Summer break has just begun for New York City’s schoolchildren and I am left reflecting on the realities of our public schools, where they are benefiting our kids, and of course, where they are coming up short. There are many voices offering solutions to make our schools better, but unfortunately, some of these voices are missing the big picture and avoiding an important conclusion: our children need a dramatic investment in their education.
Last month, Mayor de Blasio released his plan for integration, “Equity and Excellence for All: Diversity in New York City’s Public Schools.” Many believe that segregation is a massive issue in our public education system and that “all students benefit from diverse and inclusive schools and classrooms.” While I agree that there are benefits to more diversity in classrooms, as a resident of a district that serves 94% minority students, I can’t help but to notice that the Mayor’s plan targets our community specifically. The plan says that no school should have more than 90% black and latino representation.
The inference of this plan is that for some reason, if our children are seated next to white children while at school, they will have better educational outcomes. If this is in fact true, it is not because diversity raises rates of achievement, it is because the schools of white children benefit from a level of investment that the schools of our minority children do not.
I recently published my plan for improving schools in our district, specifically targeting the school to prison pipeline and offering my ideas to make our schools safer and better for the mental and physical well-being of our kids. This plan does not require that our black and brown children join the classrooms of their white counterparts, it requires a serious investment in our kids that have been historically underserved.
In New York City, black and Latino students make up 68% of the high school population, but comprise 94% of student summons. While I appreciate the school climate and safety reforms offered within the Mayor’s plan, why does it have to be contained within a plan for integration? We should demand that the high and problematic suspension rate of our minority children be addressed and fixed on its own merit.
My plan calls to improve the conditions of our classrooms and provide our children with a more supportive educational experience and the key to this proposal is investment, not integration alone. I will fight to make sure that our community schools get better healthcare resources for the high rate of students in our district struggling with asthma hospitalizations. I also call for more social workers in our schools to help our students who are struggling with emotional issues that are not being addressed in their homes. It’s time to keep focus on what matters for our kids.
Henry Butler is running for City Council in the 41st District representing Brownsville and parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush and Crown Heights.
Editor’s Note: KCP posts all op-eds it receives as long as they are not derogatory or degrading in tone, and even then, if the writing is done as satire or in humor, it may be posted. This includes op-eds from all candidates for public office, and we extend an open invitation for candidates to submit op-eds to us. These op-eds are not KCP endorsements for any particular candidate, and are the views solely of the author, and do not reflect the views of KCP.
