CPC Testifies at State Education Committee Hearing
On March 15, 2019, CPC President & CEO, Wayne Ho, testified at the NYS Senate Education Committee Hearing on mayoral accountability and school governance.
He stated that CPC is not ready to support the extension of Mayoral Control of the NYC Department of Education (DOE) until issues in early childhood education are first addressed. CPC recognizes that Mayoral Control is important because it promotes accountability, and one key example of accountability is how early childhood education is implemented in New York City. As the City embarks on an effort to transform the entire City’s early childhood education system – from Universal Pre-Kindergarten for four-year-olds and three-year-olds to subsidized early education for infants and toddlers – we must take some serious issues into consideration as we weigh the extension of Mayoral Control.
Specifically, CPC recommends that:
- Immediate action should be taken to achieve salary parity for the early childhood workforce in order to ensure a quality education for all New York City’s children.
- The DOE should fully fund community-based organizations providing early childhood and school-based programs.
- The expansion of any DOE program should be fully inclusive of the Asian American community, including 3K for All which currently leaves out neighborhoods with predominantly Asian American residents.
- There is one contractual and procurement system for community-based organizations that serve the most marginalized of all New Yorkers, ensuring the DOE process aligns with the City’s human services agencies’ process.
Until these issues are addressed, CPC is not ready to support the extension of Mayoral Control of the DOE.