Revisionist history and an unsustainable path for NYC schools
My columns on Randi's new book and the new NYC enrollment numbers
I still remember one day back in 2021. I went to the gym in the morning and later went to dinner with my best friend at our favorite restaurant in the West Village. However, my son, who was in 2nd grade, was still doing remote learning from home. My gym and my favorite restaurant were open, but my son’s public school was not. At dinner, I remember telling my friend, “Why are we all here without masks, drinking and dining, and my son still can’t go to school??!!”
The decision to reopen the entire city, but not its public schools, was heavily influenced by Randi Weingarten’s leadership. She had an outsized role in shaping the CDC guidelines and in keeping schools closed until Congress approved the aid package for public schools.
Her new book offers a revisionist history of that time, and I wrote about it for
.
NYC Public Schools lost 87,000 K-12 students since 2020
On November 3rd the NYC DOE sent preliminary enrollment numbers to journalists and they show the unsustainable path that our public schools are taking:
There are 793,300 students enrolled in K-12 grades. That’s down 2.3% from the previous year and nearly 10% since 2020.
There are 112 public schools with fewer than 150 students, up from 80 schools just two years ago.
Prekindergarten enrollment is down 8% this year alone.
I wrote about how Mayor Adams did little to address the massive problem of schools that are under enrolled: his administration closed/merged 18 schools while also planning to open 28 new schools. The new Mayor will have to deal with the problem of half-empty schools sooner or later.
What I am reading this week
We all need friends who read only fiction and can recommend great books. My friend recommended Project Hail Mary and I am loving it. I am not a science fiction fan at all, but this book is about so much more than astrophysics and space travel.
Bleeding kids:’ NYC public schools face biggest enrollment drop in four years (NY Post)
We’re in an education depression. This solution is a no-brainer (Washington Post)
Unlike Michigan, Indiana got tough on missing school. It’s already working (Bridge Michigan)
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Contact me if you want to help bring universal education choice to NY! #SchoolChoiceNY
