More than a quarter of the city’s public school buildings are currently at risk from extreme stormwater flooding, according to an analysis by the Comptroller’s Office shared with City Limits. Teachers, students and environmental groups are pushing for more weather-resilient schools.
The city’s education department insists the funding system is flexible, but the comptroller and education advocates worry some schools won’t get what they need if ‘massive numbers’ of new students enroll later in the year.
“We know that social and emotional skills in schools support academic success. It is crucial that we continue to develop these competencies that contribute to our young people graduating from high school, and thriving in careers and in life. Young people will lose if we hamstring their teachers by letting go of the DESSA.”
Schools are uniquely positioned to identify and support grieving children, but families and school staff say the system isn’t equipped to serve them.
The Fair Student Funding Formula, used to distribute the majority of New York City’s education budget to each of its 1,600 public schools, has been criticized for failing to provide enough funds to students who need it most, including those in temporary housing and in the foster care system. A working group has until the end of October to recommend changes.
The Department of Education will kick off a program to expand the type of aid ELL students receive at existing transfer schools, which serve students who are behind on credits or need additional learning support. But the agency has yet to specify which schools will get those extra resources this school year, which starts next week.
At a virtual rally on Sunday, parents, young people and advocates in the city and across the state shared stories about the impact of the pandemic and renewed calls for elected officials to invest more in behavioral health programs and services for children and teens, which experts say have been underfunded for years and are now at a breaking point, with increased demand spurred by the coronavirus crisis.
The city’s schools funding formula is expected to pass as it stands, despite some who have been pushing for changes for years—including members of a 2019 task force whose recommendations were never released by the city.
Mayor Eric Adams was expected to rally Monday morning to push state lawmakers to renew the policy, which gives City Hall the power to appoint the schools chancellor and most members of the decision-making Panel for Educational Policy. City Limits wants to hear from residents on what they think should be done.
Eric Adams presentó su plan para comunidades inmigrantes de la ciudad llamado WeRISE (Raise Immigrant Safety and Empowerment —Aumentar la seguridad y el empoderamiento de los inmigrantes) mientras hacía campaña para el cargo en junio de 2021. Después de tres meses en el cargo, se han hecho pocos progresos hasta ahora.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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