2022 Power Players in Education

Dr. Claudia Schrader, M.A., Ed.M., Ed.D., took the helm as president of Kingsborough Community College in September 2018. She is the college’s seventh president and holds the distinction of being the first African American in the college’s history to hold that office. Prior to Kingsborough, she served as provost and senior vice president at Bronx Community College, associate provost at William Paterson University, and associate provost at Medgar Evers College. As Kingsborough’s president, Dr. Schrader is committed to improving access to affordable education that prepares students for transfer and careers.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
Policymakers can prioritize funding CUNY colleges, like Kingsborough Community College, in the City’s budget to ensure equitable access to quality education. As a #1-ranked community college in New York State, on the cusp of celebrating 60 years of being a dream maker for hundreds of thousands of students, Kingsborough remains committed to providing a high-quality liberal arts and career education through associate degree programs that prepare students for senior colleges or entry into the workforce. Through full-time, part-time, and continuing education programs, we serve a diverse student body that includes underrepresented groups, high-risk youth, low-income individuals, and first-generation college students.

What conditions or resources are conducive to a safe and effective learning environment?
A safe and effective learning environment starts with valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion. When the difference is respected, we are free to be ourselves and to learn from each other. Effective learning environments are innovative and inclusive in their approaches and demonstrate a culture of care. These learning environments must be able to provide students with what they need in order to achieve their goals.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
As an undergraduate, I took a class where I was the only African American in the class. I would earnestly try to participate by raising my hand to answer questions but was ignored. When I did have the opportunity to speak, my responses were dismissed, but when another student was called on and provided the same response that I gave but was validated and praised, I began to feel invisible. This is why giving others a voice and appreciating their presence and contributions have always been important to me in my work.

Zakiyah Ansari is the advocacy director of the New York State Alliance for Quality Education, the leading statewide organization that has been fighting for educational justice in New York State. Zakiyah is the mother of eight and grandparent of four. Zakiyah has dedicated 20 years of her life to the fight for educational justice and ending the oppression of Black and Brown people. Zakiyah volunteers her time with New York Justice League and Resistance Revival Chorus and is a senior fellow with Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
Listen to the voices and demands of the families, parents, and students that attend the most inequitable schools. They have the answers; they are clear about what they need in their schools and communities: culturally responsive education, police-free schools, equitable funding of public schools, community schools, full day quality pre-k, art, music etc.

What conditions or resources are conducive to a safe and effective learning environment?
Deep and honest engagement and collaboration with families and students. Transparency and two-way communication is vital to provide safe and effective learning. This way of being allows the entire school community to continue the policies and practices that are working and end the ones that aren’t together. If we are leaving out students in this process it will never truly be safe or effective.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
When I was in school you couldn’t travel to and from school without seeing dozens of Black children carrying musical instruments. Looking back now it was such a beautiful sight. I played multiple instruments from middle school until I graduated high school. I never worried about not being able to have an instrument; it was part of the school day along with math and science. Being in band offered me an opportunity to go on trips that I would never have otherwise been invited to. All children should have the opportunity to participate in the arts, including playing an instrument.

Reverend Brian J. Shanley, O.P., is the 18th president of St. John’s University. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, he holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Philosophy of Religion. A 1980 graduate of Providence College, he earned a licentiate degree in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America. Ordained a member of the Dominican Order of Preachers in 1987, he was the 12th and longest-serving president in the history of Providence College.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
Because New York is one of the leading recipients of Pell Grants, an increase in federal funding for Pell would profoundly impact New York State. The Pell Grant has broad, bipartisan political appeal because it helps needy students; the resources are directed to the students first and not schools, and the program allows students to apply the funds to the cost of an accredited public or private institution that best fits their individual educational needs. Additional Pell grant aid is a sound investment in economic mobility for students, especially low-income students, as those with college degrees earn higher incomes as adults.

What conditions or resources are conducive to a safe and effective learning environment?
Being in a welcoming environment is essential to higher learning. At St. John’s University, we are blessed to have a beautifully diverse group of students living and learning in Queens County, one of the most dynamic and diverse places in the world. We work to build the trust and shared community required to cultivate a vibrant teaching and learning environment that allows all people to take personal and intellectual risks to realize their God-given potential.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
Throughout my life and priestly ministry, I have been blessed to know and be influenced by great teachers. My beloved parents were my first teachers. It was teachers who opened my mind to new ideas and points of view. It was a college professor who first asked me if I ever considered being a priest, thus changing the course of my life. As a longtime professor of Philosophy, I have been able to share my love of teaching and learning with college students at Providence College and now at St. John’s. I firmly believe in the impact of good teachers.

In his capacity as president of The College Board, Jeremy Singer oversees assessment programs such as Advanced Placement and the SAT. He has long been a leader in education organizations; before joining The College Board, Mr. Singer was president of the Graduate, Pre-College, and K-12 Divisions of Kaplan Test Prep, and he also held executive positions within the Grow Network and Partners in School Innovation.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
All students should have the opportunity to plan for success after high school in college and careers. BigFuture.org simplifies the path by providing top quality resources for students and parents to plan for college, pay for college through scholarships and financial aid, and explore future careers. As we emerge from the pandemic and address its challenges, personalized guidance and access to scholarships and high-quality college and career planning has never been more important.

What conditions or resources are conducive to a safe and effective learning environment?
Students need to be challenged to learn and grow. And in order to be ready for challenges, some fundamental things need to be in their lives — caring adults, nutritious food, regular exercise, healthy interactions with peers. The pandemic has been so devastating for learning because it disrupted so many of these cornerstones that kids rely on to be ready to learn.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
In second grade, I had a remarkable teacher named Tom Cataldo who taught us to play chess. My classmates were from a wide range of economic and demographic backgrounds, and this immersion in chess united us. I went back every year for a game of chess with Mr. Cataldo throughout my childhood. It was and remains a touchstone for me, and I keep a photo of that second grade class on my desk.

Toni Smith-Thompson was born and raised in New York City and is now the parent of three children in the New York City public school system. As a parent activist and organizer, Toni is a co-founder and current co-leader of the New York City Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation, which engages with and provides support to communities working to undo segregation in New York City. After beginning her career in nonprofit direct service, Toni has built a career as an organizer working on culture change and policy reform and is currently a senior organizer at the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she works on campaigns to advance racial justice. In 2003, Toni captured headlines and sparked national debate with her protest, as a basketball player for Manhattanville College, refusing to salute the American flag during the pre-game playing of the national anthem.

Deborah F. Stanley is interim chancellor of The State University of New York, the largest comprehensive system of higher education. Through policy changes and student-centric initiatives, she is eliminating barriers to education, so that more New Yorkers have the academic training and in-demand skills that are necessary for the jobs of today and tomorrow. At the same time, she moves New York State’s vision for SUNY forward, ensuring that students continue to receive an affordable, world-class education.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
It is already happening under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul, who, along with the legislature, has made a historic budget commitment to higher education. The expansion of direct student financial aid through New York’s longstanding Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), coupled with increases in investment for opportunity programs, enrollment, childcare, academics, state-of-the-art facilities, and more will ensure that SUNY reaches New Yorkers who are most in need of education — from a credential to an associate to a Ph.D. — to fulfill their dreams.

Senator Toby Ann Stavisky is the first woman from Queens County elected to the State Senate and the first woman to chair the Senate Higher Education Committee. She is a graduate of P.S. 9, the Bronx High School of Science, and Syracuse University. A former high school teacher, she attended Hunter and Queens College graduate schools. Senator Stavisky serves as vice chairwoman of the Majority Conference and serves on the Education, Finance and Ethics Committees.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
When I was an undergraduate at Syracuse, I was a junior editor at the campus newspaper, The Daily Orange. I wrote and edited copy, covered a “beat,” and worked on page layout. One night a week, I served as night editor at the printing plant, where I proofread copy set by the Linotype operators who sat next to a tub of hot molten lead. My job was to set the headlines on a handheld Ludlow frame, hoping the headlines would fit as written. I had to insert each letter individually and fill the spaces with slugs of lead. The operator then prepared the page mat and I read the final proof.  

The lessons I learned:  

1. Don’t go near the liquid lead. Learn to appreciate its unique pungent odor. 
2. How to interview subjects.  
3. How to sit at a typewriter, type a story, and lay out the page using only a pencil, paper, and a ruler.   

As a result, I write my own newsletters, edit press releases, ask questions at hearings etc.  When legislators and staff refer to our local district office as the D.O. I always think of the D.O. as short for the Daily Orange.

Tania Tetlow is the first woman and lay person to serve as president of Fordham University in its 181-year history, assuming her position in July 2022. Before coming to Fordham, Tetlow served as president of Loyola University New Orleans, where she implemented a strategic plan to enrich and celebrate the university’s strength in diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also oversaw sustainable improvements to existing programs as well as the creation of new academic programs to meet the demands of the health care sector. President Tetlow is a graduate of Tulane University and Harvard Law School, where she earned her J.D. and was a Harry S. Truman Fellow.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
COVID wiped out decades of progress on closing the opportunity gap, especially among the youngest students. We need to make up for lost time, whether summer programs or intensive tutoring. It won’t be easy, but the stakes are enormous.  

What conditions or resources are conducive to a safe and effective learning environment?
At the university level, we provide the kinds of financial, advising and emotional support many students need to overcome much higher obstacles — that includes everything from addressing trauma to making sure that we have an emergency fund in place to ensure that no student goes hungry, as well as a program where students can donate meal swipe cards.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
I remember the high school math teacher who joked constantly that girls weren’t any good at math. But I have far more memories of the teachers who made all the difference in my life.  From Mr. Baumann in second grade who taught me a lifelong love of reading, to Professor Lawrence Tribe, who gave me a deep understanding of the Constitution.

Natasha Trivers is deeply committed to race equity and strong academic and civics outcomes for students from historically disadvantaged communities. Under her leadership, students have completed college on a six-year timeline at a high rate, 90% of NYC students are Advanced Regents diploma earners, and Democracy Prep has started an Advisory Board, which is 70% Democracy Prep alumni and 100% people of color. Democracy Prep is entering year three of its multi-year Strategic Plan, which focuses on consistent excellence with regard to curriculum, instructional systems, school culture, talent, sustainability, and antiracism.

What can New York policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality education?
Elected officials must recognize that the more school choice parents have, the better. Parents of Black and Brown families deserve to have wonderful, safe, high-performing neighborhood schools accessible to their children. To this end, all public schools, whether charter or traditional district, should be funded equitably and granted equitable facilities.

What conditions or resources are conducive to a safe and effective learning environment?
Students need to know they belong, they are cared for, and they have agency. To have an effective learning environment where students can experience success, educators must: use rigorous curricula; always put grade-level appropriate material in front of students (even those who are behind); and collect and use precise data to gauge what students have mastered and what they have yet to master. To achieve this, learning acceleration must be the goal, not mere remediation.

Describe a learning experience from your own education that stands out.
In Ms. Hunter’s 7th grade English Language Arts class at I.S. 192 in Hollis, Queens, we read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. We discussed rhetorical strategies and real world connections, but what struck me the most was Ms. Hunter’s incredibly high expectations for us. We were reading a very complex text, and she pushed us on our reading comprehension, analysis, and writing skills. She communicated to us every day that she believed in us, loved us, expected us to do our very best every day, and wanted us to see ourselves reflected in the texts we read.