Testimonies & Comments

Testimony on the huge unnecessary cuts to the FY 25 education budget & 5-year capital plan

March 18, 2024 Today, the City Council is holding hearings on the education budget; public testimony begins at about 2:30 PM. You can sign up to speak in person or remotely here, to protest the looming budget cuts, the rising class sizes, and the fact that the DOE has slashed billions from the capital plan, […]

March 18, 2024 in Testimonies & Comments, Uncategorized, Updates by

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The rally for smaller classes followed by three misleading claims from the DOE & SCA at the class size hearings

By Leonie Haimson & Michael Rance On February 29, dozens of public officials, teachers, parents, and advocates gathered at City Hall and spoke up passionately for smaller classes and the class size law. We’ve included a video of the press conference above, which includes some remarks by Leonie, our Executive Director. Thanks to everyone who […]

March 7, 2024 in Uncategorized, Updates by

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Our testimony at yesterday’s Council hearing on class size, where the DOE refused to commit to any action to lower class size, now or in the future

March 1, 2024 The DOE performance at the class size hearing yesterday at the City Council was very depressing. Despite urging by Council Education Chair Rita Joseph and other Council Members, Senators Liu and Robert Jackson, UFT leaders, and many parents, DOE officials refused to commit to any steps to lower class size.  Instead, COO […]

March 1, 2024 in Testimonies & Comments, Uncategorized, Updates by

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NYC Council rally +hearing on class size Feb. 29 at noon; talking points too!

Class Size Hearing on Thursday 2/29/24 at 1 PM; press conference at 12 noon in front of City Hall; please come! To testify remotely or in person sign up here: https://council.nyc.gov/testify/ The best testimony is to speak from your own experience as a parent about how your child would benefit from smaller classes; but here […]

February 27, 2024 in Reports & Memos, Uncategorized, Updates by

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New hand-out! FAQ on the new class size law & myths vs. facts.

Our new hand-out with an updated FAQ on the new law, complete with a brief  rebuttal of some of the myths surrounding the law  here and below.

February 20, 2024 in Reports & Memos, Uncategorized, Updates by

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Our class size presentation at Caucus Weekend; the Road Map towards Compliance with the State Law

Here is the brief presentation I gave as part of a Workshop at the Black and Hispanic Caucus weekend in Albany on Feb. 17, entitled “Every Student Deserves Small Classes: The Road Map towards Compliance with the State Law.”  Please share with others if you can!

February 19, 2024 in Presentations, Uncategorized, Updates by

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News update: class size hearings on Feb. 29, and more

Feb. 8, 2024 1.Save the date! The City Council Education Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday Feb. 29 at 1 PM on the proposals of the Class Size Working Group, and what the DOE is doing or not doing to lower class size. If you support the goal of smaller classes, please sign up […]

February 8, 2024 in Newsletters, Recent Newsletters, Uncategorized, Updates by

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DOE is moving backwards not forwards on class size; our testimony to the Legislature

Feb. 7, 2024 Here and below is our Feb. 1 testimony to the State legislature on the budget, and how DOE is doing nothing to comply with the new class size law.  In fact, as we point out below, class sizes have increased in most schools over the last two years, a trend that is […]

February 7, 2024 in Testimonies & Comments, Uncategorized, Updates by

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Our 20 year experiment with Mayoral control: comments to the State and to NYC Bar Association

Feb. 6, 2024 Below is the  presentation I gave last night to the Education Committee of the NYC Bar Association, on the history and the myths surrounding Mayoral control.    Below that is my longer testimony on Mayoral control to the State Education Department, that goes into more depth on these issues. NYSED is supposed to […]

February 7, 2024 in Presentations, Testimonies & Comments, Uncategorized, Updates by

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Myths and Facts concerning class size reduction in NYC

This document is also downloadable as a PDF. See also our Updated FAQ on the Class Size Law.   Myth: The research on the benefits of smaller classes is weak, and the only evidence relates to  the early grades. Fact: Studies from Tennessee, Wisconsin, and other states demonstrate that students assigned to smaller classes in […]

January 16, 2024 in Reports & Memos, Uncategorized, Updates by

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