Improving Our Schools

I am an educator. I have taught at the university level for 11 years, mentoring hundreds of students in that time – including a whole generation of Latino students through the Somos El Futuro ("We are the Future") program which teaches youth about the importance of public service. I've worked with NYC high school kids and teachers on the importance of civic literacy through knowledge of the US. Constitution. I have a deep understanding of the issues facing children, parents, and teachers because I have been in the classroom. The only standard for public education is: does it work for EVERYONE.

• While charter schools have been portrayed as innovative, we should expand charter schools ONLY if: 1) there are clearly established standards for evaluation of finances and student outcomes, 2) there are precise rules determining who has the authority to close charter schools which aren’t working, and 3) there is an unbiased model to compare students enrolled in one type of publicly funded school versus another, with strong protections against one set of schools ending up with all the hardest-to-serve children (special needs, learning disabilities, English Language Learners, etc.).
• Smaller class size works. Giving children the attention they need, especially in the early grades, is the most important thing we can do to ensure the success of our schools.
• We need to expand after-school programs and give our kids more opportunities to learn and grow.
• We must ensure that accelerated construction of new schools in neighborhoods where overcrowding has become severe, such as JFK High School.
• We must give parents a greater voice in the decision-making of their schools.