Posts tagged "planning ahead"
planning ahead
June 24, 2010
Parent input preceded city’s consideration of start date change
The city’s move to delay the first day of school rather than interrupt the first week back with a religious holiday comes after weeks of a sustained email campaign by parents.
Since late May, parents have been circulating an email to Chancellor Klein calling on the city to begin the school year on Sept. 13. The current plan is for the first day of school to be Sept. 8, the Wednesday after Labor Day. But because Thursday and Friday are Rosh Hashanah, a major Jewish holiday, the schools will be closed. Students wouldn’t see their new teachers and classmates again until Monday.
Michelle Chiulla Lipkin, the PTA president at PS 199 on the Upper West Side, drafted the letter to the chancellor after realizing what she had to look forward to in September.
“I can imagine it now. Summer is over. My kids are ready with their backpacks and new haircuts and they go to school excited and nervous about the year ahead. And then they come home and stay there for four days until they go back to school and do it all over again,” she said. “We all know they won’t remember anything that their teacher said on Wednesday.” (more…)
Bloomberg’s State of the City speech short on schools
Mayor Bloomberg might have delivered his ninth “State of the City” address at a public school, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, but he made little education news.
Rather than touting his administration’s accomplishments, as he has done during past addresses, Bloomberg focused on the future — in particular, how the city can help its residents weather the economic recession. According to the prepared speech, those plans include launching low-fee bank accounts for city residents, curbing home foreclosures, and helping new businesses get up and running faster.
But Bloomberg didn’t leave schools out entirely. He announced smaller-scale initiatives to send public school parents text messages when their children are absent from school, put tracking devices on school buses, and make it easier for students to get contraceptives from their schools.
Bloomberg also announced that a former city principal would help lead efforts to boost city services for teenagers. (more…)
Feb. 10: You’re invited!
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