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28 • APRIL 2003MetroBEATEDUCATION UPDATEA Message from the ChancellorBy ASSEMBLYMANSTEVEN SANDERSThe fight over Gov.Pataki’s $1.4 billion cut inState aid to public schoolsis reaching a very criticalstage. Just to stay even,New York City would need $750 million, countingthe Governor’s devastating cuts as well as thecost to the city for the hard fought and indispensablesalary increase approved last year for cityteachers. The Governor budgets not one penny tohelp the city maintain an ample and properlytrained teaching force. He has failed to acknowledgeany responsibility not only for maintainingteacher salaries but also for protecting ourbiggest achievements of the past several years,such as smaller class sizes in the early grades orour highly successful and critical universal prekindergartenprogram, which his budget scraps inentirety.The Pataki budget would cause the size of elementaryschool classes in the city to soar by anastonishing 25 percent and would eliminate vitalteacher professional development programs,such as teacher centers and teacher-mentoringprograms, which help schools meet the demandsof the state’s new rigorous academic standards.His budget totally undermines all the hardwork that has gone in to so many key areas, fromreducing overcrowding in our schools to attracting—andretaining—qualified, certified, qualityteachers.How can Mr. Pataki try to balance the state’sbudget on the backs of children? How can heactually advocate the virtual eradication of allafter-school programs and the curtailing in manydistricts of full-day kindergarten? And whywould a Governor who in his reelection campaigntouted education accomplishments largelyinitiated and fought for by the Assembly, now,just months later, advocate gutting early interventionprograms that provide teachers, guidanceBy JOEL KLEINThe New York City Department of Educationis fully committed to ensuring that our publicschools are places where students, teachers andthe entire school community are safe andsecure. During this period when our nation is atwar, our commitment to the safety and securityof your children is unwavering.To ensure that every public school in the Cityis ready to respond to emergency situations, myoffice has been in constant communicationwith the superintendents, principals and SchoolSafety Committees that are responsible forsafety and security at our schools. We alsoremain in around- the- clock communicationwith the New York City Police Department andthe Mayor’s Office of EmergencyManagement.Each school in the City has a School SafetyPlan and stands ready to implement emergencyprocedures should they become necessary. Ihave asked principals to be sure that informationabout evacuation routes and outside evacuationlocations is available to all parents.School Safety Committees will be meeting regularlyto review safety procedures and toensure that all school staff are prepared andready to respond to any potential emergencies.The potential impact of the ongoing wareffort on New York City is of serious concernto all of us. We will be vigilant in providingsupport to our children during this difficultperiod. Principals and teachers will be carefullymonitoring children to address concerns andto facilitate appropriate classroom conversationsabout the war. I know that you will bedoing the same with your children at home. Toassist you in supporting your children, I haveposted on the DOE website guidelines for parentsthat have been published by the NationalCenter for Children Exposed to Violence. Wehave provided your children’s schools withsimilar guidelines for teachers.In the days and weeks ahead, the Departmentof Education and the principals and teachers atyour child’s school will be doing everythingpossible to prepare for potential emergency situationswhile at the same time maintaining thedaily routines of educating and caring for yourchildren.#Fight over Pataki’s Education Cuts ReachesCritical Stage in Albany Budget Negotiationscounselors and other professional school staff theopportunity to identify problems that affect achild’s whole future? (These include learningdisabilities, developmental disabilities, hearingand vision deficits, and other conditions thatmust be identified early in order to provide childrenwith the right support services, so they canbe on sound footing to meet their full potential.)Other aspects of the Governor’s proposalscamouflage the threat to all students, such as hiseffort to lump money for special ed with generaleducation funding. This kind of insidious strategywould result in parents fighting parents—for“crumbs”—instead of providing each child witha healthy piece of the educational pie, to nourishour young children and help them get them learningthe right skills, straight from the start.Finally, The Governor’s budget would leavetoo many of our schools far, far behind technologically,with inferior science labs, brokenequipment, inadequate wiring and antiquatedlibraries. Mr. Pataki’s devastating cuts wouldalso offer no hope for city schools to keep upwith vital maintenance work and withoutresources to enhance the physical condition ofclassrooms, gymnasiums, libraries, auditoriumsand the overall school infrastructure.If we squander children’s appetite for learningand reading, stifle, at an early age, their interestin school, or fail to help them develop goodstudying habits, we put all of them at risk, eitherof failure and of low self esteem or, sadly, ofachieving so much less than their potential.In truth, all children have special needs—theneed to connect with a qualified well-trainedteacher who can help that child overcome or copewith challenges, or keep an otherwise bored childexcited about learning, eager to excel.Why would any Governor choose to put publiceducation on a fast track to destruction?#Steven Sanders is Chairman of the AssemblyEducation Committee. He can be reached at(212) 979-9696 or by e-mail at sanders@assembly.state.ny.us.Keeping NYC Safe Is My First PriorityBy MAYOR MICHAELR. BLOOMBERGNow that the war in Iraqis underway, I don’t thinkit matters whether youfavored or opposedlaunching the effort to disarmSaddam Hussein. Theimportant thing is that we’re all united in supportingour men and women in uniform, and inpraying that the conflict is short, successful,and as bloodless as possible.As New Yorkers, we’re also well aware thatevents halfway around the globe can turn ourown lives upside down. We’ve learned that theworld can be a dangerous place—a reality thatpeople in other lands have lived with.With hostilities overseas underway, theNYPD has implemented a set of increasedsecurity measures. Police Commissioner RayKelly has formulated their plan, OperationAtlas, which includes some highly visible elements.An augmented police presence is atmany locations throughout the city, includingbridges and tunnels and stepped up patrols onthe subways and waterways. Other parts ofOperation Atlas are not as noticeable. Theyinclude air monitoring by teams trained indetecting and handling chemical, biologicaland radiological contamination, and also ongoingintelligence gathering.Recently I met with President Bush andBy TOM KERTESHarlem’s P.S. 123 was fortunate in its choiceof “Principals For A Day.” They were men andwomen of action.City Councilman Bill Perkins got right to thepoint. “Miss Jenkins, tell me what I can do foryour school,” the Deputy Majority Leader said.“Give me some homework.” Caroline Hendra,from Ogilvy Associates, arrived at the schoolwith a new project: the kids are going to createa commercial. And Steve Mills, the Presidentof Sports Team Operations at Madison SquareGarden, sent a bilingual New York LibertyPlayer to visit the school when he heard aboutsome tensions between French and Englishspeakingstudents from the Principal.“It’s my third year as a ‘Principal For ADay’,” said Mills. “I participate because I thinkit’s an important program. I read too many negativethings about education in the media—how difficult things are. I’m happy to see thatit’s not always so.”“I grew up and went to public school in a difficultneighborhood in Roosevelt,” addedMills. “My Dad was a teacher and basketballcoach—and my uncle was a principal. So Iknow first-hand how committed most educatorsare.”If it wasn’t for the dynamite Miss Jenkins,running P.S. 123 would be a challenge. “We arestill on the “Need Of Improvement” list, butwe’re getting closer to reaching standards,” shesaid. With over 1,000 students, this is thelargest school in Harlem. Over 25 percent ofthe children live in shelters or other temporaryhousing. Yet the school is clean and inspirational,the walls are dotted with the students’best work, and the attendance is 93 per cent.Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge at theWhite House briefing them on the steps we’vetaken to protect NYC. I was pleased to hearSec. Ridge tell reporters later something that allNew Yorkers should find reassuring: that nocity in the country does a better job, across theboard, in preventing terrorism.Federal assistance, in the form of airspacerestrictions and the return of flight patrols tothe skies above our city, is an important part ofour security measures. The President recognizesthat New York has special needs in combatingterrorism, and I’m confident that he willtake that into account as he proposes additionalappropriations for homeland security.What should average New Yorkers do inthese trying times? Naturally, we should all bevigilant. If you see something suspicious, call911 or the counter-terrorism hotline at 1-888-NYC-SAFE. And then let the professionalshandle it. But the most important thing is thatwe continue to live our normal lives—going towork, sending our children to school, andenjoying evenings out with friends and family.Over the past week I have met New Yorkersfrom all over the City—on subways, at lunch inmidtown, at Madison Square Garden, in TimesSquare, community meetings in Queens, and atChurch services in Brooklyn. And whateverviews we have on the war’s necessity, one messageis loud and clear from everyone I met—we will not be immobilized by fear.#Principals For A Day Jump Into The Fray At P.S. 123“I’m fortunate to haveoutstanding teachers anda truly excellent support staff,” said Jenkins,lovingly shooing some latecomers toward theirclassroom. “They keep my spirits soaring.”And so does the changing educational environmentunder Mayor Bloomberg andChancellor Klein. “In particular, I am veryhopeful of the idea of parent liasons,” Jenkinssaid. “Parent involvement is one of our biggestproblems around here. So I think a person fulfillingthis function—helping to create a closerbond between the parent and the school—could be extremely helpful in a school such asthis one.”Other creative ideas come from the teachersthemselves. Ms. Bien, a first-grade teacher fullof youthful enthusiasm, came up with “HarlemMail Kids” under a Bank Street grant to developa thematic curriculum. Her class of six yearoldsruns a post office, including applying for ajob, making post office boxes, and designingand selling stamps. “We went to Landel’s (alocal restaurant) with the idea,” Bien said.“And they donated the uniforms (sky blue teeshirtsworn proudly by all in the class, with a“Harlem Mail Kids” logo on it).”“This teaches us about the Three C-s: communication,cooperation, and community,” tinyFrancisco said. The students learned aboutappreciation as well; they wrote an enormous“Thank you” letter to Landel’s.“Sure, we could use more funds, more moderncomputers, a better-equipped state of the artlibrary and many other things,” Ms. Jenkinssaid. “And we are working on acquiring thosethings. But, in the meanwhile, we are doing thebest we can for these children.” Which appearsto be an outstanding job.#