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After months of union boss Michael Mulgrew telling New Yorkers he's going to annoint the next mayor, he has now spoken. The only question is, will Bill Thompson listen and carry the education policies espoused by the teachers union that would turn back the clock on our kids by ending true accountability for our schools, cutting off school choice to underserved families by imposing a moratorium on charter schools and blocking efforts to ensure a quality teacher is in every classroom by undermining rigorous teacher evaluations. If he follows the union's policies, New York City will return to the bad old days when a majority of our kids were forced to attend failing schools, half of New York's students didn't graduate on time and we had system rampant with corruption and dysfunction that lacked any accountability whatsoever.

One of StudentsFirstNY’s oldest chapters recently met to discuss the disproportionate number of unsatisfactory-rated teachers in low-income and communities of color. Floyd, a parent and the SFNY East New York co-chair, opened the meeting by welcoming all the new members and giving a recap of the work the ENY Chapter has done over the last year and a half. The members decided that in addition to working on school safety, they wanted to figure out solutions to increase the quality of teaching in District 19 in Brooklyn.

From including student surveys; to appropriately empowering principals to effectively manage their schools; to keeping bureaucratic hurdles to a minimum, the evaluation system put forth by John King ensures that New York City continues down the path toward ensuring a quality teacher is at the front of every classroom -- making New York's 1.1 million school kids the ultimate victors of this process.

We urge the mayoral candidates not to buckle under the pressure of the status quo and listen to the voices of parents calling for teacher quality and school choice.

In a joint letter, education reform groups thanked Commissioner King for his leadership over the last two years in making New York's teacher evaluation law benefit teachers and students across the state. Download the full letter (PDF) below.

"If we're not careful, education reform will collapse under how complicated we’re making it... At the end of the day, it has to be simple - set goals and evaluate goals." 

-Bridgeport Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas

“If you’re not helping a school get better, when you go up for tenure, that needs to be called out.”

Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, shared those strong words during a conversation on “An Agenda for Public Education: Challenges and Possibilities,” which was recently hosted by the newly-formed CUNY Institute for Education Policy.

"The education policies Bill Thompson outlined today failed to make the grade."

The following statement is from StudentsFirstNY Acting Executive Director Glen Weiner

"While everyone agrees that there is much work left to be done to get New York City schools where they need to be, moving backwards is not the way to get ahead."

Today, StudentsFirstNY Acting Executive Director Glen Weiner released the following statement in response to this Buffalo News article:

The action taken this week by the Buffalo teachers' union is nothing more than a desperate attempt to hold on to a long-failed status quo. An effort that if successful will hurt Buffalo's kids by undermining meaningful progress toward ensuring an effective teacher is at the front of every class.

StudentsFirstNY Acting Executive Director Glen Weiner released the following statement:

"The results of today's school board elections represent real hope for the future of Buffalo's public schools and its 34,000 students. By breaking with the past and electing board members who want to organize our schools around the needs of children, voters sent a strong message that they want policies that elevate the caliber of teaching and learning our schools deliver.