Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
New York Times Publishes WCC Letter on Physical Education
In response to a recent New York Times article on physical education, the WCC submitted the following letter, published in the October 28, 2011 edition. The WCC’s Task Force on Physical Fitness advocates for the inclusion of comprehensive physical education in New York’s schools due to the myriad benefits it provides to students.
Exercise in Schools
To the Editor:
“Fitting In Time for Exercise, Between Math and English” (news article, Oct. 20) describes the creative ways some New York City teachers and principals have found to ensure that their pupils receive the benefits of regular physical education. Unfortunately, as shown by the city comptroller’s audit, such praiseworthy activity is found in far too few schools in the city.
In a recent position paper, we characterized physical education as “the missing ingredient for academic success.” Perhaps if more of the city’s principals and top administrators were aware that scientific studies provide strong evidence of a positive association between physical education and indicators of academic performance, including test scores, they would try harder to bring back adequate physical education to their schools.
The students who are participating in the programs cited are lucky, but access for all children to developmentally appropriate physical education should not be left to luck.
RUTH ACKER
KATHERINE S. LOBACH
New York, Oct. 21, 2011
The writers are, respectively, president of the Women’s City Club of New York, and a former assistant commissioner for child and adolescent health, New York City Department of Health, 1988-94.
The full text of the letter may be read online at the New York Times’ website.
WCC Applauds Comptroller’s Audit of Physical Education in Schools
Today, City Comptroller John C. Liu announced that an audit of the Department of Education (DOE) found that many elementary schools do not meet state guidelines for physical education (PE) and, that despite documenting high rates of obese and overweight students, the DOE has not filed a PE plan with the state since 1982.
According to the press release issued on October 4, childhood obesity “can lead to lifelong health problems such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. In a 2009 report, the DOE and the Department of Health (DOH) warned that local rates of childhood obesity were higher than the national average. That report, ‘Childhood Obesity is a Serious Concern in New York City,’ stressed that test scores rise alongside physical fitness. The report recommended that schools ensure that ‘all students receive the required physical education instruction each week, as mandated by the New York State Education Commissioner’s Regulations.’”
Amy J. Schwartz, Chair of the Task Force on Physical Education for the WCC, is quoted in the press release. “We are delighted that Comptroller Liu shares our commitment to the health and well-being of the city’s students,” she said. “This audit should serve as further inspiration to the DOE to implement what research has shown — that improved physical education leads to better academic performance.”
The audit recommended that the DOE:
- Create, implement, and regularly update a PE plan that meets state regulations for all schools.
- Adequately monitor school compliance with the state’s PE requirements.
- Ensure that principals are aware of the state’s PE requirements and advise them that it is their responsibility that students receive the mandated amount of PE.
The full report is available here.
October 20 – Meeting NYC School Challenges in an Era of Depleted Resources
In this new school year, the New York City school system faces many challenges. Class sizes are expected to increase, along with expectations for higher graduation rates. New State Core Standards and criteria for evaluating teachers and students will be implemented. But perhaps the most significant strain will be the additional budget cuts to a system already limited in resources. How is the New York City Department of Education planning to allocate adequate funds and support to ensure excellence and equity in the education of over one million school children?
Douglas Knecht, Executive Director of Academic Quality, will discuss these issues and answer questions pertaining to education in New York City.
Date: October 20, 2011
Time: Program begins at 12:30 pm
Venue: WCC Office, 307 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1403
Cost: Free and open to the public. Due to seating limitations advance registration is required by 5:00 pm on Wednesday October 19. Register here.
WCC Pens Letter about Charter Schools
On July 6, 2011, the WCC submitted the following letter to the New York Times.
To the Editor:
We wish to validate what Diane Ravitch wrote about charter schools (letters to the Editor, The New York Times, July 6, 2011) “that they vary widely” and that “some are excellent, some are abysmal and most are no better than regular public schools.”
In 2002, as Co-Chairs of the Education Committee of the Women’s City Club of New York, a civic organization now celebrating its 95th year, we co-authored the first independent study of charter schools in New York City, “Snapshot of New York City Charter Schools 2002.” We visited all 17 of New York City’s charter schools then in existence. Five years later the report was updated.
As Ravitch writes, we found each school to be a separate and distinct entity, many with enormous resources, some with very few. Most impressive was the KIPP middle school in the South Bronx. On the bulletin board in a corridor of the floor of the public school building that they shared with two other schools was a list of the elite high school boarding schools to which KIPP graduates had been accepted. During a second visit a few years later we read the names of the Ivy League colleges KIPP graduates were now attending. We learned that KIPP students, minority and poor, spent part of each summer at camp, and were taken on trips throughout the country. During the school year they received instruction on musical instruments and spent afternoons at structured after-school activities. Each student was given the phone number of his teacher, who could be phoned at night to help with homework. Parents, students and teachers signed a contract that outlined the expectations of the school.
We also visited a charter high school in the Bronx in its own new building that was devoted to the arts, heavily subsidized by several philanthropists. By contrast, a regular elementary school in another part of the Bronx was housed in the basement of a small church; the principal was a member of the congregation as were the parents of most of the children. Another elementary charter school was devoted to teaching reading by color – each sound had it own color, and beginning readers learned to recognize the color in which vowels were printed. The school day of many of the charter schools ran from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 or 5:00 pm and the school year usually exceeded the state’s required 183 days by 10 to 15 days.
Although children with disabilities were not excluded from charter lotteries, several principals told us that they informed parents that they would not be able to provide the services that regular public schools provide, which tended to keep children in need of those services from entering the lottery. It is no wonder that thousands of parents apply to charter school lotteries hopeful that their children will benefit from the many more resources that many charter schools provide.
We often wonder how much resources-starved regular public schools would improve if all the interest and funding now offered charter schools by hedge fund managers and well-meaning philanthropists were instead allocated to them.
Dorothy Wilner – former teacher and former Community School Board member
Eleanor Stier – Education Policy Analyst
Letter to the Editor Advocates for Physical Education in NYC Schools
On June 1, 2011, WCC President Ruth Acker submitted the following letter to the editor to The New York Times:
June 1, 2011
To the Editor:
One ingredient is missing from Diane Ravitch’s excellent op-ed piece, “Waiting for a School Miracle” (The New York Times, June 1, 2011). To be sure, schools need “stable, experienced staff, adequate resources and a balanced curriculum including the arts, foreign languages, history and science.” But let’s not forget the benefits of regular and state-mandated physical education for the children in New York City’s public schools — something which far too many students no longer receive! Evidence, including from recent City Departments of Education and Health studies, shows that physical education contributes to children’s health, well-being, and even their academic performance. A white paper on our website: www.wccny.org/advocacy/physical-fitness provides additional details.
Ruth Acker
President, Women’s City Club of New York
307 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1403
New York, NY 10001
212.353.8070 ext. 202
racker@wccny.org
November 4 – Chancellor Merryl Tisch: Winning the Race to the Top –What will it mean to New York’s public schools?
What changes are in store for current state education standards and tests?
$770 million in federal funds will be coming in to New York over the next four years to help improve its schools. This was the results of this summer’s successful statewide push to win federal Race to the Top funds. How will students be affected?
The State has also adopted national education standards which call for changes in curriculum, mandated tests and additional training for teachers. How will all this be implemented and when?
The Women’s City Club invites you to join us in a discussion with New York State Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, as we raise these and other questions and become informed of the State’s plans to improve the education of New York City’s public school students.
Date: Thursday, November 4, 2010
Time: Registration opens at 5:30 p.m. Program begins at 6:00 p.m.
Venue: 33 West 60th Street (between Broadway & Columbus), 5th floor
To RSVP, email register@wccny.org or call 212-353-8070 x201 and provide your name, phone number and email address. This program is free and open to the public.
