New York City’s public school system won $500,000 in scholarship funding this week for topping a philanthropist’s nationwide list of school districts that showed the most progress in achievement this year.
Still, advocates and schools officials both say the system has a long way to go before it becomes a true success story.
At a Tuesday ceremony in Washington, D.C., Mayor Michael Bloomberg accepted the Eli Broad Foundation’s annual award on behalf of the city’s Department of Education, which will steer the money toward scholarships for college-bound graduates.
In granting top honors to New York City’s first self-professed “education mayor,” the Broad Foundation cited strides in reading and math over the last three years, as well as progress closing the achievement gap for low-income students of color.
According to the foundation’s research, the city’s black and Hispanic pupils — who comprise 32 percent and 39 percent of the total student population, respectively — outperformed their peers in comparable large urban school districts.
“If it can be done in New York City, it can be done anywhere,” said Eli Broad, the organization’s founder and philanthropist, who has donated millions of dollars to school systems nationwide.
“The strong leadership by the mayor, the chancellor and a progressive teachers union has allowed a school system the size of New York City to dramatically improve student achievement in a relatively short period of time.”
However, critics asserted that it was way too early for the mayor to pat himself on the back for reforming the school system.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum noted that despite modest increases last year, the on-time graduation rate lingers at just around half of all high schoolers.
“Here’s the reality: New York City still maintains dismally low graduation rates, especially for black and Latino students, and the DOE has failed to engage parents,” she wrote in a statement. “If we are No. 1 in terms of achievement, it’s pretty sad news for the rest of the country.”
Adding to the criticism was Ozone Park dad David Quintana, who served on a focus group for the Broad Foundation in its efforts to evaluate the school system.
He believes the foundation’s award this week did not reflect a raft of concerns from fellow parents about class size, the mayor’s cell phone ban, last year’s school bus fiasco and the reorganization of the school system.
“I feel that the DOE is totally dismissive of parents’ views,” he asserted in an e-mail.
The foundation also awarded four other finalist school districts $125,000 each in scholarships. They are in Bridgeport, Conn., Long Beach, Calif., Miami-Dade County, Fla., and San Antonio, Texas.
[where: 52 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007]
[where: Queens, NY]
[where: Ozone Park, NY 11417]
©Queens Chronicle 2007
In granting top honors to New York City’s first self-professed “education mayor,” the Broad Foundation cited strides in reading and math over the last three years, as well as progress closing the achievement gap for low-income students of color.
According to the foundation’s research, the city’s black and Hispanic pupils — who comprise 32 percent and 39 percent of the total student population, respectively — outperformed their peers in comparable large urban school districts.
“If it can be done in New York City, it can be done anywhere,” said Eli Broad, the organization’s founder and philanthropist, who has donated millions of dollars to school systems nationwide.
“The strong leadership by the mayor, the chancellor and a progressive teachers union has allowed a school system the size of New York City to dramatically improve student achievement in a relatively short period of time.”
However, critics asserted that it was way too early for the mayor to pat himself on the back for reforming the school system.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum noted that despite modest increases last year, the on-time graduation rate lingers at just around half of all high schoolers.
“Here’s the reality: New York City still maintains dismally low graduation rates, especially for black and Latino students, and the DOE has failed to engage parents,” she wrote in a statement. “If we are No. 1 in terms of achievement, it’s pretty sad news for the rest of the country.”
Adding to the criticism was Ozone Park dad David Quintana, who served on a focus group for the Broad Foundation in its efforts to evaluate the school system.
He believes the foundation’s award this week did not reflect a raft of concerns from fellow parents about class size, the mayor’s cell phone ban, last year’s school bus fiasco and the reorganization of the school system.
“I feel that the DOE is totally dismissive of parents’ views,” he asserted in an e-mail.
The foundation also awarded four other finalist school districts $125,000 each in scholarships. They are in Bridgeport, Conn., Long Beach, Calif., Miami-Dade County, Fla., and San Antonio, Texas.
[where: 52 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007]
[where: Queens, NY]
[where: Ozone Park, NY 11417]
