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Volume XVIII • Number 43 • October 20 - 26, 2011 •
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Ravitch rallies crowd at education summit
By MIAWLING LAM Tweed officials treat public school students like stepchildren, mayoral control has been disastrous and parent voices are being silenced. In an honest and at times stinging critique of the city’s schools, education reform advocate Diane Ravitch said children were suffering as a result of a dysfunctional system. Dr. Ravitch unleashed the barrage of criticism in front of a packed crowd at last weekend’s inaugural Bronx education summit at Lehman College. The talkfest, titled “From Cradle to Career,” was the first of its kind dedicated to mapping out a strategy to raise student achievement and lift The Bronx’s educational standing. It was sponsored by Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. In her 24-minute keynote address, Dr. Ravitch rallied the crowd into bursts of cheers and said accountability and de-
mocracy have been the main casualties of mayoral control. “We have no accountability at the top because the mayor stands for re-election once every four years, and if you’re upset by a policy, there’s no way to hold him accountable,” she said. “There is no role for parents or communities in the decision-making process that affect the education of their children either. No one cares what they want or what they think.” More than 1,000 people who packed into the Lehman College Concert Hall (the huge turnout for Dr. Ravitch led to the relocation from the smaller Lovinger Theater) also heard how the Bloomberg Department of Education favors charter schools, even though they educate just 5 percent of the city’s children. “They have very powerful philanthropic supporters in
the financial community, and the DOE treats the regular public schools as the stepchildren,” Dr. Ravitch said. “Ninety-five percent of the city’s public schoolchildren are stepchildren. Who is looking out for [them]? Isn’t that the DOE’s job?” Dr. Ravitch tore Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s vision of educational reform—one based on testing, accountability, choice, sanctions and bonus—to shreds and instead recommended changes based on research, evidence and experience. She said educational outcomes for Bronx children could be improved through a series of holistic reforms. First, she suggested all pregnant women should receive prenatal care to reduce the rate of learning disabilities. Next, officials need to develop high-quality early childhood education for toddlers and hire experienced teachContinued on Page 12
Huge crowd presses forward eager to have their copies of Diane Ravitch’s best-selling book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System” signed. Photo by Jason Green