.37%
PS 36	383	374	2.41%
PS 255	462	451	2.44%
RICHARD R GREEN HS OF TEACHING	294	287	2.44%
HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENERGY AND TECHNOLOG	419	409	2.44%
PS 206 JOSE CELSO BARBOSA	457	446	2.47%
WEST BRONX ACAD FOR THE FUTURE	664	648	2.47%
PS 127 MCKINLEY PARK	538	525	2.48%
MANHATTAN INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	288	281	2.49%
STEAM BRIDGE SCHOOL (THE)	287	280	2.50%
BROOKLYN LABORATORY CHARTER SCHOOL	527	514	2.53%
GAYNOR MCCOWN EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING	444	433	2.54%
PS 2 ALFRED ZIMBERG	521	508	2.56%
KINGS COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCHOOL	1,258	1,226	2.61%
LIGHTHOUSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	156	152	2.63%
BRONX CHARTER-BETTER LEARNING II	466	454	2.64%
PS 91 ALBANY AVENUE SCHOOL (THE)	193	188	2.66%
HERBERT H LEHMAN HIGH SCHOOL	1,037	1,010	2.67%
PS 123 MAHALIA JACKSON	420	409	2.69%
HELEN M MARSHALL SCHOOL	455	443	2.71%
HIGH SCHOOL OF FASHION INDUSTRIES	1,721	1,675	2.75%
PS 195	799	777	2.83%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-UNION SQUAR	1,002	974	2.87%
BRONX CHARTER SCH-EXCELLENCE	818	795	2.89%
CYPRESS HILLS COLLEGIATE PREP SCHOOL	386	375	2.93%
CSI HS-INTERNATIONAL STUDIES	522	507	2.96%
FOOD AND FINANCE HIGH SCHOOL	432	419	3.10%
CLARA BARTON HIGH SCHOOL	1,361	1,320	3.11%
NORMA ADAMS CLEMONS ACADEMY	615	596	3.19%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-UPPER WEST	936	907	3.20%
CENTRAL PARK EAST I	161	156	3.21%
EAST SIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	704	682	3.23%
QUEENS TRANSITION CENTER	416	403	3.23%
BRONX LITTLE SCHOOL	312	302	3.31%
PS 16 JOHN J DRISCOLL	436	422	3.32%
PS 219 KENNEDY-KING	309	299	3.34%
BOYS PREP CHARTER SCHOOL OF NY	798	772	3.37%
BARD HIGH SCH EARLY COLLEGE QUEENS	675	653	3.37%
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER III	455	440	3.41%
PS 101 VERRAZANO (THE)	998	965	3.42%
PS 134 HOLLIS	300	290	3.45%
EBC HIGH SCHOOL-PUBLIC SERVICE	479	463	3.46%
HIGH SCHOOL-COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY	507	490	3.47%
PS 142 AMALIA CASTRO	328	317	3.47%
PS 297 ABRAHAM STOCKTON	206	199	3.52%
CROTONA INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL	294	284	3.52%
FAMILY LIFE ACADEMY CHARTER SCH III	257	248	3.63%
SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA SCHOOL	684	660	3.64%
GLOBAL COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL	483	466	3.65%
BROOKLYN PROSPECT CS - CSD 13.2	424	409	3.67%
CHALLENGE PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL	941	907	3.75%
PACE HIGH SCHOOL	606	584	3.77%
BROOKLYN SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE	303	292	3.77%
IS 381	329	317	3.79%
CYBERARTS STUDIO ACADEMY	245	236	3.81%
PS 74 FUTURE LEADERS ELEMENTARY	271	261	3.83%
HIGH SCHOOL-MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS	325	313	3.83%
PS 91 RICHARD ARKWRIGHT	781	752	3.86%
PS 811 MICKEY MANTLE SCHOOL	421	405	3.95%
INTERNATIONAL HS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES	263	253	3.95%
BUSINESS OF SPORTS SCHOOL	473	455	3.96%
BROOKLYN PREPARATORY HS	551	530	3.96%
PS 9	651	626	3.99%
WHITELAW REID ACAD ARTS-BUSINESS	103	99	4.04%
PS 68 CAMBRIDGE	508	488	4.10%
IS 136 CHARLES O DEWEY	506	486	4.12%
WILLIAMSBURG HS-ART-TECH	401	385	4.16%
JHS 226 VIRGIL I GRISSOM	898	862	4.18%
JUAN MOREL CAMPOS SECONDARY SCHOOL	519	498	4.22%
PS 5 HUGUENOT	296	284	4.23%
THEATRE ARTS PROD COMPANY SCHOOL	565	542	4.24%
PS 151 LYNDON B JOHNSON	319	306	4.25%
ASPIRATIONS DIPLOMA PLUS HIGH SCHOOL	171	164	4.27%
BROOKLYN LATIN SCHOOL (THE)	844	809	4.33%
DAVID MARQUIS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS	477	457	4.38%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST CROWN HEIGHTS	1,356	1,299	4.39%
ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS	689	660	4.39%
PS 274 KOSCIUSKO	353	338	4.44%
UNION SQUARE ACAD FOR HEALTH SCIENCE	445	426	4.46%
PS 96	304	291	4.47%
JAMAICA GATEWAY TO THE SCIENCES	514	492	4.47%
SOUTH BRONX INTERNATIONAL MS	140	134	4.48%
PS 156 LAURELTON	163	156	4.49%
PS 178 SAINT CLAIR MCKELWAY	278	266	4.51%
PS 154 HARRIET TUBMAN	226	216	4.63%
PS/MS 31 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON	650	621	4.67%
URBAN ASSEMBLY MAKER ACADEMY	511	488	4.71%
NORTHSIDE CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	417	398	4.77%
NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL	1,710	1,632	4.78%
PS 84 STEINWAY	284	271	4.80%
PS 213 NEW LOTS	236	225	4.89%
BUSHWICK LEADERS HS-ACAD EXCELL	382	364	4.95%
BRONX COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	402	383	4.96%
PS 770 NEW AMERICAN ACADEMY	294	280	5.00%
JERMAINE L GREEN STEM INSTITUTE	503	479	5.01%
NEW BRIDGES ELEMENTARY	440	419	5.01%
PORT RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOL	1,610	1,531	5.16%
PS 188 ISLAND SCHOOL (THE)	387	368	5.16%
HARVEY MILK HIGH SCHOOL	61	58	5.17%
ACAD FOR CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT	365	347	5.19%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-BRONX 3	1,270	1,207	5.22%
PS 262 EL HAJJ MALIK EL SHABAZZ	161	153	5.23%
PS/MS 138 SUNRISE	609	578	5.36%
BROOKLYN INSTITUTE FOR LIBERAL ARTS	550	522	5.36%
ACADEMY OF AMERICAN STUDIES	1,180	1,117	5.64%
HS MATH SCI & ENGNRNG AT CCNY	524	496	5.65%
URBAN ACAD LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL	149	141	5.67%
KATHLEEN GRIMM SCHOOL FOR LEADERSHIP	465	440	5.68%
URBAN ASSEMBLY UNISON SCHOOL (THE)	199	188	5.85%
INNOVATION CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL	416	393	5.85%
BROOKLYN DREAMS CHARTER SCHOOL	700	661	5.90%
HS AMER STUDIES AT LEHMAN COLL	408	385	5.97%
PS 181 BROOKFIELD	299	282	6.03%
TOWNSEND HARRIS HIGH SCHOOL	1,347	1,270	6.06%
PS 97 HIGHLAWN (THE)	751	708	6.07%
HIGH SCHOOL OF SPORTS MANAGEMENT	295	278	6.12%
PS 16 LEONARD DUNKLY	190	179	6.15%
PS 168	547	515	6.21%
SUNSET PARK HIGH SCHOOL	1,372	1,291	6.27%
EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN III	436	410	6.34%
CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL-LAW AND SOCIAL	512	481	6.44%
FRESH CREEK SCHOOL (THE)	148	139	6.47%
FLUSHING HIGH SCHOOL	1,506	1,414	6.51%
BROOKLYN DEMOCRACY ACADEMY	130	122	6.56%
CASTLE BRIDGE SCHOOL	193	181	6.63%
BROOKLYN GREEN SCHOOL (THE)	160	150	6.67%
BROOKLYN EMERGING LEADERS ACADEMY CS	255	239	6.69%
PS 298 DR BETTY SHABAZZ	302	283	6.71%
PS 56 LOUIS DESARIO SCHOOL (THE)	619	580	6.72%
PS 176	587	550	6.73%
IS 125 THOMAS J MCCANN WOODSIDE	1,476	1,381	6.88%
BRONX ACAD FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING	448	419	6.92%
LEGACY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS	154	144	6.94%
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS	352	329	6.99%
PS 256 BENJAMIN BANNEKER	212	198	7.07%
AMERICAN SIGN LANG & ENG SECONDAR	241	225	7.11%
PS 23 CARTER G WOODSON	253	236	7.20%
JHS 123 JAMES M KIERNAN	535	499	7.21%
PS Q4	484	451	7.32%
PHAROS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	713	664	7.38%
SCHOOL FOR CLASSICS HIGH SCHOOL	247	230	7.39%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST ASPIRE CHARTER	929	865	7.40%
LONGWOOD ACADEMY OF DISCOVERY	546	508	7.48%
COMMUNITY MATH AND SCIENCE PRE	143	133	7.52%
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP CHARTER	400	372	7.53%
ACADEMY FOR EXCELLENCE-LEADERSHIP	270	251	7.57%
DEWITT CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL	1,037	964	7.57%
STOREFRONT ACADEMY HARLEM CHARTER	71	66	7.58%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST LINDEN CHARTER SCH	794	737	7.73%
PS 129 PATRICIA LARKIN	1,140	1,058	7.75%
W H MAXWELL CAREER AND TECH HS	417	387	7.75%
NEW WORLD PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	679	630	7.78%
URBAN ASSEMBLY-EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT	291	270	7.78%
JILL CHAIFETZ TRANSFER HIGH SCHOOL	165	153	7.84%
BROOKLYN COLLEGIATE	381	353	7.93%
PS 143 LOUIS ARMSTRONG	1,391	1,287	8.08%
NEWCOMERS HIGH SCHOOL	729	673	8.32%
PS 46 EDWARD C BLUM	233	215	8.37%
CENTRAL BROOKLYN ASCEND CHARTER	800	738	8.40%
BAYCHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL	296	273	8.42%
BOYS AND GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL	488	450	8.44%
PS 196 TEN EYCK	314	289	8.65%
PS 753 SCHOOL FOR CAREER DVLPMNT	347	319	8.78%
PS 11 THOMAS DONGAN SCHOOL	332	305	8.85%
PS 345 PATROLMAN ROBERT BOLDEN	514	472	8.90%
PS 18 EDWARD BUSH	203	186	9.14%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACAD V MIDDLE SCH	225	206	9.22%
PS 326	153	140	9.29%
PS 287 BAILEY K ASHFORD	129	118	9.32%
KIPP AMP CHARTER SCHOOL	904	826	9.44%
MATH/SCIENCE RESEARCH/TECH MAGNET	370	338	9.47%
PS 270 JOHANN DEKALB	103	94	9.57%
RED HOOK NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL	102	93	9.68%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-FAR ROCKAWAY	662	603	9.78%
ACADEMY OF URBAN PLANNING-ENGINEERIN	407	370	10.00%
WADLEIGH PERF AND VISUAL ARTS	395	359	10.03%
GRAMERCY ARTS HIGH SCHOOL	531	482	10.17%
ROCHDALE EARLY ADVANTAGE CHARTER SCH	432	392	10.20%
A-TECH HIGH SCHOOL	366	332	10.24%
EAST NEW YORK FAMILY ACADEMY	611	554	10.29%
NYC AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOL BRONX	32	29	10.34%
PS/IS 217 ROOSEVELT ISLAND	690	625	10.40%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-SOUTH JAMAICA	492	445	10.56%
NEW VENTURES CHARTER SCHOOL	154	139	10.79%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCHOOL-HARLEM 5	944	852	10.80%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY II	359	324	10.80%
PORT RICHMOND SCHOOL FOR VISIONARY	408	368	10.87%
WILLIAM E GRADY CAREER AND TECH	571	515	10.87%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS - BERGEN BEACH	1,054	949	11.06%
ABRAHAM LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL	2,017	1,816	11.07%
QUEENS UNITED MIDDLE SCHOOL	190	171	11.11%
PS 19 JUDITH K WEISS	592	532	11.28%
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST NORTH BROOKLYN PRE	867	778	11.44%
PS 116 ELIZABETH L FARRELL	357	320	11.56%
GRAND CONCOURSE ACAD CHARTER SCH	682	610	11.80%
CAPITAL PREP (CP) HARLEM CHARTER	478	427	11.94%
EAST HARLEM SCHOLARS ACAD CHARTER	865	772	12.05%
BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN	501	447	12.08%
NEW VISIONS AIM CHARTER HS I	202	180	12.22%
ACAD FOR EXCELLENCE-ARTS	421	375	12.27%
SUCCESS ACAD CHARTER SCH-CROWN HGTS	955	850	12.35%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER-BRONX 2	1,165	1,035	12.56%
GROWING UP GREEN CHARTER SCHOOL II	644	572	12.59%
BRONX HEALTH SCIENCES HIGH SCHOOL	381	338	12.72%
PS 243 WEEKSVILLE SCHOOL (THE)	202	179	12.85%
CONEY ISLAND PREP PUBLIC CHARTER SCH	1,165	1,030	13.11%
ACADEMY OF THE CITY CHARTER SCHOOL	715	631	13.31%
INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP CHARTER HIG	389	343	13.41%
PS 377 ALEJANDRINA B DE GAUTIER	151	133	13.53%
PS 398 WALTER WEAVER	234	206	13.59%
NYC MUSEUM SCHOOL	499	439	13.67%
CYPRESS HILLS ASCEND CHARTER	324	285	13.68%
PS 25 EUBIE BLAKE SCHOOL	66	58	13.79%
HUMANITIES & ARTS MAGNET HS	451	396	13.89%
PS 124 SILAS B DUTCHER	300	263	14.07%
GREAT OAKS CHARTER SCHOOL	302	264	14.39%
PS 583	372	324	14.81%
ATMOSPHERE ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER	680	592	14.86%
STEM INSTITUTE OF MANHATTAN	114	99	15.15%
IS 347 SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES	283	245	15.51%
BRONX CHARTER SCH FOR EXCELLENCE 3	442	382	15.71%
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL - INWOOD 1	486	420	15.71%
INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCH-LAFAYETTE	341	294	15.99%
JUDITH S KAYE SCHOOL (THE)	135	116	16.38%
PS 5 DR RONALD MCNAIR	226	194	16.49%
NEW VISIONS AIM CHARTER HS II	254	218	16.51%
ACAD FOR COLLEGE PREP AND CAREER EXP	384	328	17.07%
PS 20 CLINTON HILL	610	521	17.08%
INDEPENDENCE HIGH SCHOOL	293	250	17.20%
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY VII	168	143	17.48%
WHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL	263	223	17.94%
SCHOOL OF CREATIVITY-INNOVATION	170	144	18.06%
PS 81 JEAN PAUL RICHTER	697	590	18.14%
BRONX COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL	104	88	18.18%
PAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL HS	402	340	18.24%
BROOKLYN RISE CHARTER SCHOOL	174	147	18.37%
SCHOOL IN THE SQUARE PUBLIC CS	488	412	18.45%
AUGUST MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL	487	410	18.78%
ACADEMY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM	306	257	19.07%
AMBER CHARTER SCHOOL KINGSBRIDGE	561	471	19.11%
PS 299 THOMAS WARREN FIELD	207	173	19.65%
GOTHAM PROFESSIONAL ARTS ACADEMY	210	175	20.00%
EMBLAZE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	301	250	20.40%
EAST WILLIAMSBURG SCHOLARS	381	316	20.57%
BRILLA VERITAS CHARTER SCHOOL	443	367	20.71%
OUR WORLD NEIGHBORHOOD CS 2	307	254	20.87%
NEIGHBORHOOD CHARTER SCHOOL - BRONX	272	225	20.89%
PS 889	309	255	21.18%
BROOKYLN ACADEMY OF GLOBAL FINANCE	157	129	21.71%
CARDINAL MCCLOSKEY COMMUNITY CHARTER	280	230	21.74%
BRONX CHARTER SCH FOR EXCELLENCE 2	426	349	22.06%
ELM COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL	281	230	22.17%
URBAN DOVE TEAM CHARTER SCHOOL II	290	237	22.36%
MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR ART AND PHILOSOPHY	157	128	22.66%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS - ROSEDALE	936	763	22.67%
BRONX CHARTER SCH FOR EXCELLENCE 4	286	233	22.75%
CAPITAL PREPARATORY BRONX CHARTER	244	198	23.23%
CENTRAL QUEENS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOO	492	399	23.31%
WEST END SECONDARY SCHOOL	748	606	23.43%
HARLEM RENAISSANCE HIGH SCHOOL	167	135	23.70%
HS FOR INNOVATION -ADVERTISING/MEDIA	252	203	24.14%
COLIBRI COMMUNITY SCHOOL (THE)	272	219	24.20%
MULTICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL	341	273	24.91%
PS 376	375	300	25.00%
URBAN ASSEMBLY CS - COMPUTER SCIENCE	428	341	25.51%
LEGACY COLLEGE PREPARATORY CHARTER	651	513	26.90%
HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY WEST 2 CS	167	131	27.48%
MS 53 BRIAN PICCOLO	192	149	28.86%
BRIDGE PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL	203	157	29.30%
BOLD CHARTER SCHOOL	243	187	29.95%
UNIVERSITY PREP CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOO	396	300	32.00%
IVY HILL PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	235	176	33.52%
SUCCESS ACADEMY CS-BED STUY 3	211	158	33.54%
PS 149 SOJOURNER TRUTH	266	199	33.67%
COLLEGIATE ACADEMY-MATH-PERSONAL AWA	120	89	34.83%
HERO HIGH SCHOOL	687	509	34.97%
LEEP DUAL LANGUAGE ACADEMY CHARTER	334	244	36.89%
LOIS AND RICHARD NICOTRA EARLY COLLE	239	174	37.36%
PS 398	249	180	38.33%
EAST FLATBUSH ASCEND CHARTER	199	142	40.14%
BRONX ARTS AND SCIENCE CHARTER	276	196	40.82%
KIPP FREEDOM CHARTER SCHOOL	663	456	45.39%
LAMAD ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL	105	70	50.00%
EAST BROOKLYN ASCEND CHARTER	74	49	51.02%
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL - BRONX 1	534	351	52.14%
ACADEMY FOR NEW AMERICANS	108	70	54.29%
CREO COLLEGE PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	267	173	54.34%
NEW DAWN CHARTER HS II	224	145	54.48%
HELLENIC CLASSICAL CS -STATEN ISLAND	246	156	57.69%
FLATBUSH ASCEND CHARTER	173	109	58.72%
RENAISSANCE CHARTER SCHOOL 2 (THE)	222	139	59.71%
BRONX CHARTER SCH FOR EXCELLENCE 5	248	152	63.16%
GIRLS PREP CHARTER SCHOOL - BRONX II	126	76	65.79%
PS 938	101	60	68.33%
SUNSET SCHOOL OF CULTURAL LEARNING	113	65	73.85%
SEED HARLEM	138	78	76.92%
BRILLA CARITAS CHARTER SCHOOL	178	98	81.63%
HUNTERS POINT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	240	132	81.82%
DREAM CHARTER SCHOOL MOTT HAVEN	246	133	84.96%
MS 936 ARTS OFF 3RD	302	152	98.68%
WILDFLOWER NEW YORK CHARTER SCHOOL	24	12	100.00%
CIVIC SCHOOL OF BAYSIDE HILLS (THE)	79	39	102.56%
WALKABOUT BRONX HIGH SCHOOL	121	51	137.25%
KIPP BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL III	610	250	144.00%
BROOKLYN PROSPECT CHARTER -CSD 15.2	1,009	291	246.74%
NEW VISIONS CHARTER HS-HUMANITIES II	455	-	-
VALENCE COLLEGE PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	349	-	-
SOUTH BRONX COMMUNITY CHARTER HIGH S	328	-	-
AECI II: NYC CHARTER HS-COMP ENGIN	323	-	-
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER SCH IV	280	-	-
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL - MOUNT EDEN	207	-	-
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL - TREMONT PARK	203	-	-
E MONROE NEW RENAISSANCE BASKETBALL	118	-	-
RICHMOND PREP CHARTER SCHOOL	109	-	-
MS 935	96	-	-
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST LEGACY CHARTER	90	-	-
KIPP BEYOND CHARTER SCHOOL	80	-	-
AMBER CHARTER SCHOOL INWOOD	54	-	-

NYC public school enrollment

UPDATED: NYC parents, was your child exposed to COVID? Here’s what to do next

2022-01-26T18:51:56+00:00

Once again, New York City parents may be facing questions about when to keep their children home from school or get them tested for COVID as they learn of possible exposures.

To keep more children in school, the city changed its quarantine rules before students returned to classrooms after the winter break. Instead of having schools do the leg work to determine close contacts and who might need to quarantine, the city implemented a “test-to-stay” policy where all students and staff are now given two at-home coronavirus tests when someone in their classroom tests positive.

The city this week announced new rules that take effect Jan. 31, allowing students who test positive to return to school after isolating for five days, instead of 10, as long as they have been fever-free for 24 hours without using medication, their symptoms are improving, and they wear a “well-fitting” mask. That policy had already applied to educators since the break.

Chalkbeat updated its flow chart to help families navigate the policy changes.

Schools only give students at-home COVID kits if they are exposed to someone who is positive at school rather than at home or elsewhere. However, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently promised to provide at-home coronavirus tests to all New York students before midwinter recess, which is Feb. 21 -25 in New York City. (Some schools may offer additional COVID testing programs, and families can receive a PCR test from one of the city’s Health + Hospitals sites.)

Adams has been adamant that he will keep schools open and that campuses are safe.

Only 1 in 120 students or staff developed COVID after they were in contact with an infected person at school this year, compared to a rate of 1 in 7 in a household, city officials said, citing an ongoing health department study. (They did not, however, share the study.)

Despite the efforts of the new policy to keep kids in schools, more than 200,000 students stayed home each day the first two weeks after break, with attendance topping out at 77%. That prompted a shift in policy giving schools more flexibility to mark students present who are home doing remote work even if they don’t have COVID.

Though the omicron variant appears to be loosening its grip, more than 1,700 students and school staffers reported positive coronavirus cases on Tuesday, according to public data.

NYC shortens student quarantine to 5 days, starting Jan. 31

2022-01-26T01:37:24+00:00

New York City is shortening required isolation periods for students who test positive for the coronavirus from 10 days to five in many cases, education department officials said Tuesday, a change that will more closely mirror the current practice for staff.

Students in grades K-12 who test positive may return on day six after five days of isolation as long as they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, their symptoms are improving, and they wear a “well-fitting” mask. A negative test is not required to return.

That is a significant adjustment to the current practice, which is for students who test positive to stay at home for 10 days. The change brings the policy for students in line with school staff, who are also allowed to return to school buildings after five days of isolation. The new rules will take effect on Jan. 31. City officials said it reflects federal and state guidance and other districts, including Chicago, have moved to adopt similar rules.

The updates to quarantine and isolation rules come as New York City has been dealing with a surge of the more-contagious omicron variant. Infections are falling, yet remain high, and are still causing significant disruption to schools. On Tuesday, 1,445 students and 307 staff reported positive COVID tests, city data show. Almost 166,000 positive tests have been reported so far this school year.

The changes announced Tuesday will also affect preschool students, who have generally faced longer isolation periods than their older peers. Preschoolers who test positive must still stay home for a full 10 days. But prekindergarten children who are exposed in their classroom will be allowed to return to school after five days instead of 10. To return, they must not have symptoms and must either test negative on a PCR test on the fifth day of their isolation or on two at-home rapid tests taken on day four and five of their quarantine.

The city is also shortening the quarantine periods for K-12 students who are not fully vaccinated and are exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus outside of school. In that instance, students may quarantine for five days instead of 10 and must return to school wearing a well-fitting mask. The changes were first reported by NY1.

City officials said for the first time they will provide adult-sized KN95 masks to students who can tolerate wearing them or “three-ply surgical masks” for those who can’t. Officials did not immediately say whether those masks would be available to any student who requests them or would only go to those returning from a quarantine.

The current policy does not require students in grades K-12, regardless of vaccination status, to stay home if they are exposed to someone who tested positive in school. Students in those situations are sent home with two rapid tests; the first one should be taken on the day a student receives them and the second should be taken five days later. If both tests are negative, the student can continue attending school.

That protocol is not affected by the policy changes announced on Tuesday.

NYC school mask mandate stands, but officials send mixed signals about noncompliance

2022-01-25T18:18:22+00:00

New York City public school students and staff must continue to wear masks in school, despite a state judge’s ruling on Monday that voided a statewide mask mandate that applied to indoor settings including schools.

Some school districts across the state immediately lifted their mask mandates, even as state education officials asserted that the requirement still stands while the decision is appealed. On Tuesday afternoon, an appeals court judge restored the mask mandate while the appeal is considered.

But even if the state mandate is ultimately withdrawn, city officials said they can still require face coverings in schools on their own and plan to continue doing so for now.

“Mandatory masking has been DOE policy since before the state adopted its mandate, so this decision has no immediate impact on New York City schools,” said Nathaniel Styer, an education department spokesperson.

Mayor Eric Adams suggested in a radio interview that the localities now lifting mandates are making a “big mistake.”

Still, the city’s education department sent mixed messages to principals on Tuesday morning about whether the city changed its policies about whether students could be punished for refusing to wear a mask.

Just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, First Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg wrote in an email to principals that “if students do not follow DOE’s Face Covering guidance, schools should note the family’s objection and not take disciplinary action at this time.”

The education department’s current face covering guidance allows students to be disciplined “where there is egregious noncompliance” in mask wearing and only after less punitive steps have been taken to encourage students to follow the masking policy. Parents can be asked to pick up their children and students can be suspended if they don’t comply, according to the guidance.

In a second email to principals just hours later, Weisberg appeared to backtrack and noted the current rules on enforcing face coverings among students were still in effect.

Styer did not answer a question about the conflicting emails and whether students could still be disciplined for refusing to wear a mask.

Debates about mask mandates have flared in New York and across the country in part because mask requirements come with tradeoffs. Students and educators may struggle to hear each other while masked and keeping them on can be a challenge for some students with disabilities or those with certain health conditions. But withdrawing mask mandates may discourage some families from sending their children to school, especially as the city has seen a surge in infections due to the omicron variant.

There is surprisingly little rigorous evidence about the extent to which masking in schools prevents transmission of the coronavirus. But there is stronger evidence in other settings that surgical and other high-quality masks, such as KN95s, can reduce transmission.

New York City has committed to providing school staff with one KN95 mask per week through January. City officials did not immediately say if that would continue next month. Schools typically offer surgical masks to students if they don’t have a mask of their own.

NYC might create a remote option this school year, Chancellor David Banks tells parents

2022-01-13T17:56:45+00:00

New York City is in talks to create a remote option this school year and is working to iron out the specifics with the city’s teachers union, schools Chancellor David Banks said on Thursday.

“My goal is to create an option that will take us at the very least to the end of the school year,” Banks said at a virtual meeting of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council, which is made up of parent leaders citywide. “If I could figure out a way to do a remote option starting tomorrow I would … It’s not quite as simple as that because you have to negotiate this stuff with the unions.”

He added: “I do think we can come up with something because there’s enough political pressure that has been put on.”

The city’s teachers union indicated Thursday morning that they are open to a remote option, but did not say what specific models they might support.

“We’ve called for a remote learning program since September, and we believe we need to do this,” Michael Mulgrew, the union’s president, said on Fox 5. “On the remote option, we don’t want to go back to 65% of the children staying home. So, for parents, I’m going to ask again: Please, if we have this option, use it judiciously.”

Banks has hinted since he took office that he is open to remote learning, even as he and Adams have emphasized the importance of in-person learning and have resisted calls to shut down school buildings in the face of a massive surge of coronavirus infections. More students and staff have reported positive coronavirus infections since the winter recess than the entire rest of the school year combined.

But despite the administration’s insistence on keeping schools open and requiring in-person attendance, absenteeism has skyrocketed in recent weeks as thousands of students have tested positive for the virus and many families are keeping their children home to avoid exposure.

Since the winter recess, daily attendance has not exceeded 76%, meaning roughly a quarter-million students are not receiving instruction on any given day, almost the population of the Broward County school district, the nation’s sixth largest system. (Attendance typically tops 90%.) And in-person learning is also being disrupted as staff members are infected and must stay home, with schools shuttling students to auditoriums in some cases or scrambling to find substitutes.

Still, Banks’ remarks are in tension with what Adams told lawmakers this week: The city would not be able to launch a remote option for at least six months.

Adams told reporters on Thursday that he is willing to consider a remote option and negotiate with the United Federation of Teachers, but did not offer any specifics about what that might look like.

“I’m willing to sit down and entertain, with the UFT, if there is a way to do a temporary remote option,” he said. “We do have to be honest, that there’s a substantial number of children, for whatever reason, parents are not bringing them to school. I have to make sure children are educated.”

Still, Adams said the fallout of remote learning is “unbelievable” and reiterated the importance of keeping students in school buildings, which he said are safe.

Creating a remote option for parents, rather than universal remote instruction, would represent a massive logistical undertaking. Hybrid learning, in which educators are responsible for students in person and when they’re learning remotely, created a significant staffing crunch last year. And a move back to a hybrid model would immediately raise questions about whether it’s possible to execute without shortchanging instruction for students who show up to buildings.

Banks hinted that one way to resolve that dilemma would be for teachers to livestream their classrooms, a model that educators have said is challenging to pull off — challenges that Banks acknowledged. The city’s current agreement with the teachers union prohibits schools from requiring teachers to livestream their classrooms. Banks said officials are meeting with the teachers union this afternoon.

“That’s my first goal was to say, ‘Can we turn that agreement around and just do a livestream and let kids just participate in the class?’” he said.

Banks also encouraged parents to talk with their school’s union chapter leaders to press for a remote option.

“Our parents are demanding a remote option,” Banks said. “Can we get a deal done with the UFT? That’s where it’s coming to.”

In a statement, Mulgrew indicated the union was not an impediment to creating a remote option. But a spokesperson did not say whether the union would support a model that involved teachers livestreaming their classrooms nor did she provide other details about how the union wants to structure virtual instruction.

“Clearly the chancellor has been misinformed about the UFT’s position,” Mulgrew said in a statement. “We have long called for an instructionally sound remote option and have been speaking directly to the mayor about creating one, a program that will work for students.”

Christina Veiga contributed to this story.

Some NYC students plan class walkout, demanding a remote learning option

2022-01-11T01:04:19+00:00

Dora Chan hasn’t been to her school for more than a week. A senior at Brooklyn Technical, one of the largest high schools in the country, she worries about getting sick with COVID and bringing the virus home to her grandparents, who live with her.

Now Chan has joined students from across the city calling on their peers to walk out of class Tuesday afternoon to demand a remote option as a surge in infections has caused increased student and staff absences.

More students and staff have tested positive over the past few weeks than the entire school year, sending schools scrambling to find substitutes to cover for sick staff and scaring many parents about sending their children to class. On Monday alone, almost 13,000 students and more than 2,200 staffers reported testing positive. Attendance has cratered recently: more than a quarter-million of the city’s 938,000 public school students were absent one or more days last week.

But newly sworn-in Mayor Eric Adams and schools chancellor David Banks remain committed to keeping schools open. Officials insist that classrooms remain safe, and that families rely on schools for meals and childcare, as well as education. Attendance increased Monday with almost 76% of students present (although average attendance is typically in the 90% range.) And while many educators and families are pressing for campus closures, some public health experts believe that closures aren’t likely to stop the spread of the highly transmissible omicron.

Students have organized on social media to urge their peers to join the protest Tuesday — though some have expressed reservations about returning to remote learning, the safety of hosting a large protest, and the impact of the expected freezing temperatures.

Chalkbeat spoke with Chan about what’s motivating her and other students to call for school closures. Here are her responses, which have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Tell me how your high school experience has been last year and this year.

For most of the last two years, I was doing remote learning. It was tough. I totally get it when I got DMs (direct messages on social media) saying that, ‘I do not want to go to remote instruction.’ Because I know how tough it was. For me, personally, I just realized that we have to put the public safety first, above that. That’s our utmost priority right now because of how many cases we have…

Dora Chan

So focusing more currently, after winter break, I actually stopped going to school because I live with my grandparents who are at risk and I don’t want to risk it. Brooklyn Tech has 6,000 students. It really is a gamble when I walk in there. It’s almost, like, certain that some people will be sick, and I hope it’s not me. And that’s what I have to deal with…

I alerted my teacher, my gym teacher, that I couldn’t go to school anymore because of this. And you know, gym is such a physical class that if I don’t go, I risk failing. So, my teacher obviously understood my concerns. She felt for me. But at the same time, because of the policies in place, she couldn’t help. She just told me the situation as it is: If I don’t go, I might fail. And as a senior, I have to graduate…

I think a lot of seniors – not just seniors but every student – are making these decisions.

Why are you planning a walkout, and not some other form of protest?

I think a walkout is the best way to show the unity of the students. Because we’re all at school. We’re all trapped in this area, and we’re gambling with our lives. And so in response to that we’re showing the school and the city: We’re not going to deal with this anymore. And if we walk out and that’s symbolic in the sense that: We’re sick of this, and need a change.

Why do you think a walkout is necessary and what exactly are your goals?

The main goal is to grab the attention of the mayor. And to get there, we hope that the press can circulate the story and provide us a platform to talk about what we want from the mayor.

The ultimate goal is to shut down schools temporarily, to get the cases under control.

We also brainstormed alternative goals, knowing that he’s adamant about keeping a school open. Alternative goals that we thought of are planning remote options, blended learning. We did that last year; we can do it again this year. More frequent and diversified COVID testing for students and the staff, both vaccinated and unvaccinated – so everyone.

NYC students are using social media to plan a walkout.

And finally, we hope that the [Department of Education] health screening is improved. The DOE health screening is kind of just this way to filter out people who have COVID from going to school... but there are cases where you’re exposed to people who have COVID or you live with people who are at risk. And all these little circumstances are not accounted for currently in DOE’s health screening.

In comments on social media, some of your peers don’t seem to be on board with the protest for a variety of reasons. What are students concerned about, and what would you say to those who are skeptical?

The number one reason people think this might not work is because they just don’t think the city cares for this one specific school. We’re one school in this entire system, and the mayor probably might not care that we are protesting and walking out and sending emails and letters. And to that, I want my peers to know that it all starts somewhere. I do think that because of how concerning this issue is and how pressing the matter is, we will come together as a school community. But also the press will help us. Instagram will help us. And through that, I think we will get to the mayor eventually.

What’s your sense of what it’s like in school right now?

For my peers who are in school, none of them wants to be there. They are forced to be there for any reason, mostly because there is no alternative. Either they go to school or they risk failing their classes. And, for a lot of them, they don’t have the privilege to fail their classes.

‘Spread very thin’: NYC schools remain open during COVID surge, but learning is disrupted

2022-01-07T21:31:06+00:00

At one high school in Brooklyn, hundreds of students were sent to the auditorium after about 50 teachers called out sick and not enough substitutes could be tapped to cover their classes.

At another school in the Bronx, just five out of 100 seniors showed up, forcing the school to resort to “Zoom in a room” with students on devices in largely empty classrooms.

In Harlem, a high schooler who decided to stay home out of fear of getting sick wasn’t given any assignments to complete. But there wasn’t much work to be done when she returned to school, either, since most of her teachers were out.

On Thursday alone, nearly 11,000 students and more than 2,200 staff reported testing positive, keeping them out of classrooms.

In his first week on the job, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to keep the nation’s largest school district open, arguing that working families depend on schools not just for academics but also for meals and other services. But inside classrooms, the days have been far from normal amid a surge in COVID cases that has left many teachers and students sick or in quarantine, some buildings understaffed, and many parents scared to send their children.

Far more school staff and students have reported testing positive for COVID since Dec. 24 than the rest of the school year combined. On Thursday alone, nearly 11,000 students and more than 2,200 staff reported testing positive, keeping them out of classrooms. On Friday, Chancellor David Banks acknowledged that staff attendance “has been lower than we wanted to see,” but education department officials have refused to provide specific numbers.

“There’s this idea that schools are open and learning is happening, but in every single one of those you’re dealing with people who are sick,” said Jeremy Ehrlich, a teacher at the Bronx’s New World High School, which predominantly serves students who are learning English.

Nearly two years into the pandemic, the decision to close schools, even for a brief period, remains fraught with emotion. Keeping classrooms open can provide much-needed support for students, both academic and emotional, and child care for working families.

But, with the more-transmissible omicron variant making it difficult to run schools, teachers and students across the city say the reality is far more complex than the “open versus remote” debate that has divided communities. Though school buildings are open, more than a quarter-million of the city’s 938,000 public school students have not engaged in school on any given day this week. And with so much emphasis on physical classrooms, the instruction students are receiving when they stay home is limited or non-existent.

Education department spokesperson Jenna Lyle defended the city’s approach to reopening.

“Our schools and dedicated educators have been creatively meeting the needs of their students this week and providing rigorous learning and supports that can’t be replicated outside the school building,” she said. “We’ve set up robust measures in place to immediately address any staffing issues and keep our doors open for the hundreds of thousands of children and families who rely on schools as a lifeline every day.”

Low student attendance takes a toll

Since students returned from winter recess on Monday, the city’s public school system has not cracked a daily attendance rate higher than 72%.

Rami Sigal, a senior at the Clinton School in Manhattan, said many of his peers are out. Three of his close friends, with whom he shares a table during the day, got COVID.

“I wouldn’t say anyone is really happy or engaged,” said Sigal, who also serves on his local community board and is the editor of the school newspaper.

Sigal said one of his teachers who recently caught the virus returned to work this week, despite the teacher still testing positive on a rapid test. They spent the class period keeping as much distance as possible between them.

The city education department declined to comment on the specific incident and didn’t answer a question about whether safety rules allow an asymptomatic teacher who tests positive at the end of a five-day quarantine to return, referring Chalkbeat to state health department guidelines. A state health department spokesperson said the teacher should have stayed at home for a full 10 days given the positive test result.

Jadeyn Madhere, a sophomore at Manhattan’s Art and Design High School, said she was glad to return to her classroom this week. Despite the spike in virus cases, she said she wouldn’t take a remote option if it were offered.

Her grades suffered during remote learning last year, but she has since made the honor roll. She’s also excited about attending art class, a favorite subject this year that wasn’t emphasized last year. On Wednesday, she enjoyed using oil pastels to draw a still life of marbles.

Jadeyn Madhere with her mother, Christine.

Still, the school felt off: Even though most of her teachers were present, more than a third of her classmates were out. “It felt kind of dull,” she said. “It would have been a better day if more people was there.”

Alan Sun, a sophomore at The Bronx High School of Science, said there has been little in-person learning this week. With many students out, his English class on Friday was devoted to independently reading “1984,” but many students simply dozed off. When teachers are absent, students are often funneled into the gym or cafeteria where students “just hang out, talk to our friends, we do homework, or look at our phones.”

He said the school’s atmosphere is sometimes uncomfortable, especially during lunch when students gather in the cafeteria unmasked with little social distancing. And under a new policy launched this week, students are given rapid tests to take at home if they’ve been in a room with someone who tests positive. Some are taking the tests in the bathroom before getting home, fearing that they might have been infected, Sun said.

“People test positive in the middle of all these people and it’s really uncomfortable,” he said.

For teachers, low attendance poses a difficult dilemma: press ahead with the curriculum for the students who are present or abandon lesson plans and review past material, so that absent students can catch up when they return?

“I think we could have planned better about how to prepare students mentally for this. Because everything is so unexpected, kids are having a hard time managing the stress.”

Donna McKenna, who teaches students who are recent immigrants in the Bronx, said her school is better suited than many when it comes to dealing with disrupted school days.

Even before the pandemic, students often missed class to work jobs or travel back to their home countries. The way the school plans lessons and grades students is designed to allow students to pick up where they left off and show mastery of skills and concepts rather than content.

With only five out of 100 seniors showing up to the building on Wednesday, the school has resorted to “Zoom in a room.” McKenna gives mini-lessons twice — first to the students in front of her and then to those tuning in online. Despite the effort to meet students virtually, McKenna said many aren’t tuning into classes.

“I think we could have planned better about how to prepare students mentally for this,” she said. “Because everything is so unexpected, kids are having a hard time managing the stress.”

Lesson plans disrupted

“It’s hard to teach core content when you’d have to re-teach it to a third of the class who is out once they’re back.”

Ehrlich, the teacher at the Bronx’s New World High School, said he has shifted away from offering lots of direct instruction because more than a quarter of his students stayed home this week, either due to quarantines or fear of getting sick. His classes have been repeatedly disrupted by quarantines. Ehrlich also was home sick the week before winter recess after testing positive for the coronavirus.

“It’s hard to teach core content when you’d have to re-teach it to a third of the class who is out once they’re back,” he said.

Jennifer Gorman, an English teacher at another high school in the Bronx, said low student attendance and her co-teacher’s absence shifted her teaching back to review mode. She’s focusing on going deeper on grammar rules, such as sentence fragments.

“Nobody is going to start ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in the middle of a staffing shortage,” she said.

Other teachers feel pressure to continue with the curriculum.

Robert Effinger, a high school social studies teacher in the Bronx, said he needs to forge ahead if he wants his students to have a shot at passing the Regents exam required for graduation — even while “crossing my fingers and my toes” that the state decides to cancel the tests like they did last year.

He said the “sporadic” absences of students make it particularly hard for those who have disabilities and may, for example, require access to a text the day before a lesson is presented. He also doesn’t want to push students who are sick.

“Listen, if a kid is really sick with COVID, do I really want them to think, ‘Oh I really have to get that social studies assignment done?’ No, I want them to get better,” Effinger said.

Online and in person – instruction suffers

Teachers are only expected to provide remote assignments and “office hours” for students who test positive for COVID. But many students — it’s unclear how many — have decided to stay home out of safety concerns or other reasons and aren’t entitled to remote instruction.

Multiple educators said they were overwhelmed by trying to keep up with planning lessons for students who are in person, using prep periods to cover for other teachers who are out sick, and posting work for students to complete online or setting up video conferences with them.

“It’s just very, very hard to do the remote instruction and the in-person instruction,” said Mike Loeb, a science teacher at the Urban Institute of Mathematics in the Bronx. “We’re just spread very thin.”

Loeb said he’s posting notes for his lessons on Google Classroom that any student can access regardless of why they’re staying home. But his class also features many labs, such as how different liquids refract light in various ways, which are difficult to replicate virtually.

He’s doing his best to give students the data they would have observed had they been in class, and even conducting video meetings with students. But he acknowledged he doesn’t have time to help every student online individually who requests it, especially those who are not isolating due to a positive test result.

Education department officials didn’t respond to a question about whether students who are home sick but haven’t tested positive for the coronavirus are entitled to any remote instruction. A spokesperson for the teachers union said they are in talks with the city about the rules governing remote instruction.

Mikhaela Reid, an East Flatbush mom, said she has kept her two children home amid the virus surge because she doesn’t trust the city’s safety protocols and is fearful that her family will contract the coronavirus for a second time. Her children, ages 6 and 11, have asthma.

She said her kids have been receiving assignments and even some one-on-one help from their schools. But there’s been no live teaching, leaving Reid and her husband to walk their younger child through most of his work.

“It’s hard to do anything asynchronous with kids his age and they’re basically offering parents different projects and worksheets,” Reid said.

The family doesn’t have a concrete set of criteria for sending their children back to school. Reid said she is worried that the city’s random testing protocol isn’t rigorous enough and that staff who test positive are allowed to return to their classrooms after five days without first showing a negative test.

“I don’t want someone who is contagious in close contact with my kid,” she said, adding that she also doesn’t want to slip into homeschooling. “I just want things to improve to a better level to feel safer.”

The schools chancellor said Friday that absences and mounting cases were to be expected given omicron. But he also projected confidence that infections would soon crest and students and teachers would be back in classrooms “over the next week or two.”

The school system will “start to make our way back to normal as this variant starts to subside,” Banks said. “But the main thing is that for all of our children who really need to be in school, they’re here.”

Reema Amin contributed to this story.

NYC schools failed to provide students with adequate remote learning access: lawsuit

2022-01-06T21:25:40+00:00

When the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to go remote in March 2020, Queens mom Marie struggled to help her then-seventh grader access coursework using her phone or computer.

Because her daughter had fallen so far behind, she was mandated to go to virtual summer school. Despite obtaining an internet-enabled iPad for summer classes, the seventh grader could not get Zoom or other applications to complete assignments. School officials repeatedly told the family there was nothing they could do, she said.

Ultimately, her daughter had to repeat seventh grade, said Marie, who asked to use her middle name for privacy reasons and is one of five families suing state and city officials over their failure to provide adequate internet access and working devices to city students, particularly low-income children of color. The families are represented by attorneys from from Legal Services NYC, Arnold & Porter, and the Education Law Center.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that top state and city officials knew the scope of the digital divide as the pandemic progressed, but failed to properly address it. It claims that the city violated state and city law by not providing a “sound, basic education,” resulting in a disparate impact on low-income children and those of color, and is calling for academic services to help affected students catch up.

Marie’s daughter continued to learn at home during the 2020-21 school year with a faulty device and still had trouble accessing websites or certain assignments, Marie said. The school gave her a new device in October 2020, but that one didn’t work well, so Marie purchased high-speed internet from Spectrum hoping that would solve the problem. It didn’t, she said. According to the lawsuit, she still pays more than $100 a month for that service, which she said she cannot afford.

Marie said her daughter became depressed — she struggled both with school and with being held back a grade as her friends moved on. At one point, Marie said she took her daughter to the emergency room because she had attempted suicide.

“You have no idea psychologically what this did to my child,” Marie said through tears. “As a mother, this broke me. I did everything I could. I did everything I did to try to help her.”

‘Falling behind’

Many children were left without a connection to their teachers and classes, the suit said, which names Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa, former Mayor Bill de Blasio and former schools chancellor Meisha Porter as defendants.

When the families in the lawsuit, as well as others, reached out to their schools or the education department for help with getting or paying for internet, they were instructed to reach out to local internet providers and request discounts, the complaint said.

A basic internet plan costs an average $40 a month in New York City, where about 45% of low-income families don’t have a connection, and 100,000 city children live in homes without internet, according to a 2020 analysis from former Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Even though this lawsuit comes nearly two years after the pandemic started, the attorneys said they only filed it after repeated attempts to contact the education department and find solutions for their clients. Additionally, they said, remote learning in some form will likely persist as children may have to go remote and quarantine if they test positive for COVID as the city experiences another massive surge. (Classes are also remote on Election Day as well as snow days.)

“It’s our hope that the city will act quickly to fix this and not choose to litigate for years before addressing these problems,” said Lucy S. McMillan, one of the attorneys behind the suit. “The point is that these students have missed so much, and they are falling behind. If it takes years to assess this and implement some sort of remediation, that’s not going to be helpful for these students, who are getting older every year. Our hope is that the city will take this on now.”

When the pandemic first shuttered schools, city officials had to quickly distribute hundreds of thousands of devices to students across the nation’s largest school system. The city would go on to spend nearly $260 million on 511,000 internet-enabled iPads that were purchased from the 2019-20 school year through last school year, plus $4 million a month for data plans, according to an audit by Stringer.

But that massive task took months to carry out. Five weeks after schools closed, 19,000 children were still waiting for devices, the lawsuit noted.

Many families struggled to get online, sometimes barred from discounts offered by internet companies aimed at helping school children. Even with internet-connected iPads in hand, families still ran into spotty connectivity, could not get their devices to work, and weren’t able to get timely help from their schools or the education department, the lawsuit said. Internet access was a particular problem for children who lived in homeless shelters, where WiFi wasn’t available and cell phone connection was poor.

When it was time to return for the 2020-21 school year, most children had still chosen to learn remotely full-time, while others were going into their schools part time. Even then, the lawsuit claims, the city didn’t ensure every family had working devices and internet access before classes began.

By October 2020, one month after school started, 77,000 students were still without a device, city officials said at the time. Reliable internet access was also still an issue, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also claims that the education department did not have a consistent system to fix or replace broken devices, especially for families who primarily spoke a language other than English.

Calls for reimbursement

Another plaintiff, a mother who primarily speaks Bengali, had repeatedly asked her then-kindergartener’s school for assistance with navigating remote learning, their city-issued iPad, and internet connectivity, according to the lawsuit. However, she was not provided with a Bengali interpreter, and any written information on how to navigate remote learning was provided in English.

As a result, her family had to purchase internet service, but her son’s device still did not work some days. Now in second grade, her son has struggled with school so far this year, the lawsuit claims.

All five plaintiffs, with children ranging from elementary to middle school, say that they failed to get help from their schools or the education department to troubleshoot technology issues, the lawsuit said.

Among their demands, they are asking the city to fix remote learning so that it doesn’t force families to pay for anything out-of-pocket. They also want city officials to develop a claims process so that families can be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket costs related to remote learning since March 2020.

Additionally, they want the city to assess what sort of academic recovery services are owed to children who struggled with remote learning, as well as other damages and attorneys fees. The education department created a $635 million academic recovery plan this year, including a plan to ensure all students have access to a device with internet service and extra services for students with disabilities.

New York City education department spokesperson Sarah Casasnovas defended the city’s record in getting devices to children.

“Facing the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, New York City launched one of the most robust device distribution efforts in the nation, putting hundreds of thousands of devices into the hands of students,” she said. “We will review the suit.”

A spokesperson for the state education department said it does not comment on ongoing litigation. The governor’s office did not immediately respond for comment.

New York Gov. Hochul offers first look at education priorities

2022-01-05T21:54:18+00:00

In her first State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined plans to attract more teachers to New York, provide more mental health resources for schools, and ensure more New Yorkers earn a college degree.

Hochul’s speech marked the first time she offered a peek inside her priorities for the state’s public schools since taking office after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned. She is running to keep the seat in this year’s November gubernatorial election.

From her first day in office in late August, Hochul’s administration has grappled with the coronavirus pandemic’s ongoing grip on schooling for the state’s 700-plus districts, including the nation’s largest in New York City. Most recently, she created a test-to-stay plan as a way to keep classrooms open through the recent COVID surge throughout the state and has strongly resisted closing school buildings.

However, her ideas for education outside of the public health crisis remained largely unknown until Wednesday, the start of the legislative session.

As she has previously promised, Hochul also proposed fully funding Foundation Aid, the state’s funding formula for schools that sends more money to higher-needs districts, by the 2023-2024 school year.

“I believe to my very core that there is nothing more valuable than education and training when it comes to unlocking opportunity and prosperity,” Hochul said. “It changes lives, across generations.”

Here are some of the governor’s proposals from her speech and a more in-depth policy book released Wednesday:

Teacher shortage

Education officials have long been concerned about a looming teacher shortage in New York. State education policymakers recently proposed getting rid of a controversial teacher certification test as one way to expand and diversify the state’s educator workforce.

Citing data from the state teachers union, Hochul’s proposal said enrollment in state teaching programs has decreased by more than half since 2009, and about a third of current teachers are projected to retire in the next five years. To address this, Hochul is proposing to speed up the teacher certification process and incentivize more people to become educators. She also wants to temporarily remove the cap on how much certain retired teachers can earn if they return to teaching, while earning pensions, but her plan did not elaborate on which teachers could be eligible.

One solution, Hochul believes, is to allow teachers, counselors, social workers, and other positions with shortages to immediately begin working without waiting through the education department’s approval process – so long as those prospective educators meet state requirements for completing coursework, fingerprinting and background checks. Honoring an ask from the state education department, Hochul also wants to add more staffers to the department’s certification office to speed up what she described as a “lengthy” approval process. It currently takes about 16 weeks, according to the department’s website.

To get more teachers into the pipeline, Hochul has proposed a new state teaching residency program. It would provide matching funding to local school districts so they can create two-year programs for graduate-level teacher candidates, who would be eligible for either reduced or free tuition at SUNY, CUNY, or partnering private colleges.

Hochul’s plan said the program would prioritize ”diversity among teacher candidates,” as well as high-need subject areas in locations with teacher shortages. But beyond that, she did not focus further on boosting teacher diversity, which in recent years has been a top concern of state education policymakers and advocates. The most recent data, from 2016-2017, showed that 80% of the state’s teachers are white. Teachers of color comprised 42% of New York City’s teaching workforce.

Hochul also wants to create a program that would cover two years of part-time CUNY or SUNY tuition for paraprofessionals who want to become teachers while still working.

Mental health in schools

Families, educators and lawmakers have been concerned about the mental health of students throughout the pandemic. Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a rare advisory about a growing youth mental health crisis as most children went back to school in person for the first time since the public health crisis began, citing increases in symptoms of anxiety and depression and hospital visits for attempted suicide among children.

Hochul has proposed providing state grants to local school districts for providing mental health support, as well as a new state program that would match federal funds that school districts dedicate to mental health. (The plan did not specify whether those federal funds are COVID relief dollars or another stream of money.) Schools can use funds from the proposed Recover from COVID School Program for hiring more mental health professionals and school-based services, and separately, after-school, extended-day or extended-year programs.

Hochul also wants to create a program that would link SUNY or CUNY students studying education-related fields with schools and nonprofits offering student mental health and other services. In exchange for academic credit and other service requirements, the student volunteers would help with tutoring, mental health services, hunger prevention, and after-school activities.

Expanding mental health resources is a top concern for the New York Education Conference Board, an influential coalition of large organizations, such as the state superintendents council, though that group was vague on exactly how it wanted the state to step in.

College access

Hochul announced a goal of getting two-thirds of New Yorkers to graduate with a college degree by 2030, by expanding access to college-level courses in high school and providing some tuition relief for students.

She outlined a vague proposal to help create more college-level courses for high school students, separate from Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes, in order to give more students a “head start” on completing college. However, her plan did not say exactly what sort of support the state would offer or who would receive it.

Hochul also proposed expanding tuition assistance to 75,000 part-time students by eliminating a rule that they must earn 24 credits in the year before they want the assistance to start. Currently, the state’s Tuition Assistance Program, or TAP, provides up to $5,665 a year to students who earn no more than $10,000 if they are single, $40,000 if they are married, and $80,000 if they have dependents or are foster children or orphans since they were 13. However, the program is only available to part-time students if they attended school full time and earned 24 credits the year before they want tuition assistance.

Hochul’s proposal to eliminate the credit requirement would make prorated awards available to any student enrolled in at least six credits at SUNY, CUNY or a not-for-profit school in New York.

COVID cases among NYC students and school staff spiked over winter break

2022-01-05T16:44:11+00:00

This story has been updated to reflect new coronavirus case data reported by the education department on Wednesday.

Over 38,000 teachers and students in New York City public schools have reported positive COVID tests since the Dec. 24 start of winter recess, representing more virus cases than the entire rest of the school year combined, according to updated figures the education department released Wednesday.

In the first three months of the school year, through Dec. 23, nearly 23,000 staff and students tested positive.

The figures come with some caveats. The education department recently started including at-home rapid tests in their count of positive cases, likely inflating the most recent figures. City officials are no longer independently confirming all positive tests, relying instead on self-reporting by schools when a family or staff member informs them of a positive test result.

And the tally of cases during the winter break reflect when the cases were reported to the city and included some earlier positive results from before the break, officials said.

Still, there is little question that cases among students and staff are rising amid a record-breaking surge of coronavirus cases across the city and country, fueled by the more-contagious omicron variant.

The total number of positive cases since the first day of school is 61,453, with over 40,000 students and 21,000 staff testing positive, according to city data as of Jan. 4, out of over 1 million students and staff. (The figures include charter schools.)

Nearly 27,000 positive cases were reported on Monday and Tuesday alone, but education department officials stressed that most of those were the result of positive tests that occurred over the winter break but were not reported until schools reopened.

Still, the increase in cases means that schools and families are likely to face significant disruptions in the coming weeks in terms of attendance and staff shortages. Some schools have already struggled to field enough teachers to staff classes.

On Tuesday, 28% of the city’s public school students, or more than 260,000 children, were absent — five percentage points better than Monday. Even if school buildings remain open, those absences can have a big effect, as educators struggle to determine what material to teach while so many students are not in school.

Dr. Juan Tapia, a pediatrician in Washington Heights and a member of the nonprofit physicians network SOMOS, said increases in infections are “bound to occur” because of the contagiousness of the omicron variant.

All public school staff are required to be vaccinated, but students are not — and nearly 44% of city residents between the ages of 5 and 17 are unvaccinated, city data show. That may be fueling an increase in hospitalizations among children, but experts have also emphasized that omicron does not appear to cause more severe cases among kids and appears to be milder among those who are fully vaccinated.

The cases appear to be “less severe, and the worst outcomes are not rising at the same level as the new cases,” Tapia said.

Beginning Monday, officials tweaked certain safety rules to help counteract the surge of cases.

The city has increased the number of students subject to random testing, doubling the number of students who are eligible and including students regardless of vaccination status. Previously, 10% of unvaccinated students who consented were subject to testing. The program still only tests students who have consented, and roughly 64% of the city’s students have not done so.

The city is also instituting a “test-to-stay” policy, which allows classmates of someone who tests positive to remain in school instead of issuing wider quarantine orders, as long as they test negative twice over five days and remain symptom-free. The city has distributed 2.1 million at-home tests for the program so far, officials said. School staff should also be given two at-home tests per week in January even if they’re not feeling sick.

Susan Hassig, assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University, generally applauded the changes in safety protocols but said city officials should ensure that staff can also get tested at school, on top of the at-home test kits they’re receiving. (Staff can now be tested at school if they consent, but only if the testing company has the capacity.) The plan to provide at-home tests to those exposed to COVID in the classroom is “going to make a big difference,” so long as the results are faithfully reported, Hassig said.

Some educators remain skeptical that the changes are enough to protect school communities. At two co-located middle schools in Brooklyn — Sunset Park Prep and Charles Dewey — most educators called out sick on Tuesday.

The teachers union chapter leader at Charles Dewey said it was largely in protest of what many educators in the building viewed as lax safety rules. That teacher and one other from the building said they want the city to make rapid at-home testing more widely available for all students and staff, regardless of whether they have symptoms or are exposed to the virus. They also want schools to provide high-quality masks to students, not just teachers.

Asked about the consequences of missed instruction caused by the sickout, one of the teachers said all those who called out sick had posted work online for students to access. Another said it was essential to draw attention to safety issues.

“In order to get change of any sort you have to disrupt the current system, that’s the only way people are heard,” the chapter leader said. The teachers said they plan to return on Wednesday.

An administrator on the campus who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said more than 80% of educators called out. The staff crunch forced the school to collapse classrooms, putting up to 35 students in a room with minimal social distancing. The education department sent dozens of central staffers to the building, but only a handful had teaching licenses, meaning they could not cover many classes, the administrator said.

Mark Cannizzaro, head of the union that represents principals and other school administrators, visited the campus on Tuesday.

“Our biggest concern safety-wise is staffing more so than anything else,” he said.

Katie O’Hanlon, an education department spokesperson, emphasized that some staff who called out sick were not teachers and the replacement staff were able to help with student arrival and administrative work, in addition to some classroom coverage.

“We quickly deploy qualified substitutes or central staff when needed to ensure our schools remain open and all students can continue to get the in-person supports that are critical for their well-being and cannot be replicated outside the classroom,” O’Hanlon said in a statement.

The department also pledged to more quickly release figures about how many students and staff report positive coronavirus cases. The city previously publicly posted that information each evening, but had not updated its website since Dec. 30. The information will once again be publicly released online each day starting Wednesday, officials said.

Families also briefly stopped getting emails from the Situation Room about positive cases. Those daily updates about the number of cases in each school would resume this week, officials said.

“Under our Stay Safe, Stay Open plan, we reopened our schools by ramping up testing sites, making 1.5 million rapid test kits available to students and staff, and encouraging all our community members to get tested over break to identify cases,” said Nathaniel Styer, an education department spokesperson. “We will not compromise on our safety measures nor our drive to safely keep schools open.”

Christina Veiga and Reema Amin contributed.

An early test for Eric Adams: solving low attendance and a school staffing crunch

2022-01-04T00:12:18+00:00

As students and educators streamed back into classrooms Monday, New York City’s newly minted Mayor Eric Adams and schools Chancellor David Banks vowed to keep them there even as the region confronts a record-breaking surge of coronavirus cases.

But if Adams’ first day overseeing the nation’s largest school system is any indication, fulfilling that goal will be an early test of the new administration.

With many educators positive for COVID, some campuses on Monday struggled to field enough staff. At least one Brooklyn high school sent students to the auditorium. None of the 15 requests a Queens school made for substitute teachers were fulfilled, its principal said. And, in an extreme case, a Brooklyn elementary school leader shuttered the campus entirely even without official approval to do so. (Officials said they are considering disciplinary action regarding P.S. 58’s decision to go remote.)

At other schools, staffing issues did not appear to be an immediate issue — in some cases because staff absences were balanced by higher-than-usual absenteeism among students. Across the system, about 33% of students were absent on Monday, city data show.

“I have kids who are genuinely worried about bringing COVID back to their families,” said Anna Nelson, an assistant principal at Bronx Latin, a middle and high school. “Usually when you come back from break it’s: ‘I’m so happy to see you,’ and it’s joyful. It was not joyful today.”

Across the system, about 33% of students were absent on Monday, city data show.

Over half of the school’s students were absent Monday. A flurry of positive coronavirus cases among workers forced the school to reassign co-teachers from classes that are supposed to be staffed by two educators. And a shortage of cafeteria workers meant that students were not offered breakfast this morning, Nelson said.

It’s difficult to know how pervasive staffing issues were the day after winter break or the extent to which they will disrupt classrooms in the coming weeks, though infections have upended other sectors, including the transportation system. Banks said “all indications are that we’re in a pretty good place right now” regarding staffing, and he was prepared to deploy administrators from central offices, if necessary. The education department did not say how many educators were out.

A new “COVID command center” will help address any staffing shortages, Banks promised.

“We’ll be prepared to make whatever adjustments are needed,” he added.

New quarantine policies

Facing an avalanche of cases, new quarantine policies took effect Monday to help protect schools against the virus and reduce the number of missed days. The city has increased its random testing protocol to include 20% of vaccinated and unvaccinated students each week instead of 10% of unvaccinated students. Still, the program only tests students who have consented, and roughly 64% of the city’s nearly 1 million students have not done so.

The city is also instituting a “test-to-stay” policy, which allows classmates of someone who tests positive to remain in school instead of issuing wider quarantine orders, as long as they test negative twice over several days and remain symptom-free. The city has distributed 2.1 million at-home tests for the program so far, officials said. School staff should also be given two at-home tests per week in January even if they’re not feeling sick.

Some families said the city’s mitigation measures made them feel safe returning to campus.

“I felt very comfortable and confident that the school has already proven that they are able to manage the situation to the best of their ability so far,” said Joy Smith-Jones, a Bronx mother, who sent her ninth-grade daughter back to Manhattan’s Central Park East High School after the holiday break.

The family received an email from their daughter’s principal on Saturday reiterating the school’s safety rules, and that he would ensure students would not be without teachers if staffing issues arise. The message made the family feel more comfortable returning, Smith-Jones said, noting that the principal has been “very open and transparent” with parents throughout the school year.

But Smith-Jones may reconsider if cases spike at her daughter’s school, where all of her daughter’s teachers showed up on Monday, but many peers were missing. One class had just 13 students, about half of the usual number, she said.

Though the family is vaccinated, her husband was hospitalized with COVID from March to June 2020 and still suffers from the after-effects, Smith-Jones said. She doesn’t want him to get reinfected. While their daughter wants to be in school, she would stay home for the sake of her family— though her mom hopes it does not come to that.

The family uses a testing van near their home each week separate from the education department’s program in part to get “assurance” that her daughter is free of the virus, Smith-Jones said.

Learning disruptions

Keeping school buildings open is essential for low-income families who make up a majority of the system, not only because of the challenges with remote instruction, but also because schools are essential in providing meals and other services, Adams said Monday, echoing his predecessor Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Multiple school leaders said they agreed with the commitment to keeping school buildings open, but emphasized that it may be difficult to provide an undisrupted learning environment with such a high level of infections.

At Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, one teacher estimated about 50 staffers were out. If a teacher was absent, students were greeted with a message posted on the classroom door to head to the auditorium, where administrators and some substitutes stood watch.

The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said his students relayed that they had no computers to access school work.

“It basically amounted to sitting around doing nothing in that time. And I had a kid who had three classes like that,” the teacher said.

The teacher spent his free period scrambling to post work online for the more than half of students whom he said were absent Monday.

“We can say schools are open,” he said. “But what’s going on today, there’s not teaching and learning going on anywhere near what you could feel good about as a teacher and educator.”

In the meantime, students who are quarantining (or opting to stay home out of concern about rising cases) may also have uneven experiences — or little instruction at all, educators said. Some teachers are trying to broadcast their lessons on Zoom for those who are at home. Others are simply posting assignments online for students to complete on their own time. Students are supposed to attend school in person unless they’re required to isolate.

At John Bowne High School in Flushing, Queens, nearly 40 out of roughly 200 teachers were out on Monday, according to a teacher there, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal. About 45% of the school’s more than 3,000 students were out, city data show.

“This is a tremendous burden on staff. We have to basically teach asynchronously as well as synchronously,” the teacher said.

Although many charter schools are returning to in-person instruction, Harlem Link Charter school gave families the option to keep their children home. Many did.

Walking the building on Monday, co-founder and co-executive director Steve Evangelista said each classroom had between three to 10 students. Staff were in the building, but whether in school or at home, students logged into remote classes. Testing has been ramped up so that everyone coming to the campus is tested daily.

On the first day back, 17 students and staff tested positive for COVID.

Evangelista said that remote instruction, while not ideal, allows the school to make sure students continue learning while also acknowledging that many families remain fearful of the virus.

“Safety begins with trust,” he said. “That sense of well-being matters more than anything else.”

The Central Harlem school, which keeps a sharp focus on attendance, noticed that calls home about missed days became more frequent in December. Conversations with families revealed that many were getting sick, were isolating after coming into contact with others who had tested positive for the virus, or were simply hunkering down out of health concerns as cases soared.

So school leaders decided to offer remote instruction the week before winter break, and again after classes resumed in January.

The school plans to continue offering virtual classes at least through this week.

Amid omicron surge, NYC schools prepare to reopen after winter break

2022-01-03T01:18:20+00:00

New York City teachers and students prepared to return from winter break Monday to schools with ramped up testing and other measures designed to contain the spread of the surging omicron variant.

The reopening of the country’s largest school district was greeted with apprehension among some parents and teachers unnerved by a surge in cases across the state.

The return to school could be complicated. Staffing shortages might pose problems as educators test positive or stay home caring for relatives with COVID. Dropping temperatures and the season’s first snowstorm could force lunch time indoors and classroom windows to close, raising even more concerns about ventilation and transmission.

The city’s new mayor, Eric Adams, sought to assuage the fears of parents during an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “I say to them, fear not sending them back,” said Adams, who was sworn in on Jan. 1. “The number of transmissions is low. Your children are in a safe space to learn and continue to thrive.”

Determined to avoid a systemwide closure and return to remote learning, Adams and other officials vowed last week to double the number of students and staff tested for COVID in schools. In a reversal from this year’s previous protocols, vaccinated students will be included in the testing pool.

The state also said it would send 2 million at-home tests to city schools in an effort to cut down on unnecessary quarantines. Under the latest city rules, asymptomatic students with a positive classmate can return to the classroom with a negative test result.

Also in a letter to parents last week, the education department urged but did not require families to get students tested for COVID before returning to classes, though long lines and a lag in result times plagued many testing sites. Additionally, many stores have run out of at-home testing kits. The education department also changed its daily health screener in response to the surge.

Adams and other officials are continuing to encourage families to get their children over 5 vaccinated. Many public health officials have said that omicron appears to be milder among individuals who have gotten their shots.

Still, the measures did little to alleviate the fears of some teachers and families unnerved by record numbers of children hospitalized with COVID. Members of the MORE-UFT caucus planned to wear black this week to protest what they are calling an unsafe reopening.

In a letter to members Sunday, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said the union called on Adams to revert to remote learning “temporarily until we could get a handle on the staffing challenges that each school is about to face as we return. However, he feels strongly that schools need to remain open.”

Still, Adams seemed poised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, who prioritized keeping the school system open over the last year even as individual classrooms shut down.

Ahead of the winter break, schools experienced a spike in cases, with at least 11 schools closing that week and others suffering from staffing shortages. The education department recently reached out to retired teachers stating they anticipated a need for substitutes after the break and offering an additional $50 per day if they worked at least five days in January, according to a letter shared with Chalkbeat.

An education department spokeswoman said there were no schools slated to be closed Monday due to positive cases, but at least one school in Brooklyn told families Sunday night they would be closed due to staffing shortages.

Though P.S. 58 had not yet gotten official approval for its “emergency operational closure” request, it told families that several reasons forced its decision to go remote.

“One big factor is that many of our staff members have tested positive for Covid, or are experiencing symptoms and awaiting test results,” said an email from the school’s principal to families. “Also, staff members are home caring for their Covid positive family members.”

School districts around the country are taking different approaches to the rise in infections. Districts such as Detroit and Newark chose to delay their returns to in-person learning, while many districts chose to reopen with ramped up testing and other altered protocols.

Carrie Melago contributed.

NYC schools will reopen in January with increased COVID testing

2021-12-28T18:49:53+00:00

As omicron cases surge in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor-elect Eric Adams doubled down on keeping schools open through increased testing.

The leaders said Tuesday they will not delay the return of school in the nation’s largest district on Jan. 3 and instead take a new approach that includes sending rapid test kits home with all students and staff when someone in their classroom tests positive. The incoming and outgoing administrations shared a message: “Stay safe, and stay open.”

Under the new plan, students who are asymptomatic and test negative can return to classrooms instead of quarantining at home. They will take another at-home test within a week.

The state is planning to send 2 million COVID tests to city schools, said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined the press conference. In addition to the 1 million kits from the state, the city is planning to procure another 2.5 million kits, officials said.

“We saw the failed experiment,” Hochul said, “with remote teaching and the parents who were just pulling their hair out at kitchen tables.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes after schools saw a spike in cases ahead of the winter break. At least eleven schools were closed that week, and some schools saw staffing shortages and asked students to learn at home.

Roughly 18,700 students — which is under 2% of public school children — have tested positive for the coronavirus this school year and nearly 7,600 staffers have, according to city data. Roughly 98% of close contacts in schools don’t end up catching the virus, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi tweeted.

Public health officials said that most people will likely be exposed to the new highly transmissible omicron variant over the next six to 12 months. While omicron appears to be affecting children more than previous coronavirus variants, vaccinations are preventing serious illness, Hochul said.

“The ones who are getting severely sick so far are only the unvaccinated children,” Hochul said, urging families to vaccinate their children.

Officials said the city will also test both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, a shift from the past few months when only students who hadn’t received the vaccine were subject to in-school testing. The city wants to double the number of students who are tested each week to 20% up from 10%.

But only students who have consented to testing will get swabbed, so there will be a push to increase the number of students who have consented to testing. As of October, only about 190,000 of nearly 1 million students had consented. De Blasio said Tuesday that about 330,000 had opted into testing.

“We are meeting a surge in the virus with a surge in resources,” said Adams, adding, “When it comes to school or young people, it is critical that education is part of their overall development, their mental health, their social skills. And they are able to learn better when they are in an in person environment.”

Chokshi, who is planning to remain in his role until March, said that the Situation Room’s role will shift. With the change to the city’s quarantine protocols, the city’s inter-agency rapid response team handling test and trace in school communities, will now help principals when there is an “unusually” high number of cases within a classroom or sports team.

The teachers union was pleased that schools would be receiving increased COVID testing as well as the at-home kits, but still had concerns whether the changes would be ready after the winter break.

“Teachers are prepared to do their jobs starting Jan. 3,” said a statement from United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. “The real issue is whether the city can do its job — ensuring that new testing initiatives are available in every school and an improved Situation Room is actually in place by next week.”

Correction: This article initially stated that the at-home kits were only for students who consented to COVID testing. They will be available to all students.

In smaller classes, my fourth graders are thriving. Will it last?

2021-12-21T13:00:00+00:00

When I returned to my fourth grade classroom in Hell’s Kitchen after half a year of remote teaching, I expected every aspect of teaching to be harder. I thought that meeting the needs of children who had endured six months of emotional and academic disruption — challenges that were ongoing — would feel nearly impossible. I was wrong.

One of the strange silver linings of these terrible two years has been a huge reduction in the number of students in my classroom.

Jenna Lempesis

I’ve been teaching in New York City since 2012. For eight years, I consistently had between 25 and 32 children on my roster. In 2018, I began the year with 36 students, even though the legal limit is 32 students.

And then, of course, the pandemic set in, and when we returned to campus in the fall of 2020, I had only 12 students who opted to learn in person. This year, due to the large number of families who left the city during the pandemic, I have 21 children in my fourth grade classroom.

Now, a bill before the New York City Council could make smaller class sizes permanent. The legislation, called Intro 2374, would require every city classroom to provide a net floor space of 35 square feet per child, resulting in rosters of 14-21 students.

My students — the lights of my life — get the increased classroom attention that they’ve always deserved.

It almost feels too obvious to explain the enormous difference that a one-third reduction in class size has made. My students — the lights of my life — get the increased classroom attention that they’ve always deserved but never quite had. With 11 fewer children in the classroom, my co-teacher and I meet with any learner who needs support, multiple times a day, every day of the week.

With increased chances to communicate with their teachers, our emerging bilingual students are learning English at a rapid pace. Some of our readers, including those who returned from remote instruction on a kindergarten or first grade reading level, have already made over half a year of growth in the first three months of school. Some of our mathematicians, having missed much of second and third grade, returned without a conceptual understanding of multiplication. Now, they are multiplying multi-digit numbers.

In overcrowded classrooms, we’re forced to adopt teaching and classroom management strategies that prioritize efficiency over quality because we must reach every student somehow. Inevitably, the added noise and movement that comes with additional 10-year-olds contributes to a more chaotic environment.

But now, despite the trauma of the pandemic, our children frequently place their names on the “calm” section of our classroom mood meter; fewer people and more space result in a more placid environment for students and for teachers.

Of course, this is one classroom. But an overwhelming body of research underscores the point: Our children need smaller class sizes to thrive, especially now, especially in the younger grades, and especially in schools that teach historically underserved students.

It’s with great anticipation, then, that we education advocates were watching Intro 2374 wind its way through the New York City Council.

The de Blasio administration has argued that reducing class sizes is too expensive. And the city’s education department has also claimed that the plan is impracticable due to the amount of new building space it would require. But with the institutional will, there are solutions to these problems.

Although the bill could have sailed through the council with a super-majority, a vote on it has been delayed indefinitely, and the legislation will have to undergo new hearings under a new city council.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, and it’s only a matter of time before class sizes in the nation’s largest school district swell to their previous, untenable levels. But as this legislation waits, our children will continue growing into the people we will one day rely on to lead our city and nation.

Last week, my class read ”The Invisible Boy” by Trudy Ludwig. When we finished the book, I asked my students if they had ever felt invisible. One child immediately responded, “I felt invisible in quarantine.” He was referring to the year and a half he spent in remote learning.

Our children are finally back in school now, surrounded by classmates and caring adults. We cannot let them feel invisible in another, equally isolating way — vying for attention in overcrowded classrooms. In small classes, we can ensure that every student — in their joy, wisdom, wonder, quirks, strengths, and struggles — is seen. We can make enormous strides to overcome the pandemic-fueled academic gaps that many of them are facing. We can do this, with the appropriate amount of political will. We can do this with an emphasis, not on dollars and cents or “practicability,” but on where it always should have been: our kids.

Jenna Lempesis is a fourth grade teacher in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. She has taught kindergarten, second, fourth, and fifth grades in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Remote instruction, excused absences: Some NYC schools take matters into their own hands as COVID cases mount

2021-12-21T00:11:10+00:00

At one school in the Bronx, students will eat in their classrooms because there isn’t enough staff to supervise the lunchroom — almost 20% of employees are either sick with COVID-19, or showing symptoms and trying to get tested, according to an assistant principal there.

In at least three schools in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, administrators decided to pivot to remote learning after a dozen people at each of their campuses tested positive, giving students the option to come into the building to log in to their classes if they can’t stay home.

And one elementary school in Queens told entire classes to stay home, despite city guidance that only close contacts have to quarantine, because it was taking too long to report and confirm positive cases through the official channels.

As coronavirus cases spike in New York City, school leaders are taking matters into their own hands to respond to positive cases and staffing shortages within their communities. Calls are also rising to increase COVID testing within schools, as citywide more than 20% of students were absent and some campuses saw even sharper declines in attendance. Some schools are even encouraging students to stay home by offering excused absences and access to remote work.

The mounting cases coincide with a short week: schools close for winter break on Dec. 24. By the time students and staff return, it will be up to a new mayor to decide the safety and health policies for the nation’s largest school district. Mayor-elect Eric Adams takes office Jan. 1 and classes resume just two days later.

Officials with his campaign did not respond to comment. The incoming chancellor, David Banks, declined to comment.

Test to stay?

Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, announced that 2 million at-home tests are on their way to schools across the state, part of a strategy to help districts implement new quarantine measures referred to as “test-to-stay” after the winter break. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently endorsed the approach, which allows students to stay in school after potential exposure to the coronavirus, as long as they are frequently tested.

Hochul also said she wants schools to accept rapid test results to return to classes. In New York City, some educators have balked for a different reason, saying that the education department won’t acknowledge positive results from at-home tests, even at a time when some New Yorkers are spending hours waiting in line for a lab test.

Incoming New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Monday called on the city to require a negative COVID test from students and staff after the winter break. He said the city should give school communities priority access to testing ahead of the return to classes, and send rapid tests to schools to have on-hand for anyone who isn’t able to get swabbed.

Chicago recently took a similar approach, mailing at-home tests to students, but there’s no requirement to show a negative test to return to class.

Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday stuck to his message that schools are safe and did not outline any additional steps the city would take to address mounting cases for the remaining days that schools are in session and under his watch.

“We’re dealing with a temporary phenomenon. We have tremendous tools to deal with it because school communities have been so safe,” he said at a press conference.

De Blasio has promised to ramp up staffing in the city’s Situation Room, an interagency response team that handles testing and contact tracing of cases among school communities. Education department officials did not answer questions about the current Situation Room staffing levels, only saying that it has begun to double, to more than 500. Also in response to the backlogs, the education department has given principals more leeway to make their own quarantine decisions.

School leaders on Monday said there are still major delays in response times, or even just being able to report positive cases.

There were seven schools closed and another 45 under investigation as of Dec. 20.

Cases rise, schools scramble

In the meantime, schools have begun to act on their own.

Leaders from the Brooklyn New School, a progressive elementary school in Carroll Gardens, sent an email to families on Sunday night about the “concerning” increase in cases over the past 72 hours, and said they were having challenges reaching the Situation Room to communicate about new positive cases among staff members and students.

The school was working hard to make sure to notify close contacts as soon as possible, but said, “It seems that each time we complete the notifications for one case, we hear of another,” the email said.

As several classrooms had to pivot to remote learning over the weekend, several families expressed concerns about sending their children to school.

“If you wish to keep your child at home as a health and safety precaution, please notify your child’s teacher,” the email said. “We must consider safety first right now.”

Later that evening, Shane Aslan Selzer got an email from her third grader’s teachers saying that the Brooklyn New School would be able to offer in-person and remote options for all families this week.

Acknowledging that the rising cases were “troubling,” Selzer didn’t hesitate to send her child, who had two doses of the COVID vaccine and will be considered fully vaccinated by Tuesday. She worried that a teacher might not be leading her son’s class.

“I want educational opportunities for my child,” she said “We’re in the third academic year of this affecting our kids. I’m not willing to go back to the March 2020 mentality. We’ve learned a lot since then, haven’t we?”

Science teacher Mike Stivers spent Monday morning handing out fliers in front of his school, Millennium Brooklyn High School in Park Slope, calling on the city to scale up access to COVID testing.

His school is under investigation for a possible outbreak after a number of positive cases there, but Stivers said most of them were detected by tests taken out of school. Teachers from his campus, which also includes Cyberarts Studio Academy and Park Slope Collegiate, signed an open letter demanding in-school testing for anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, and for random testing conducted on schools to begin to include vaccinated students and staff.

“We want schools to be open but obviously we want them to be safe, too,” Stivers said. “I think there is a broad sentiment that the testing is not enough.”

While cases mount, many families have decided to keep their children home. One assistant principal in Brooklyn, who asked not to be named so that she could speak freely, said that about 130 students out of 500 were quarantined. Only about 120 showed up in-person for classes on Monday.

The citywide attendance rate was 79%, down by nearly 10 percentage points from last week’s average.

The Brooklyn assistant principal said the school marks students as present, even if they’re out because of health concerns, because families might otherwise run the risk of involvement with the Administration for Children’s Services, which investigates parental abuse or neglect. The education department has promised to work with families who remain fearful of the virus, but some have reported being investigated by ACS for keeping their children home.

The assistant principal said she was “really angry that we’re back in this position.”

“I kept my own kid home this week. Not worth the risk,” she said.

New York may soon ditch its controversial teacher certification exam

2021-12-17T17:47:33+00:00

New York’s prospective teachers may no longer be required to take a controversial national assessment to get certified, according to a state proposal unveiled this week.

State education officials are proposing to remove the exam known as the edTPA, and would instead require teacher preparation programs to come up with a replacement.

The edTPA aims to assess the skills needed for high quality instruction based on a portfolio of work from would-be educators, including video recordings of them teaching, their lesson plans, analyses of their students’ learning progress, and reflections of their classroom practices. The exam, administered by testing company Pearson, comes with a $300 fee.

The exam’s critics worry it is a barrier to diversifying the teaching workforce and is exacerbating teacher shortages. New York state officials said Black test takers were nearly twice as likely to fail the edTPA compared to their white or Hispanic peers, Chalkbeat reported in 2017. (At the time, a Chalkbeat analysis found that people of color also disproportionately failed other certification tests.) Hispanic teacher candidates in Washington state — which was first, along with New York, to require the edTPA — were more than three times as likely to fail the exam when compared to white candidates, a 2016 study found.

New York officials declined to provide the latest pass-fail data for the edTPA.

If the Board of Regents approves the proposal, teacher preparation programs must come up with an assessment that has multiple ways of showing that candidates are meeting state teaching and learning standards, based on the grades and subject area they want to teach. Programs can still opt to use the edTPA.

“I think this is a very good move,” said Regent Kathleen Cashin, who is from New York City and has long raised concerns about the certification exam. “We’re also keeping choices on it — they can keep it if they want to keep it.”

The proposal, lauded by the state teachers union, is the latest way the state has tried to reform teacher certification in recent years. State officials stressed that it is not meant to water down the requirements for becoming a teacher, but rather, to give teacher prep programs the chance to “customize” assessments while still meeting state standards.

The Regents likely won’t vote on the proposal — which is now out for public comment — until April, at the earliest. If the proposal passes, educator preparation programs must choose or develop a new assessment by September 2023.

Issues with the exam have cropped up for years since New York first made it a requirement in 2014. Teacher preparation program leaders and school district officials criticized the test for becoming “the primary focus” of student teaching, drawing attention away from other parts of their programs.

It is also too expensive for many students, said William Murphy, the state education department’s deputy commissioner of higher education.

State officials also found that some students, who often take months to prepare for the exam, are unable to complete the test before they’ve finished their program.

“There are a number of different challenges associated with this model,” Murphy told the board.

The Regents have made some changes over the years to ease the edTPA requirement, including lowering the passing score for the exam and allowing out-of-state teachers one year to take the test. But the pandemic highlighted the issue further. In response to the public health crisis, the state education department allowed teaching candidates to take a written exam in lieu of the edTPA. It was a change that teacher prep program leaders embraced, leading them to ask for the removal of the test requirement, Murphy said.

Dan Goldhaber, one of the authors of the 2016 Washington study, said there were also concerns the test might deepen teacher shortages in particular subject areas.

Goldhaber’s study had mixed evidence on the edTPA’s ability to predict how effective a teacher was. There was no correlation between edTPA scores and that teacher’s effectiveness in reading instruction, measured by their students’ state test scores in reading. However, the study did find a link between higher edTPA scores and effectiveness in math instruction.

The study also found that the scores on the exam are “highly predictive” of whether a test taker remains a teacher the following year — the higher the score, the more likely it was that a teacher stayed.

Goldhaber said it was unclear whether New York’s approach would lead to better qualified teachers, since the assessments would vary from program to program. State oversight of the programs will remain important, he suggested.

“The cynical take is that this is a compliance exercise, and it’s just about guaranteeing to the public that there is a pre-service assessment, and that teacher candidates who are in the workforce have all passed it,” Goldhaber said.

New York’s Office of College and University Evaluation is charged with ensuring the state’s teacher preparation programs are meeting regulations and standards, according to a department spokesperson.

Teaching candidates will still be required to complete the rest of the requirements for earning their certifications, including coursework, other exams, and student teaching. Exam pass rates are considered one indicator of how effective a teaching program is, a state education spokesperson said.

NYC’s rising COVID cases strain school response time on quarantines and closures

2021-12-16T23:42:04+00:00

With one week until winter break begins, New York City schools are feeling the strain of rising COVID-19 cases.

Principals are being reminded to get ready in case they need to close a classroom or even their entire school. The education department is also giving school leaders more leeway to act when positive cases are uncovered, as the city’s own rapid response team seems swamped with calls and emails.

This week, some school leaders received calls from their superintendents, and others got emails with a checklist of what’s needed in the event of remote learning, such as ensuring that students and staff have devices and logins.

After the messages sparked rumors that the city was gearing up for a wide-scale shut down, education department officials followed up on Thursday with superintendents and principals. In bold, underlined, red letters, the message said: “There is no plan for a systemwide school closure and pivot to remote learning.”

Amid signs of strain in the city’s Situation Room, the interagency rapid response team charged with conducting test-and-trace investigations in schools, officials said they will ramp up staffing. More than 500 people will work on the team, up from the current 275, according to the education department.

Some principals have been growing increasingly frustrated by the Situation Room’s delays in responding to positive cases, and many parents have been trying to fill the void of information and to make sense of confusing messages.

Dr. Jay Varma, a senior health advisor to the mayor, noted a record-breaking rise in cases in the city, doubling over three days to 7.8% as of Dec. 12.

“We’ve never seen this before,” he tweeted.

The number of school-age children testing positive has similarly shot upwards. On Monday, there were 502 new cases among those ages 5- to 17-years-old, according to state data. By Wednesday, there were 1,085 new positive tests.

The seven-day average of positive tests administered in schools stood at .87% on Dec. 15, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference on Thursday.

Concerns about omicron variant

Anna Bershteyn, an assistant professor of population health at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, said the upticks are consistent with the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the variant makes up about 13% of cases in the city.

“Honestly, omicron is so transmissible that it’s going to be really tough to prevent cases,” Bershteyn said.

She said the city should double down on the vaccines by encouraging every adult who works in schools to get a booster, while continuing to focus on increasing ventilation, social distancing, and cohorting students to limit exposure. Even though cases may rise, she said, “I don’t think it should come to closing schools.”

“I don’t think it’s feasible to prevent a rise in cases in school children, but it is feasible to make schools a safer place for children to be during the omicron wave, compared to schools being closed and children spending their days in the community,” Bershteyn said.

Education department officials continued to tout the safety of schools, citing that only 1% of classrooms were currently closed for quarantine.

“In anticipation of a winter increase in cases, we already started hiring more Situation Room staffers, expanded in-school testing to include teachers, fully vaccinated our staff and offered vaccinations to every student, and are constantly in communication with schools to reiterate the importance of closely following safety measures,” education department spokesperson Nathaniel Styer said in a statement.

Giving principals more autonomy

As rising cases tax the Situation Room, education department officials updated their guidance to principals on Thursday, now allowing school leaders to make the call on quarantines before getting the official go-ahead.

“If a positive case or intervention to a case comes late in the day, principals can call the close contacts of the case and ask them to stay home the next day and wait for further guidance from the Situation Room as long as they have seen a positive COVID test result in their school,” the email to school leaders said. “The principal does not need to wait for the Situation Room to give them the final intervention and letter package before communicating with those close contacts.”

That guidance, however, raised more questions than it answered, said Mark Cannizzaro, president of the Council for School Supervisors and Administrators, or CSA, the union representing principals and other school administrators. He criticized the education department for including the change in an email without working out details with the union, such as who else principals would have to notify if they quarantined individuals or what would happen if a principal’s decision differed from the Situation Room’s call.

“The cases are going up, and [the Situation Room] can’t handle the volume,” Cannizzaro said. “Someone may have made this change with the right intention — let the principals do this so they’re not waiting — but there should have been a meeting about it.”

Given the increased workload for principals this school year, the union recently worked out a deal with the education department to have department officials assume some of the duties of navigating quarantines. The transition was to occur on Dec. 6, but it hasn’t happened, Cannizzaro said.

Parent confusion and frustration

Brooklyn mom Meghan Groome expressed frustration with the Situation Room after both of her children’s schools recently had COVID cases. It took five days for the test-and-trace corps to notify her that her 3-year-old daughter at a city-run 3-K program should quarantine after a possible exposure.

“The idea that the Situation Room has been set up to provide parents with transparent and up-to-date information about COVID cases in their schools has fallen apart,” Groome said. “Parents are hearing rumors and getting information from other parents and teachers, but not actual confirmation from the Situation Room.”

Messages from the Situation Room have been confusing to Bronx mom Alycia Dingle, who received an email last week about her son’s school, the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, noting there were more than 20 cases, triggering a school closure. The emails kept coming daily. But it turned out that her son’s school was not closed — another school that shares the same building was. That co-located school, Eximius College Preparatory Academy, made up the bulk of positive cases: 20 out of the 23 found within the building.

The principal of Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics sent a clarifying email that their doors were still open. Still, whether parents were confused or scared, many kept their children home. Roughy 19% of students were absent Tuesday. By Wednesday, 26% remained home, according to public data.

As soon as Dingle saw the Situation Room email with the high case number, she had her son get tested — and he was positive. He now has a fever, cough and fatigue.

Dingle is worried he contracted the virus at school, where both schools share stairwells, the gym, and cafeteria.

About a month prior, Dingle’s daughter contracted the virus. Her school, Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship, had more than a dozen cases before Thanksgiving. Though the Situation Room conducted an investigation, they never closed the school.

NYC announces 2022-23 admissions policies for middle and high schools

2021-12-14T22:49:54+00:00

New York City officials unveiled long-awaited details on how middle and high schools will accept students for the coming year: Middle schools will continue a pause on academic screens, and high schools will dramatically streamline their competitive admissions criteria, education department officials announced Tuesday.

In a reversal, high schools will also continue to give admissions priorities based on whether students live within a certain borough or zone. Those priorities were set to be eliminated this year, but Mayor Bill de Blasio changed course following pushback from some corners of the city, including Queens, where families were concerned about long commutes.

District-level priorities, such as the one previously given to a handful of coveted schools in Manhattan’s District 2, are still gone. (Those were removed last year.)

Applications for middle schools will open the week of Jan. 10 and will be due the week of Feb. 28. Offers will be sent in early May.

For high schools, applications will open the week of Jan. 24. The deadline is the week of Feb. 28, with offers sent in late May.

The changes follow another year of pandemic-related disruptions to the competitive and stressful admissions process — one that critics say helps drive New York City’s status as among the most segregated school districts in the country.

An unusually large portion of the city’s schools use screens such as test scores, grades, and attendance for admission. Students who are Black or Latino, or those who come from low-income families, have disabilities, or are learning English as a new language are less likely to meet admissions requirements.

While the new policies could help encourage integration, advocates say the impact is likely dulled by the fact that there are no new initiatives aimed explicitly at bolstering diversity.

“These are big changes, but also the bare minimum,” said Nyah Berg, executive director of New York Appleseed, which advocates for school integration. “A lot of those gatekeeping tools remain or they’re lurking in the background.”

A year filled with uncertainty

This year’s admissions process has been murky as decisions about how schools would be allowed to admit students dragged into de Blasio’s final weeks in office.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams will be sworn in on Jan. 1, raising questions about whether the new administration will move to put its own mark on the controversial admissions process. Current education department officials said they consulted Adams’ team about the latest reforms. A spokesperson for his campaign did not return a request for comment.

The incoming chancellor, David Banks, has declared himself “not a big believer in screens.” He hinted that more changes could be coming under the new administration.

“Screening in certain situations is maybe a good thing — we got some schools where you’ve got to audition and demonstrate a level of talent,” he recently told Chalkbeat. “But I think screens have been used, in many ways, to be discriminatory and keep other kids out of the school. And that I do not support and so we’ll be looking at all those things and figuring out the best path forward.”

‘Promising’ middle school changes

Before the pandemic, 196 middle schools screened applicants based on measures such as state test scores, grades and attendance. Last year, middle schools put a pause on screening applicants, since many of those measures were dramatically altered or unavailable during the pandemic. That pause will continue for another year following “positive feedback from school communities and families, as well as promising outcomes,” according to the education department.

After removing screens, the share of students from low-income families who were matched to “in-demand” schools ticked up to 48% — an increase of 7 percentage points, according to the education department. Officials, however, did not say which schools were included in that tally, only saying they considered those where incoming students had high test scores.

“This administration has brought real and lasting equitable change to the admissions process that has dismantled historic barriers and opened up opportunity for more students than ever before,” outgoing schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said in a statement.

Unlike last year, performing arts middle schools will be allowed to require auditions for admissions. Education department officials said most auditions will happen virtually, though schools can opt to do them in person.

Significant reforms for high schools

The most significant changes this year will happen for high school admissions.

Schools will still be allowed to screen, but they will not manage the application process themselves. Instead, students will submit applications for all screened programs through the city’s MySchools platform.

Then, a team of education department officials will use “one centrally designed rubric” to make admissions decisions, according to the department. But it’s unclear to what extent the process will truly be streamlined. While schools “should” use the same set of criteria and rubrics, the department will give wiggle room “if needed” to school leaders who “wish to deviate,” a department spokesperson said.

Screens have been whittled down to only first-semester grades from a student’s eighth-grade year and a sample of work. Schools will not consider attendance, nor will they use test scores, as last year’s state tests were opt-in and most students did not take them.

The department will share the common rubric closer to when applications open, officials said.

Depending on how many schools stick to the centralized process, those changes could add up to big departures from how the process has traditionally worked.

In the past, schools set their own screens and students had to hunt down admissions criteria for each school. Some schools required their own essays or tests, or conducted interviews. Rubrics, which detail how admissions decisions are made, were often hard to find or unavailable. The process of ranking student applications could be time-intensive and expensive for schools.

Joyce Szuflita, who runs NYC School Help, a company that assists families with their school search, said she expects parents to be concerned about the shift to using academic records from eighth-grade.

Typically, the high school admissions process begins so early in the school year that student information from only their seventh-grade year is available. As a result, many parents who hope to have their children admitted to competitive schools push their children to have a stand-out seventh grade year. Sometimes that means paying for tutoring to boost their state test scores or sending their child to school sick to keep their attendance records up.

“I think this is the first time ever they’ve used eighth-grade grades,” she said. “So people are going to be nervous about that because it hasn’t been anticipated.”

‘Incremental’ steps towards integration

Many of this year’s changes echo policies that advocates have said are necessary to make the admissions process more transparent, and therefore, fair. Berg, the executive director for Appleseed, said she was “encouraged” by the changes.

“Two years ago, these processes were happening in black boxes,” she said.

But the steps are only “incremental,” Berg said, especially because the education department didn’t couple the changes with policies aimed explicitly at integration. The city could do that by, for example, giving underserved students a priority for admissions — something that almost 50 middle schools and about 35 high schools across the city have opted for.

Advocates have also argued the preservation of attendance zones and borough priorities could also shut students out of higher-performing schools beyond their neighborhoods.

Berg said it will also be important to make sure parents, and school officials who help students navigate the application process, understand the new changes.

“Transparency in policies is great, but if that transparency doesn’t trickle down to parents and students, then it can take away from the benefit,” she said. “They’re still placing students and families in the crosshairs of having to scramble through the holiday season to get applications in, in an already burdensome process.”

One omission from the new policies: any changes to the specialized high schools process. While state law governs their admissions, some argue that the mayor has authority to change enrollment policies at a handful of the smaller specialized high schools — though de Blasio has contested that.