Education

A Manhattan legislator says the possible downsizing of Catholic churches in the Big Apple could provide desperately needed space to the public school system.

City Councilman Ben Kallos fired off a letter last week to Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and School Construction Authority President Lorraine Grillo urging them to consider acquiring churches that might come on the market.

“Although we wish to avoid the closings, they present a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to build new schools,” said Kallos.

But the city is resisting, saying a pilot program in middle schools only increased lunch participation by 6%.

“We have an opportunity to make sure that 1.1 million children don’t have to worry about hunger, which would be huge,” said Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan).

But Farina said it would have to show better results before getting expanded. “Our numbers are not reflecting this has made a major difference,” she said.

Cornell Tech and Roosevelt Island public school P.S./I.S. 217 on Dec. 10 unveiled a three-year program that will train teachers to incorporate computer science (CS) activity across the curriculum.

“Helping our teachers integrate computer science into their curriculum is critical to preparing our students for the careers of tomorrow,” said New York City Councilmember Ben Kallos. “The close relationship between Cornell Tech and P.S./I.S. 217 not only benefits the Roosevelt Island community but also serves as a model for how public and private institutions can work together.”

Where can principals turn if they are not getting the support they need?

Under the old network system, there was an element of competition among the support networks. If principals were not pleased with their support, they could turn to one of the other networks if it was not already overburdened.

Council member Benjamin Kallos noted that under the new system, most schools don’t have a choice about who to turn to for help. He asked officials how they planned to handle principals who felt they are not getting what they need.

Kim, a New Jersey native pursuing a degree in economics, interned with New York City Council member Ben Kallos this past summer, and she’s received a number of awards at Barnard, like the Jo Greene Iwabe Prize and the SGA Leadership Award, an award presented to students who display responsibility in building a community at Barnard.

In response to the budget deal, Council members focused on gains made, praising the 'breakfast after the bell' provision in the budget for reducing negativity around hunger for elementary school children. "Hungry kids will face less stigma at school because of $17.9 million for 'breakfast after the bell' for 339,000 children at 530 elementary schools, which I rallied for and introduced legislation supporting," said Council Member Ben Kallos in a post-budget statement. Kallos, a strong supporter of expanding free school meals, added that "New York City is now an important step away from being near last among big cities in public school breakfast participation."

James, along with Council members Daniel Dromm, Andy King, Brad Lander and Ben Kallos and child hunger advocates, held a press conference outside the Department of Education headquarters on Wednesday during which they called on de Blasio to include free lunch for all city schoolchildren in the final budget. 

Free breakfast has been available to all 1.1 million New York City school students since 2003. All city schools offer the meal before the school day begins, but some also serve breakfast in classrooms after the start of school, or provide bagged breakfasts that children can eat in the classroom.

“We need to provide some transparency around what schools are doing,” said Councilman Ben Kallos, an Upper East Side Democrat and co-sponsor of the legislation. Brooklyn Councilman Stephen Levin is the bill’s other co-sponsor.

Under the bill, the Department of Education would be required to publicly post the number of students who receive free breakfast before and after the school day begins, as well as the number of schools that have a salad bar in their cafeteria, and the number of students served after-school snacks and dinner.

That was the chant I heard go up from the crowd of parents and teachers gathered at one of the dozens of protests held at public schools all over New York City on Thursday. What is Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan? He offers increased funding, but only if his reforms on teacher evaluation and so-called merit pay are also adopted. An open letter from teachers to parents at the highly regarded Public School 321 in Brooklyn discussed the changes to the way teachers would be evaluated: