Hamilton, Simon, Lander to Co-Host Forum on School Testing
State Senator Jesse Hamilton, Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon and City Council member Brad Lander will co-host a community forum, tomorrow, on high-stakes testing of students that under the recently passed budget may have a large impact on teacher evaluations.
The forum comes as there have been discussions within schools, but fewer opportunities for multiple school communities to gather and exchange ideas, thoughts, and concerns. The forum will provide an opportunity for elected officials to hear from the community and give updates on budgetary, legislative, and political developments. Parents and educators from more than twenty schools have been invited. The school-to-school, grassroots dialogue will include discussion of recent developments.
Among the educators that will be in attendance and included in the discusssion are Zipp Mills, Principal of PS 261; Takiema Bunche Smith, Parent and inaugural Director of the Early Education Leadership Institute; Mary Beth Caroll, Special Education Teacher and Reading Specialist at PS 372/The Children’s School; Jody Drezner Alperin, PS 10 Parent Organizer; and Ann Cook, Time Out From Testing.
When: 7-9 p.m., tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15
Where: Old First Reformed Church, 729 Carroll Street, Park Slope
Adams, Hamilton, Mosley Announce Pre-K Parent Empowerment Bill
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, State Senator Jesse Hamilton and Assembly Member Walter Mosley, today, will announce a legislative effort designed to engage and empower parents of the over 50,000 children in New York City’s pre-K programs.
The proposed state legislation is designed to allow pre-K parents an earlier opportunity to engage with the New York City Department of Education through Community Education Councils (CECs) and to have a stronger voice in the city’s education policy.
Adams, Hamilton, and Member Mosley will be joined by CEC members and parents as they discuss this legislative measure and the importance of improving parental engagement.
The event is slated for 3 p.m., today, April 14, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street.
Thompson Announces Hit-And-Run Fatality Driver Gets Hard Time
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, yesterday, announced that a 46-year-old Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison following his conviction earlier this year on second-degree manslaughter and other charges in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in Williamsburg in 2013 that left a young couple and their premature infant dead.
Julio Acevedo, 46, of Brooklyn, was convicted of driving at 70 miles per hour along Kent Avenue on March 3, 2013, when he crashed into a livery cab traveling westbound on Wilson Avenue, being driven by Pedro Nunez-Delacruz. The livery cab was easing into the intersection to make a left turn when it was struck. Backseat passengers Nathan Glauber, 21, and his wife, Raizy, also 21, who was seven-months pregnant, were killed. Their son, Tanchem, was delivered alive, but died the next day. The cab driver suffered minor injuries.
Acevedo jumped out of his car after crashing into the livery cab, observed the carnage and then fled the scene. He was arrested by the New York City Police Department’s Warrant Squad in Pennsylvania on March 7, 2013.
“Today’s sentence shows our determination to get justice for Nathan and Raizy Glauber, and their son, Tanchem, whom the defendant killed by driving recklessly and then just walked away. Hopefully, it will help in some way to bring solace to their families,” said Thompson.
Squadron’s Community Convention Draws More Than 350
Northern Brooklyn/Lower Manhattan State Senator Daniel Squadron, Sunday, hosted his seventh annual 26th District Community Convention, which brought together over 350 community members to make their voices heard on the issues that matter to them.
In his opening remarks, Senator Squadron discussed the importance of community engagement. He noted that there is hope for the process when community members join together, voice constructive concerns, and become an active part of creating a more responsive government.
“The more that people of goodwill engage and take back the public square on days like this, and all year round, the better we will all be,” said Squadron. “We need to have a public debate we can trust — one in which an unlimited deluge of money is not drowning out people’s voices.”
Among the elected officials involved in the program were Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressmember Jerrold Nadler, Public Advocate Letitia James, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, and Councilmember Corey Johnson.
Discussion topics ranged from tenants’ rights and parks, to ethics reform and social justice. There was also a Chinese-language conversation. The suggestions and concerns voiced by constituents during those sessions will help drive Squadron’s priorities in the district and Albany.
