Dear John
If my life right now was a children’s book, it would be the tortoise and the hare. On the one hand, I have my brain racing with ideas and a mind eager to get back to work (that’s the hare). On the other, my body is taking things slow and steady because, unlike a political campaign, being in office is a marathon, not a sprint (the tortoise). I feel much better than last week, and I’m slowly getting back to my normal workload, but recovery is a difficult balance between the mind and body. I’m not usually someone who takes things slow, but I know this is a race the tortoise has to win, so whenever I see the hare catching up, I remember to slow down, breathe, and focus on the long term. Thank you all for your patience during my moment of healing.
Our First Piece of Legislation
I am so proud to share with you all that this week our first piece of legislation passed! In the Council, we pass both local laws (legislation that changes the City’s administrative code), and resolutions (legislation that formally calls on another government body to take action). At Thursday’s full Council meeting, we passed my resolution to formally call on our state to pass the Dignity Not Detention Act. As we mentioned in our previous newsletter, this legislation would end state contracts with ICE for immigrant detention and end the horrific abuses we heard in detail at our hearing back in February. While this resolution won’t change state law, it will help our coalition build pressure to add sponsors to the bill and hopefully bring it up for a vote soon. There are so many people to thank for helping to move this legislation forwarded from the incredible advocates to our allied elected officials, but I want to especially thank all of the formerly and currently detained immigrants who testified at our hearing. Their courage and strength to stand up to ICE and our racist immigration system is an inspiration.
The Chancellor’s Letter
Last week, School Chancellor Banks released a long (and I mean long) open letter detailing his vision to transform our school system. Like most things that have come out of this administration, it was a mixed bag of issues I fought for on my campaign and ideas I believe are opposed to progressive values. This past week, my team and I have poured over the letter (nine-page letters don’t get analyzed overnight!) to bring you the bullet points. Especially if you’re a parent, understanding the school priorities of this administration is incredibly important as it seems that Mayoral control will be extended for at least two more years (another plug to sign up for our semi-regular education updates if you want school-specific content straight to your inbox).
What Was Good
- The Chancellor put a real emphasis on career pathways as an alternative to the traditional four-year college path. He talked about adding more opportunities for early college credit, building STEM centers, improving financial literacy education, and adding civic education to our curriculum.
- He discusses adding universal screening tools to identify dyslexia earlier and building capacity for teachers to support these students. There’s a bill right now in Albany to create schools dedicated to dyslexic students and a resolution in the Council to support that legislation (which yours truly is signed on to)
- There is a big focus on literacy, so all students are reading by the third grade. Research has shown students who aren't able to read by the third grade are most vulnerable to dropout.
- The Chancellor also wants to improve learning opportunities and caregiving for children under five.
- After the Omicron wave, there is also recognition that we need to build out virtual learning capacity in a sustainable and equitable way.
What Could Have Been Better
- The Chancellor mentioned "collaborating with community-based partners to support school safety, mental health, attendance, and enrichment" but did not specifically call for in-school resources like social workers and guidance counselors requested by advocates and needed for an equitable COVID-19 recovery.
- Instead of divesting from police presence in schools, the Chancellor highlighted the administration's priority to increase the number of School Safety Agents who are hired or trained by the NYPD. Let me be clear - more cops in our schools will not make our students safer.
- While there was some mention of culturally responsive education throughout the letter, Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (where students learn using aspects of their identity such as their race, class, gender, or sexual orientation) or the Mosaic curriculum was not called out in the administration’s priorities.
- There also wasn’t a single mention of programming or resources for English language learners or support for the expansion of after-school programs.
- Sadly, there wasn’t any mention of school desegregation or integration, nor was there any mention of supporting students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
- While the administration does want to focus on learning opportunities for children under five, the letter didn’t address pay parity for teachers, and professional development, which is critical to retaining and attracting talent for quality early learning.
We’ll provide more of a breakdown of the letter in our next Education Update but feel free to reach out with any questions!
COVID-19
Our State and City remain on their positive downward trend even as some of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. I have been a vocal opponent of these changes in these weekly newsletters, on social media, and in the Council. New York City has also now seen the arrival of the BA.2 subvarient of the original Omicron variant. While cases remain low and stable, the City is closely monitoring the situation as the prevalence of this strain increases week by week. There is some evidence to suggest the intensity and how recent the last wave was might protect us from another surge, but it is too soon to be sure. The City has also updated its COVID-19 alert levels so you can understand what measures you need to take based on levels of community spread. You can check out the new levels with the graph below.
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Last but not least, if you need an extra set of COVID-19 tests, the federal government has opened up a second round of free tests!
Community Bulletin
- The Mayor’s office is looking for crowdsourced information from our office on cleanliness issues in our subway stations! If you have information on stations that need to be cleaned, send us the following, and we’ll pass it along.
- The station
- The train line
- The issue
- All Asian Americans deserve culturally competent mental health care. AAF’s goal is to ensure every AAPI New Yorker can receive mental health care in a language they speak, from providers who understand their cultures. Check out their directory here.
- New York has approved a grace period for new applications to the Ida Relief Fund through 4/29 for undocumented New Yorkers! If you know someone who had damages from Hurricane Ida and is not eligible for FEMA due to immigration status, please call 1-800-566-7636.
- Interested in joining our Particporty Budgeting youth committee? Our office will be holding an introductory meeting this Wednesday at 5 PM at our district office! We’re asking people to RSVP using this form.
In Solidarity,
Shahana
P.S. Our first snail mail newsletter was just submitted! It won’t hit your inbox for a few weeks, but I’m so proud of how great it looks. Be sure to check your mailbox this spring.
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