A reader in New York City has been studying the New York City Department of Education website. She keeps coming up with intriguing findings. Here are some of them:
A recent post on Diane Ravitch’s blog and a recent article in the New York Times Magazine got me curious. I wondered: Do New York City’s education policy makers really put children first? Are they doing all they can to make sure every single student succeeds, no matter their social or economic environment? Do they follow their own rhetoric?
We know that they blame teachers when students living in deep poverty do not graduate high school. But what are they doing to support public schools that serve the neediest students? Are they providing “fair student funding” as they claim?
I pulled school budget numbers from the New York City Department of Education’s own web site. I also pulled a list of the 10 high schools serving the most academically privileged students on entry and the 10 schools serving the most academically under-privileged students on entry using numbers (they call it a “peer-index”) from their own web site. I want to make clear that these students are identified based on their performance prior to entering these high schools. The high schools themselves are not “responsible” for this particular measure.
What did I find?
The schools serving the most academically privileged students received over 99.5% of the funds the city’s own formula entitles them to. The schools serving the most academically under-privileged receive 82.3% of the funds they are entitled to.
Let’s repeat that: The high schools that admit the most struggling students receive 17% less funding than they are entitled to BY THE CITY’S OWN FORMULA than high schools that admit the most academically privileged students. How is this fair? And how will this help schools that take on the most challenging work in education help these kids? Whose needs are being put first?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Of course they’re putting children first. They’re just not mentioning which children (or, more importantly, whose).
I think you’re all missing the point. When it comes to budget cuts, being exiled to basements for Important Charter Schools, removal of libraries, placement in trailers, hallways and bathrooms, raising class sizes, school closings, fewer course selections, ignoring neighborhoods, and making people stand out in the freezing cold waiting for buses that never come, just to mention a few examples, Tweed puts Children First. Always.
Children Last, ALWAYS!
FIRE DUNCAN! Hire Ravitch.
How do they get away with it?
By completely rewriting the entire English language. Not only do we not know up from down anymore, but we don’t even know what those words mean.
As parents we are the ones responsible for “Title 1” money to be distributed in our community school system by getting involved in their child education. Its not about just doing homework with them and going to parent teacher conferences. Its about getting involved in the community boards, making sure the PTA School Regulations Manuals are up to date and for the parents to see in the PTA room. Making sure the PTA is up and running at least 85-95 percent of the time where parents can have access to resources and information. We need parents to fill positions in the PTA room!!!!!!! and School Leadership Team!!!! How can you ask for government or state for funds when the PTA or Parents of the school isn’t keeping a legal PTA committee running. If the state ask you what are you going to do with this Title 1 money,- what is your response and what work will you do to make sure your community school receives those funds!!!!!???????????