By Post Editorial Board
“The whole city should be just as outraged as Melissa Mejia, the William Cullen Bryant HS “grad” who revealed in Sunday’s Post that she’d been awarded a fraudulent diploma.
Well, the whole city except for the insiders who conduct (or just wink at) such fraud all across New York’s schools system.”
By Erik Engquist | Crain’s New York
“It’s inevitable: When New York’s standardized test scores are discussed, everyone focuses on the portion of students achieving proficiency. And, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo often points out, that number is under 40%.
“Thirty-one percent of third to eighth graders are proficient in English, but 99% of the teachers are rated effective; 35% of third to eighth graders are proficient in math but 98% of the math teachers are rated effective,” Mr. Cuomo boomed in his state of the state address in January. “Who are we kidding, my friends?””
New York Daily News Editorial Board
“Two of the city’s worst-performing schools are on track to get a desperately needed infusion of fresh teaching talent.
Give credit to Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carmen Fariña and leaders at Automotive and Boys and Girls high schools for taking a crucially important step forward.”
By Aaron Short
New York Post
“New York City high school graduates who enroll at CUNY often aren’t ready for college, according to data showing the rising number of freshmen in need of remedial help.
An astonishing 78.3 percent of CUNY community college students who graduated from city high schools in 2014 enrolled in remedial courses this past school year, up from 77.6 percent the year before.”
By Jason Russell
Washington Examiner
“NEW ORLEANS — Abusive teachers prey on students in classrooms across the country — and too often there’s nothing parents can do about it. Laws actually protect many teachers from being fired even when it’s clear they are guilty of wrongdoing.”
By Rebecca Klein
Huffington Post Education
“Decades after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling declared segregated schooling of black students unconstitutional, many American schools with high minority populations continue to receive fewer resources and provide an education that’s inferior to schools with large white populations.”
By Gerson Borrero
City & State
“As the unresolved battle surrounding the New York State assessment of students’ academic achievement rages, City & State Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero discusses the issue with Derrell Bradford, Executive Director of the New York Campaign for Achievement Now and a member of High Achievement New York.”
By Erika Sanzi
Education Post
““For most of the 150-year-history of public education in the U.S., public schools have done a pretty good job. There is no crisis in public education.”
—Salvatore Babones in Salon, May 9, 2015 (emphasis added)
If I were to base my opinion of the American public school system solely on my experience in an overwhelmingly white community of highly educated and affluent families, I could accept Babones’ assertion that “There is no crisis in public education.” But I can’t do that.”
By Richard Green
TNTP Blog
“This week, other Baltimoreans and I stood aghast, first at the confused and horrifying accounts of the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, then at the images of young adults looting stores, setting businesses afire and attacking police officers, in contrast to the peaceful protests over the weekend. Today, schools are closed and our city is attempting to comprehend how and why this week’s events unfolded as they did.”