Literacy & Letters

It seems that, on an almost weekly basis, the New York Times is publishing yet another premature obituary for our city with misleading headlines, contradictory statements, and suburban real estate interests as primary sources. Anyway, I…

It seems that, on an almost weekly basis, the New York Times is publishing yet another premature obituary for our city with misleading headlines, contradictory statements, and suburban real estate interests as primary sources. Anyway, I find it repulsive, and it brings me to the brink of canceling my Times subscription.

Anyway, in Friday's newsletter, or elsewhere, you may have noticed an article about the possible redeployment of literacy teachers across the city as smaller class sizes tell a tale of staffing shortages. The article featured Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon's letter to Education Chancellor Carranza highlighting the importance of literacy, the effectiveness of teachers dedicated to literacy, and what a mistake it would be to have such teachers reassigned to roles unrelated literacy. I spoke with Assemblymember on Friday and thanked her for her dedication to this matter, and with it, we've also sent a letter indicating our shared sentiments.

Efforts to ensure literacy teachers and coaches remain in their current roles are based on the conclusion that, as our letter states, "the upcoming school year will require even greater assistance for everyone involved in helping students gain literacy skills." Besides that reality, the Department of Education's own study indicates schools that have ULIT coaches in them have seen reading comprehension metrics improve by over 20 percent. Difficult times put a premium on setting the right priorities.

If you want to be in the great company of Assemblymember Simon and CB6, you can take a minute (literally) and join this letter-writing campaign organized by literacy teachers. You can also submit testimony and let your thoughts be known at the virtual City Council education meeting on Thursday morning.

Whether you agree with me or not, I wish you all the best for the rest of August and recommend checking out the items below my email signature.

This is the web archive of a newsletter originally sent by email to Brooklyn Community Board 6 subscribers on Monday, August 31, 2020. The email edition may contain additional event listings and links.