We are the plaintiffs of Wright v. New York, and this is why we are fighting for educational justice for all parents.
“The teacher, in my opinion, should be a pillar of safety.”
My name is Tauana Goins and I’m from Far Rockaway, NY. I’m fighting on behalf of my daughter, Tanai, who is 9 years old. Tanai used to love and enjoy going to school but now it has become something that she is fearful of. When Tanai was in 2nd grade, she would come home and tell me about inappropriate/threatening things that her teacher was saying in the classroom. Unfortunately, Tanai was placed with the same teacher in the 3rd grade where I noticed Tanai rarely came home with math homework. I tried to tutor her and work with her, but because she was so ill prepared for her math state assessment, she failed.
The laws in New York State protect abusive and ineffective teachers. Even though Tanai’s teacher instilled fear and threatened my daughter and other students, the teacher has stayed in the classroom with no consequence. That is unfair to the students and not a status quo I am willing to tolerate.