By Bernide Choute, public school parent from Jamaica, Queens
New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina will be holding a town hall in Queens this week to hear directly from the community. I hope that she’s really willing to listen, because she’ll be getting an earful from the parents in my neighborhood. We are not satisfied with the quality of our schools and we are fed up with City Hall for blocking school choice.
I’m the mother of one son at P.S. 354 in Jamaica. I grew up in the neighborhood and attended the same school. I’m concerned that the school is not doing right by him. Last year, only 15 percent of kids at the school were proficient in math and just 19 percent were proficient in English Language Arts. I’m super involved at school, but the school isn’t doing a good job with one-on-one engagement with students. It’s the type of school where good kids can fall through the cracks. It breaks your heart to see kids struggling with no hope.
Read the full oped on Medium.
