We, A Coalition of Parents, Applaud and Stand With The Panel For Education Policy Members Who Broke With Tradition and Voted No On A Pearson G&T Contract This Week

Despite immense pressure from City Hall, eight members of the Panel for Educational Policy acted with integrity and stood strong in an historic 8–7 vote rejecting the renewal of a “gifted and talented” testing contract with Pearson Corporation. Had the contract been approved, the city would have spent a minimum of $5 million (estimated) to administer an exam that, in the words of the NYC DOE’s Office of Assessment, “could exacerbate inequities for an admissions program that is widely known to have disparate outcomes by race.” Members of a broad coalition of public education stakeholders, including parent leaders, advocates, students and teachers, hail the eight members who voted against renewal.

We have enormous gratitude for the leadership of the panelists who recognized this moment and voted in the interests of one million NYC school students rather than the political agenda of the mayor. The attention of elected Community Education Council leaders, along with that of countless other education advocates, parents and elected officials, will be fixed squarely on Mayor de Blasio to ensure that he does not tamper with the results of the deliberative process that unfolded Wednesday night.

Should the mayor or any borough president be tempted to “yank” panelists, an action proposed by the misguided, authoritarian-minded, and derisive Daily News editorial board, we would remind them that an internal memorandum of the mayor’s own Department of Education stated that testing during the pandemic “may not accurately measure students’ abilities” Moreover, in 2013 candidate de Blasio publicly pledged that if he were elected he would appoint PEP members to set terms and not fire them at will. That such punitive action is even a concern is yet another indictment of mayoral control, a governance mechanism that lacks transparency, is undemocratic, and must end.

Highlights of the January 27 PEP included:

• The vote against the proposed contract was the first time since being vested with contractual power in 2009 that the Panel asserted their independence and refused to rubber stamp a contract favored by the mayor.
• Twenty Community Education Council members from across New York City spoke out in an unprecedented show of unity against renewal of the Pearson Gifted & Talented contract to test four-year-olds this spring.
• Not a single panel member spoke in favor of the tests; the panelists voting to renew the contract spoke at length about their qualms, the need for greater equity and their personal opposition to renewal, even as they approved renewal of the contract.

QUOTES:

Yuli Hsu, 1st Vice President, Community Education Council 14

“If ever there was a time to send a clear message that the DOE and the city stand clearly on the side of equity, it was now, during a pandemic that has so clearly disproportionately impacted NYC’s Black and Latinx students. The PEP chose an uncompromising and moral position with their no vote last night on the Pearson contract, clearly signalling the need to support our most impacted majority, our Black and Latino students who have not, even before this pandemic, had their right to a basic and sound public education fulfilled.”

Rafael Lena, D28 parent leader

“Would it be okay to fund the Tuskegee experiments for just one more year? What leader would ask you to keep separate-but-equal going, but it’s okay, because it’s just one more year?”

Jia Lee, NYC public school teacher & parent

“The panel members who voted no stood on the right side of history and said ENOUGH. This was a model of defiance against a system that has pitted us and our children against each other.”

Tamara Gayer, D14 President’s Council, PA President

“This year, when budgets are beyond strained and the lives and health of our students and city hang in the balance, voting against this contract was a moral obligation. We stand with these eight panel members with deep gratitude and respect.”

Sophie Mode, Millennium Brooklyn High School student

“The gifted and talented test is discriminatory in a normal year, which the mayor and Chancellor know, as they’ve decided to phase it out . Black and Latinx students make up 66% of New York City public school students but just 22% of students in gifted and talented programs. But this is not a normal year, and with a pandemic raging that has both medically and financially disproportionately affected low income students of color, not to mention inequitable access to remote learning, spending $5 million to administer the test this year would be immoral, unsafe and a waste of our resources. The panelists who voted down this contract last night showed us that they don’t care about being in the mayor’s pocket, but about doing what is right. Thank you.”

Lucas Healy, D75 student whose statement was cited by PEP members who voted no

“There are lots of things that make up a person. Our race, our culture, how we live, where we live, how we love, who we love are just a few. All these things also affect how we learn. If we need more time because we speak a different language at home, please give us more time. If we need support because our brain processes information in a different way, please give us the support. If we need internet service to learn, please help us get that. And if we need to learn MORE than we need to take tests that DON’T reflect what we know, then please LET US LEARN. The main thing we need is a CHANCE to be heard and seen and that is not happening. Show ME you see ME.”

Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, President, Community Education Council 4

“As for the 7 members who voted in favor of this contract, despite their clearly stated misgivings — trust has been broken. You cannot be equity minded and have the best interests of our children at heart if you are willing to cosign something like this even just for a year. Some of these PEP members expressed that they were excited to be at the table to engage in conversations about reimagining admissions to these select schools with the NYCDOE and Mayor’s office, but I don’t want to see you at the table, because our Black and Latinx children are not your priority and you are upholding these white supremacist policies.”

Megan Devir, District 15 parent

“We don’t get to vote for our school board representation in NYC, and that is not a coincidence — the overwhelming majority of districts under state/city control are in cities serving primarily Black and Latinx families. Last night, despite our appointed board, we got a taste of what true representation feels like.”

PRESS NYC is proud to be part of this coalition.