Statement on the Passing of Rep. John Lewis
Statement from StudentsFirstNY's Executive Director Jenny Sedlis:
2021-22 School Resources for Families
StudentsFirstNY is working with our parent members and elected officials to ensure students’ and families’ needs are addressed in these unprecedented times.
Below are COVID-19 resources for New York families:
Read moreParents and Elected Leaders Engage in Important Discussion about District-Charter Collaboration
(Albany, NY) On February 15, 2020, nearly two hundred New York City parents and students traveled to the state capital in Albany to attend a special discussion about collaboration between district and charter schools. They heard from panel co-sponsor, Assembly Member Marcos Crespo and many other elected officials, as well as advocates and school leaders focused on sharing best practices and focusing on ALL kids, regardless of school type. This was the fifth consecutive year StudentsFirstNY hosted a panel discussion at the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus weekend.
Read moreSFNY Statement on NYC's Neutral National Reading and Math Assessments
"New York City's education system received its report card today and the results must serve as a wake up call to all of us. New York City should be the model for the country, but under Mayor de Blasio's leadership, NYC schools are stuck in neutral. According to the gold standard of student performance, New York City scores essentially remained flat with a notable five-point drop in fourth-grade math scores from 2013. It's clear we need a mayor committed to proven reforms and evidence-based solutions, not a lame duck with dog-ate-my-homework excuses,” said StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Jenny Sedlis.
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StudentsFirstNY is a grassroots education advocacy organization dedicated to improving public school options throughout New York State
Dozens of NYC Parents Rally to Protect Charter School Mailers, Saying Parents Want to be Informed About Options
(New York, NY) Dozens of public charter school parents from across New York City rallied outside the NYC Department of Education in support of a longstanding City initiative that allows charter schools to mail flyers to prospective families. New York City has a model program where it protects parent privacy so that no school has access to parent contact information, but parents can still be informed about school options in their neighborhood.
Read moreStudentsFirstNY Statement on FY 2020 State Budget
“The budget agreement reached by Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie puts the needs of students first. Thanks to their leadership, all public school students – charter and district – will be better off. This year's budget deal takes an important step to making sure all schools have access to the funding they need," said StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Jenny Sedlis.
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StudentsFirstNY is a grassroots education advocacy organization dedicated to improving public school options throughout New York State.
Statement from StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Jenny Sedlis on New York City Hitting the Charter Cap:
"New York City charter schools have been among the most widely studied and effective tools for improving educational outcomes for low-income students of color. New York City parents and families know this, which is why demand is so high. The message New York City parents are sending is clear and we should give parents what they want by raising the charter school cap.”
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StudentsFirstNY is a grassroots education advocacy organization dedicated to improving public school options throughout New York State.
Collaboration and Parent Power: Working Together to Provide All Children Access to Great Schools
On Saturday February 16th, more than 200 public school parents and students braved the weather and the long trip to Albany for a special panel discussion. The conversation, co-sponsored by Assembly Member Robert Rodriguez and StudentsFirstNY, focused on school collaboration and ensuring the best education opportunities for students in low-income communities.
StudentFirstNY's Statement on Teachers Contract Agreement
"If kids were the special interest Mayor de Blasio cared the most about, we would see a very different teachers' contract. In a student-focused contract, the best teachers would be paid more and there'd be an easy way to exit poor performing teachers from the classroom. If it was about kids, there would be no forced placement of teachers and the ATR would be abolished once and for all. As advocates, we always hope any plan to improve schools is successful because our kids are too important. However, the lack of ambitiousness of this contract should raise serious concerns for parents," said StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Jenny Sedlis.
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StudentsFirstNY is a grassroots education advocacy organization dedicated to improving public school options throughout New York State.
StudentsFirstNY Statement on 2018 New York State Assessments Results
Charters are Increasing High Quality Seats while the City is only Changing Who Can Access Theirs
"Year after year, these assessment results show that the expertise in closing the achievement gap is found abundantly in the city's charter sector. While Mayor de Blasio boasts he 'came into office to shake the foundation of the system' in reality, the City is just changing who gets to go to the schools it thinks are good. None of the City's strategies increase the number of quality seats. The only people focused on that are the city's charter school operators who are ready, willing, and able to open more schools if the cap is lifted.
