| Releases & Statements
Mayor Bloomberg delivered a speech on school reform today at Brooklyn Tech. New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum wonders where he got his facts and figures.
Bloomberg said: “Over the last two years, I’ve asked that we create an infrastructure to help [teachers]. Everything we’ve done has been designed to let teachers teach.”
“Really?” asks Gotbaum. “The administration lets teachers teach only as long as they follow ALL the rules, stick to the script, and do as the coaches tell them.”
Bloomberg said: “We helped reduce overcrowding by converting unneeded administrative office s in your schools into classrooms with 9,500 hundred seats.”
“Really?” ask s Gotbaum. “According to the recent IBO report, that’s not exactly true. And didn’t the Mayor promise far more than 9,500 seats? On March 6, 2003 , the Mayor announced that we would have an additional 28,000 seats by September, 2004 (Administration press release 064-03, March 6, 2004 ). What happened?”
Bloomberg said: “We’re working to improve a special education system that has been dysfunctional for decades, and while it’s not completely fixed yet, it’s much better than it was.”
“Really?” asks Gotbaum. “What about the 14,000 students who last year didn’t receive the special education services they are entitled to? Does the Mayor imagine that he’s fixed the problem by offering these students six hours of special education services over the summer?”
Bloomberg said: “Starting in October, we will allocate $20 million to fund an array of interventions [for fifth graders] similar to those that have been--and will continue to be--employed to help 3 rd graders.”
“Really?” asks Gotbaum. “The Mayor hasn’t even seen the results of his interventions in third grade. There is, as yet, no proof that the students who passed the reading and math tests in summer school are truly ready to advance. Nonetheless, he’s already rushing to spend $20 million on fifth graders. That doesn’t sound like a sound business decision.”
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