Treyger Reacts To Newly Appointed Chancellor of Schools
City Council Member Mark Treyger (D-Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Gravesend), Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Education, is looking forward to working with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s newly appointed Chancellor of Schools, Richard A. Carranza.
In an announcement yesterday, the Mayor unveiled the newest top education official, who will take over in the wake of Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s decision to retire at the end of the academic school year. Carranza has served as Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District beginning in August 2016. HISD is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh largest district in the United States, with a predominately Hispanic and Black student population.
Just last week, Treyger was pushing for the Mayor to include more stakeholders in the decision-making process after two news outlets- Politico and The New York Times- prematurely put out that the city hired Miami-Dade County Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho to replace the retiring Farina. However, Carvalho then quickly announced he decided against taking the job.
“As a former educator, a product of immigrants and Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Education, I am eager to speak with Chancellor Carranza, who began his career as a teacher, and learn more about his vision for our school system. I am pleased that, continuing the legacy of Chancellor Carmen Fariña, Chancellor Carranza makes it a priority to spend time on-the-ground in schools,” said Treyger.
“I look forward to discussing opportunities to expand community schools, enhance social-emotional supports, tackle basic infrastructure needs, ensure that equity is felt in every school throughout the five boroughs, and address many other pressing issues in our school system. As a fellow ‘vocal, voracious, passionate’ supporter of public schools, I welcome Chancellor Carranza, and look forward to working with him to ensure that all of our city’s 1.1 million students have an opportunity to excel,” added Treyger.
Montgomery Applauds Capitol Exhibit Honoring NY Women
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Park Slope) applauded Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement yesterday of the Women’s History Month exhibit in the New York State Capitol.
The exhibit, “1918 | The New Day for New York Women,” celebrates and recognizes the contributions made by 25 New York women pioneers and trailblazers, each who achieved a “first” for women in the state, and champions the century of progress since women’s suffrage was passed in New York State in 1917. The Governor also proclaimed Women’s History Month in New York State.
Some of the 25 trailblazing women honored as part of the exhibit include Bessie Buchanan, the state’s first black female Assembly member; Shirley Chisholm, New York’s and the country’s first black congresswoman; State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), the first woman to lead a legislative conference with her 2012 election as leader of the Senate Democratic Conference; and Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-Brooklyn, Queens, LES) the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“New York has a proud history of women in advocacy and leadership positions that continues to this day. As a member of the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission, I join the Governor in honoring these women trailblazers, including so many women of color. It is so important to pay tribute to the women whose shoulders we stand on and who are currently paving the way for future generations.”
Cornegy Launches A Sensory & Gross Motor Skills Lab
City Council member Robert Cornegy Jr. (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) will join P.S. 59 William Floyd Elementary in hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a Sensory and Gross Motor Skills Room as well as a Multimedia Lab today.
The classroom and the lab will serve as valuable new resources for students with complex needs and challenges to academic success. Many students at P.S. 59 experience toxic levels of stress related to unstable housing, domestic violence, poverty, and unmet physical and mental health need. As a result, students often struggle to manage emotions and behaviors which negatively affects their academic performance.
Research supports the use of innovative therapies to mitigate these effects. The Gross Motor Skills room will provide state of the art Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy for students with those needs. While the Multimedia Lab will give students the chance to use different technologies, and ultimately receive an equal opportunity as students from all other communities with access technology.
“I am excited to join P.S. 59 and the UFT [United Federation of Teacher] for this important event. Addressing the myriad obstacles faced by children in communities of color requires education tailored to their unique. I am honored to take part in today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, and commend the UFT and Department of Education for taking this important step toward fully addressing the educational needs of ALL of our City’s children,” said Cornegy.
The event is slated for 9 a.m., today, March 6, at P.S. 59 William Floyd Elementary, at 211 Throop Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Bichotte Hosts Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony
Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Ditmas Park, Flatbush) will honor the women of her district this week with her Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony for Women’s History Month.
Bichotte will honor women who have made a difference in the community in regards to Arts & Culture, Business & Entrepreneurship, Community Engagement, Education and Lifetime Achievement.
This year’s honorees include Doresna Emanuel-Roberts, Bishop Sylveta A. Hamilton-Gonzalez, Bashai Roohi, Cassandra Piton and Lori Maslow.
The event is slated for 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, March 8, at Woody Tanger Auditorium (Brooklyn College Campus), at 2900 Bedford Avenue in Flatbush.
