Kim Backs SHSAT At Assembly Hearing
Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Whitestone, Flushing, College Point, and Murray Hill) on Friday voiced support for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) at Friday’s Assembly Standing Committee on Education’s Hearing on Specialized High Schools at 250 Broadway in LOwer Manhattan.
“Today’s hearing on Specialized High Schools has its roots in the city’s divisive and exclusionary roll-out of its planned SHSAT changes. For six years, as the first and only Asian American member of the Assembly Education Committee, I introduced legislation and tried to work with the mayor and Department of Education to make our entire system less test-driven. They did not make any effort to work with me but chose to scapegoat one test as the main reason for racial inequality in our schools,” said Kim.
“The city’s decision to force drastic changes to the admissions process for these few schools without any input or meaningful communication with one of the communities most affected by them, all while ignoring the same issues plaguing all other New York City high schools which serve 1.1 million students, is short-sighted and wrong.
“True educational equity means addressing the systemic flaws that students face at all levels, it means being a parent who understands the anxiety of other parents who know public schools in their own districts and neighborhoods are not nearly as good as the ones their children have now been unfairly excluded from, despite six years of promises under this administration, and that is exactly what I came here today to give voice to.”
Gillibrand Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Increase Global Competitiveness Of American Advanced Manufacturing
U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chris Coons (D-DE) on Friday announced a new bipartisan bill to increase America’s global competitiveness in advanced manufacturing. T
The Global Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing Act would expand the successful national network of Manufacturing USA institutes, which work to strengthen manufacturing throughout the country. The Manufacturing USA program is a national network of 14 public-private partnership institutes with 1,300-member companies and institutions working to keep the U.S. on the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing.
The institutes collaborate with member companies, academic institutions, trade associations, and government partners to develop new best practices in manufacturing, help transition innovative technologies from lab to market, and expand the production of goods made in America.
The bipartisan co-sponsors include U.S. Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).
“America has always been a global leader in manufacturing, and we need to do everything we can to make sure our country remains competitive to continue that leadership in the 21st century,” said “This legislation would improve job training programs and support entrepreneurs, creating more opportunities for our workers to succeed in manufacturing. These are the types of investments that strengthen our nation’s economy and ensure our products and workers can compete in the global market, and I urge my colleagues to join together to pass this bill.”
Meng Helps Launch Smithsonian Display Honoring Chinese Immigrant Laborers Who Helped Build Railroad
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park) on Friday helped to open a new display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History that pays tribute and focuses on the nearly 12,000 Chinese laborers whose hard work and sacrifice made possible the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad which has long been considered one of the most remarkable engineering feats of the 19th century.
The display, “Forgotten Workers: Chinese Migrants and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad,” as well as its companion display, “The Transcontinental Railroad,” mark the 150th anniversary of the railroad’s completion which is today, May 10. They offer insight into the backbreaking labor that ultimately connected the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869.
“Today marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad that connected our nation, spurred economic growth, and unleashed the unlimited potential of our nation,” said Meng.
“Less known to the American public are the enormous contributions made by Chinese immigrant laborers who toiled in extreme weather to lay down the literal foundations of our nation. Today, we honor their memory, sweat, blood, and labor, and we provide them with the recognition they deserve. I thank and applaud the Smithsonian for recognizing and bringing attention to the story of the Chinese railroad workers. It is a story that must be told. As we celebrate their memory and this milestone anniversary of the railroad’s completion, I hope the contributions they made to our country are recognized and remembered by all Americans,” she added.
More details can be viewed here. The displays at the Smithsonian in Washington DC run through spring 2020.
Addabbo Urges Feds To Quickly Allocate More Superstorm Sandy Funding
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside, The Rockaways) on Friday urged the federal government to quickly allocate the money earmarked to the city for Superstorm Sandy recovery.
Superstorm Sandy, which struck in October 2012 killed more than 40 people and caused $19 billion in damage.
Addabbo made his comments following a report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer that found the city had spent just 54% of the $14.7 billion in available federal funding for post-Sandy recovery and resiliency efforts as of March 31.
The report found, among other things, that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has shelled out about 41% of the $3.1 billion in federal funds allocated to it, while the Health and Hospitals Corporation has only spent about 20% of its $1.8 billion, the report shows.
“After seeing the devastation left behind by Superstorm Sandy, with some residents still not in their homes more than six years later, it is baffling that the city has only spent 54 percent of the $14.7 billion in federal funding for repairs due to the storm, according to NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer’s recent report,” said Addabbo, Jr. “I join Stringer in urging federal agencies to hasten the process of getting these funds where they are desperately needed. That money is needed to help repair the damage that still remains, and just as important, to fortify communities that are still in danger from future storms and rising sea levels.”
Sanders Honors Griffith-Hunte as 2019 “Woman of Distinction”
State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village, Far Rockaway) earlier this month honored Dr. Coralanne Griffith-Hunte as his 2019 “Woman of Distinction,” an award given through the senate to outstanding women living and working in New York State whose contributions have enriched the quality of life in their community and beyond.
Dr. Coralanne Griffith-Hunte is a Human, Industrial & Trauma Psychologist, who is also the Founder and Chairwoman of Created for Greatness Leadership Group. Dr. Griffith-Hunte has over 25 years’ experience as an orator, educator, humanitarian, mentor, political & organizational consultant, advocate and playwright. She has been a Queens community advocate since 2000.
Dr. Griffith-Hunte currently serves as a professor at the College of New Rochelle and Senior Training and Development Facilitator for The City University of New York.
“Dr. Griffith-Hunte is a role model and an inspiration to the entire district, particularly women.,” Sanders said. “Her tireless work and devotion to helping others is admirable and makes her well deserving of the title, Woman of Distinction.”
The induction ceremony was held in Albany on May 7.
It’s shameful what’s going on in this discussion & debate.
Just this weekend the New York Times had an article trying to equate our top-notch specialized high schools with deliberate segregation, including a photo of a several Caucasian Stuyvesant students (who are a minotrity in that school) juxtaposed with a old photo of Southern Civil Rights era segregation.
Some advocates of he dismantling of the SCSAT test wrongly think that selection by rigorous testing is somehow equivalent to discrimination, prejudice and exclusion by race. It’s not. In fact it’s the opposite. For there is no latter-day Bull Connor or racist civil-rights era Southern Governor standing in the doorway of these schools, barring people from entering. Instead, only the hurdles of mathematics, of vocabulary, of logic, and reading & writing skills are “standing” in the doorways of these specialized schools, saying to ALL: “come, compete and try your best to make the cut.” What’s more American than that? What’s more fair than that?
Should skin color be the determining factor instead? I thought that we were trying to get beyond that in our society. Of course, the admission test can be improved and expanded, but the test itself is color-blind, as it should be. Should it be a matter of percentages in the population perhaps? Not according to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. To paraphrase Dr. King: we should judge a person by their character, their content, their capabilities –not by the color of their skin, nor by their gender nor by their differences. He wisely understood that to do otherwise would itself be a form of discrimination and prejudice.
If we throw away academic achievement standards, and let in students who are unprepared and unable to take advantage of the rigorous environment in these schools then their admission will not do them any good, nor the schools themselves. Much better to prepare them properly and bring out the best in them beforehand, instead of having them suffer the humiliation of defeat and dismay if they are admitted under watered-down standards and can’t make the grade afterwards. The schools should mold the students – not the other way around.
The label “elite” high schools is misleading. These schools are not for the “elite” – they are for everyone who wants be the best, do the best and achieve the best in a public school context. Most students are poor, and many are first generation “dreamers”- with big American dreams and little else. This is not an “us versus them” narrative. Everyone wins, all New Yorkers win, when we preserve some of the best and most successful schools in our public educational system – for all to apply & compete – instead of watering down their admission standards.
As for diversity, the majority of current students are actually of Asian background, far above their percentage in the City population. Should Caucasians therefore be also demanding that the entrance doors be broken down to let them in? This makes no sense. For rather than symbolizing closed doors for some, these unique schools offer doors of opportunity for all those who will try the hardest and perform the best, within a free public school context open to all. Don’t destroy that!
Of course every parent wants the best for their child. But they should realize that their children will be subjected to all sorts of legitimate testing and selection throughout their lives, and not just in school. They need to prepare them for the real world if they want them to compete and succeed in life. Therefore all parents should support such schools, their high standards and their rigorous admissions, instead of watering down some of the best parts of our public high school system in the name of a false, misunderstood, and ultimately destructive “diversity”.
Instead of lowering the admission standards of these top-ranking high schools we need to raise the capabilities of the test-takers. We need solutions not destruction: Create more specialized schools for more students, offer free or subsidized test preparation, improve and enrich pre-test education citywide, but don’t foolishly and short-sightedly weaken or destroy the high admission standards of these fine schools. We need to preserve, defend and expand some of the finest public secondary educational institutions that we have in this city, and their high standards of admission, instead of tearing them down.
The label “elite” high schools is misleading. These schools are not for the “elite” – they are for everyone who wants be the best, do the best and achieve the best in a public school context. This is not an “us versus them” narrative. Everyone wins, all New Yorkers win, when we preserve some of the best and most successful schools in our public educational system – for all to apply & compete – instead of watering down their admission standards.
Some people wrongly think that selection by rigorous testing is somehow equivalent to discrimination, prejudice and exclusion by race. It’s not. In fact it’s the opposite. For there is no latter-day Bull Connor or racist civil-rights era Southern Governor standing in the doorway of these schools, barring people from entering. Instead, only the hurdles of mathematics, of vocabulary, of logic, and reading & writing skills are “standing” in the doorways of these specialized schools, saying to ALL: “come, compete and try your best to make the cut.” What’s more American than that? What’s more fair than that?