Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Announces City on Track to Meet "Ready to Launch" Pre-K Expansion Goals for September 2014

February 25, 2014

CONTACT: pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov, (212) 788-2958

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Here we go. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to PS 130. Everyone's getting organized here? I'd like to acknowledge and thank for joining me Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Liliam Barrios-Paoli, OMB Director Dean Fuleihan, ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion, Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, of course the principal of PS 130, our host, Lily Wu – we thank her – I don't know where Lily is – right there, thank you Lily. I want to thank Sophia Pappas, the Executive Director of the Office of Early Childhood Education at the DOE and Josh Wallack, a veteran of my teams earlier on, who is joining the DOE on Monday as chief strategy officer. And I don't know if any of our colleagues in elected office have joined us yet, so people let me know as they arrive. Well, PS 130 is a wonderful place – you can tell just walking in the door. And I've talked to some of the staff here and they are an energetic and devoted lot, which, Lily, means you're doing something right – and we thank you for your leadership. Lily has asked me to read to one of the classes before I leave here today, which I look forward to doing – one of my specialties.

We're here at PS 130 because this is a school that wants to expand full-day pre-K. This is a school that is ready to answer the call and provide full-day pre-K for this neighborhood. And by the way, in the immediate vicinity of this school are four other sites that have applied for the opportunity to house full-day pre-K programs. So, right here, right in this neighborhood, five organizations – this school and four others – are ready, in September, to host full-day pre-K classes.

Now, imagine what a difference this is going to make for the parents of this community, who know their children are getting the real kind of start they need, a real foundation for their education. To know that their kid is getting a high quality instruction, full-day. To know they're safe and sound – to know, as parents, that they don't have to search for an alternative that may or not be available or that they may or may not be able to afford. To know it's available, it's consistent, and it's free. That's what our vision is. We want to help schools like PS 130 do that. And we've got a plan that proves that we can do this. We can do this to a very impressive degree starting this September.

Now, last month – a lot of the members of the team here worked on this – and I want to thank them for their great work – we released our roadmap for implementing free, high-quality, full-day pre-K for every child in New York City within the next two years. And let's go over the numbers again. Starting this September, the plan calls for 53,600 children to be in full-day pre-K classes. Again, this September, 53,600 children up from the current 20,000 kids getting full-day pre-K. By January 2016, in the following school year, 73,000 children would have full-day pre-K. 73,000. Over 50,000 more than get full-day pre-K each year now in this city. And in the plan we put forward last month, we laid out details on the curriculum that we would use, connected to the Common Core standards. We laid out detail on the kind of staffing that we would recruit, the kind of qualifications that staffing had to have, the kind of faculty-student ratios we needed – the details of a plan that we are aggressively preparing to implement.

The take-away from the report last month was clear. We can and will secure the space. We can and will hire the professionals. And that all of that can only happen if we get reliable funding and sufficient funding. The practical elements are in place and ready to go. The funding is not yet. And that's what we have to achieve. Our UPK implementation working group, which includes, of course, our Department of Education, has not been idle in the weeks since the first report was announced. In fact, they have continued to intensify their efforts to prepare for September. And they know that our children cannot wait. They know our families cannot wait. And so we aren't waiting. We are focused on the steps we have to take to be ready for September.

Today's announcement makes clear that this expansion is very, very real. And this school system is ready to make history. This report is a product of an extensive survey – the product of an extensive survey and a request for proposals – to determine the capacity of our public schools and our community-based organizations when it comes to the expansion of pre-K. This was not something we did from on high in city hall or in the Tweed building. This was something we did by reaching out to the grassroots, by reaching out to schools all over the city, by reaching out to great principals like Lily, reaching out to community-based organizations, so many of which have a history of providing pre-K and childcare. So we reached out to all of them to find out what they could do, what they're ready to do, what they believed was right for their communities. And the results speak for themselves.

We've determined that to reach our goal for this September – September 2014 – we will need 21,000 new full-day seats. Now, we reached out to all of the people I mentioned before, including school principals and community-based organizations, and already, in an on-going process, already we have received proposals that would amount to 29,000 new full-day, high-quality seats. So we know we need 21,000 in additional seats. Already proposals have come forward for 29,000 – a surplus of 8,000 already. Now when you add those new seats to the seats that we plan to upgrade that're existent – the 20,000 I've talked about over the last year – we will upgrade the quality of the programs for the existing 20,000. And those are run currently by the Department of Education. And then there's another 13,000 seats that are at the Administration for Children's Services that we will also upgrade and make full-day. And that combined will get us on target to reach almost 54,000 kids with full-day, high-quality pre-K this September.

Now, these seats are spread across 900 sites, 900 different sites in the five boroughs. And let me go over the number of schools and community-based organizations that are proposing to provide full-day universal pre-K this year in the proposals that have come forward already versus last year, under the previous concept – a very limited full-day pre-K. So, proposals for full-day pre-K – last year, Manhattan had 50 sites proposing to do full-day pre-K. This year it is 86 sites, including PS 130, that are proposing to do full-day pre-K. In the Bronx, last year was 83 sites – again this combines Department of Education and community-based organizations – it went from 83 last year to 135 this year. And here are some very striking numbers – in Queens, 130 sites applied last year, 291 sites have applied already this year. In Brooklyn, 158 sites applied last year, 337 sites have applied already this year. And on Staten Island, we see a tripling of interest – 26 sites applied last year, 80 sites have applied already this year.

Now, it's not just a question of quantity, it is also a question of quality. So every one of these proposals is going to be subject to the highest standards and the most rigorous evaluation. And we're going to make sure that we choose the absolute best among the options available, and our chancellor is ready to go into greater detail on that if there's interest. These are actual schools and actual community-based organizations with actual detailed plans, many of which have strong pre-K history to build on. This is real. This is achievable. But this is something we cannot do without sustained, dedicated resources. Parents are counting on us – it's as simple as that. We are doing our part here in New York City. We need our friends in Albany to do their part and give us the ability to raise our own resources from our own city to get this done.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. A small income tax on the wealthiest residents of our city – one that will have a very minimal impact on their economic reality – will create an extraordinary impact for this city, for its children, for its families, for its school system. And that money will go into lock-box funding for universal full-day pre-K and for after-school programs for middle school kids – and we're going to have a lot more to say on afterschool later on this week.
I will conclude, first, with a quote from a great woman. You know her as #FLONYC, I know her as Chirlane McCray. In her Op-Ed the other day, she said, related to pre-K programs, "We need these programs, we've got a plan to implement these programs, so let's get with the program, and do what's right for our kids."

Now, a brief moment in Spanish – I ask Carmen and Liliam not to laugh while I do this. You're laughing already. Hemos calculado que, para lograr nuestra meta antes de septiembre de este año, necesitamos 21,000 plazas — o pupitres — para pre-kinder de día completo. Directores de escuelas y entidades locales han propuesto planes para crear 29,000 plazas nuevas de alta calidad para pre-kinder todo el día. Necesitamos estos programas — y tenemos un plan para implementarlos.

With that – thank you, Lilliam. Thank you for that vote of confidence. With that, let me turn to our Schools Chancellor for her remarks.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña: To me it's very exciting to know that we're going to have the possibility of giving many of our students an extra year of school. And it's not an extra year of just play, although that's an integral part of pre-K. It's an extra year of vocabulary enrichment, an extra year of social and emotional growth. It's an extra year of being able to meet with parents, because we – we know that the younger the student, the more the parent involvement is in each of our schools. So we know we can get them in the door, and hopefully we're going to get them so hooked that they're going to stay involved in the rest of the child's school career. So this is an opportunity that cannot be missed. This is an opportunity that says that kids who come to schools such as 130 – and I adore Lily and we were very much colleagues together. These children, many of which are coming to school not speaking English, are going to have an opportunity to get that English in a setting that's going to be enriching and enhancing all the cultural values that they also bring to school.

So this is an opportunity we cannot let fail, because this is one last chance to ensure that kids get not an extra year of growth, because we know that every time they don't go to school, they fall six months behind. So imagine if we can change a negative to positive, and say that with an extra year of pre-K, students are actually going to go into kindergarten a year and a half ahead of schedule. So that's my wish for this city. And if we can do this right, we will set that standard for the rest of this country.

Mayor: In Español.

Chancellor Fariña: Oh, in Español. ¿Todo? Esto es una oportunidad muy especial. Es una oportunidad para que todos los chiquillos que quieren ir a la escuela a los cuatro años tengan un sitio donde van a aprender a hablar el idioma, también su misma cultura en ciertos barrios. Y una oportunidad que los padres pueden estar en la escuela en una manera que pueden ayudar sus hijos. Y en esos clases, las maestras pueden explicar lo importante que es la escuela. Esto es una oportunidad en que tenemos que demostrar que en esta ciudad lo podemos hacer, para que el resto del país aprenda que Nueva York siempre va a ser un sitio que va a estar adelante del resto del mundo. Gracias.

Mayor: Gracias.

[inaudible]

Mayor: That's close enough. It's a free form. I want to just emphasize that last point that was made in English, that the opportunity not only to help kids early, get them that strong foundation. It's – there's two parts to looking at that. What we gain because they got into a school setting and they started learning early, and how that propels them forward. Also what could have been gained and what we lose every time a child is not in a school setting and able to learn at that early age, particularly kids who need it most. So we have to understand the extraordinary multiplier effect that pre-K has. We also have to understand – this is the point I want to refer to that Carmen made – the role of parents. And I speak as a 14-year veteran of New York City public schools as a parent. The role of parents is crucial.

One of the things we're going to work on in the coming years is getting parents more deeply involved in their children's education. Everyone says in this town, understandably, that parents have so much to do and that, you know, they're working such long hours. And all that is true. We have to constantly show parents the best ways to be involved in their kids' education, the ways that will really elevate the education. Making sure that kids are doing their homework, making sure they're reading to their kids, working with their kids, going to the parent teacher conferences. Carmen said it perfectly. If – like anything else we do, if we engage parents early, when they're most focused on the day-to-day development of their kids at that young age like when are kids are four – around pre-K age. If you get them into the habit of deep involvement with schools, they will stay deeply involved in the schools. If you get them in the habit of deep involvement with their kid's education, they will stay involved. There's a huge multiplier factor right – effect, I should say – right there.

I want to emphasize that. If we can achieve a real, substantial improvement and increase in the amount of parent involvement in their kid's educations, that is something that money can't buy. And we believe that this pre-K effort is a gateway to that. Because once it's full-day and once it's guaranteed, parents are going to know that they have an opportunity and they're going to feel encouraged to participate in a different way. And it's going to open up a lot of possibilities for us. With that, on-topic first. We welcome on-topic questions.

Question: Mr. Mayor [inaudible] you and the Governor Cuomo, in many public events together showing a friendly relationship, talking about the common [inaudible] with pre-K, but [inaudible] on the same page, but you said it again this morning. You've shown a totally different approach, how to get the funding for universal pre-K. He said again this morning that he is not in favor of [inaudible]

Mayor: You know, I think we've been over this a number of times, but I'm happy to go over it again. First of all, the governor and I have been friends for almost 20 years. Working with him at HUD was really one of the high points of my career. And we talk constantly and our staffs talk constantly. And we happen to have a specific difference on how to implement this. But the good news is, we don't have any difference on the question of, is it time for pre-K for this city and state? We're not talking about if, we're talking about the how and the when and the details. And that is a good and healthy thing.

So, the areas where we differ pale in comparison to the many, many areas where we agree. And pale in comparison to the depth of the relationship and the working relationship that's going on every single day between city hall and the second floor in Albany. You saw it on the Medicaid waiver, you saw it on the announcement related to Long Island College Hospital. You're going to see it on homelessness prevention. You're going to see it on the housing for folks with HIV and AIDS. You're going to see it on a lot of fronts. I keep putting this plan forward because this is the best way to get it done. It's my job to represent the people of this city and to make clear to Albany what we need. And if you say, 'Well, some people in Albany don't agree with that.' I think if you said, 'Well mayors historically would just give in whenever people in Albany didn't agree with something,' we wouldn't have gotten very far.

So, it's my job to stand up for the people of this city. I am open to any pathway forward, but it has to involve reliable funding for five years. It has to involve sufficient funding. It has to allow us to do what we have called for, you know, for the last year, and that people ratified in so many ways, including in the election last year. And here's the thing – to this day, I haven't heard any alternative that meets those criteria. You know, I just laid out to you in tremendous detail – and I hope everyone will look at this report in detail, and there's more coming behind this in the coming days. We are going to flood you with detail – we are going to give you so much detail you're going to beg us to stop – on how we're going to get this done. I have not seen a detailed plan from any quarter in Albany. Lots of different players in Albany, some who love my idea, some who don't love my idea. But no one's put forward anything that would actually achieve what we're talking about except the plan I put forward. It's as simple as that. In the back, yes?

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: I appreciate the question. Let me say it clearly, that we have one vision and that's where we're focused. I think we've been clear about the fact that our budgetary dynamics going forward are uncertain because of – and I'll look to Dean and you can see the sweat on his brow. – because of the federal government dynamics, the state government dynamics and obviously the 152 open labor contracts. There's so many fiscal challenges and question marks. To mount something of this importance, this size, that requires this kind of consistency. I want to emphasize, you cannot start a program of this magnitude and do it for one year and shut it down. That would be an affront to the people of this city. If we do this, we do it for keeps. And we're planning to do it for keeps. So the fact is, we have to have the dedicated funding that is impervious to the other realities swirling around. That's why I thought a tax on people who make a half million or more, a dedicated funding stream, a lockbox for just pre-K and after school, was the smartest, sanest way to go. And that's what we'll be fighting for. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, on the Chief's question. On the public school side, up to 280 principals have come forward offering I believe 9,000 seats. How many of those are charter schools and how many are traditional district schools?

Mayor: So to clarify – and again I'm going to look to Sophia and Carmen and Josh – anyone can jump in if I say anything that requires more information. Right now under state law, charters per say cannot apply for pre-K – provide pre-K. But charter-affiliated organizations can. The obvious example, Harlem's Children Zone, has an affiliated organization that's providing pre-K right now. And we welcome that. We've obviously talked about other types of organizations – parochial schools for example – that have the right under the current schema to put forward proposals and they have. So we welcome all comers within existing law.

Question: [inaudible] if you're saying there are charter-affiliated providers?

Mayor: I don't think we have the exact numbers of the charter [inaudible]

Sophia Pappas, Executive Director of the Office of Early Childhood Education, DOE: Yeah, but there could be.

Mayor: There could be. We'll get back to you with a specific.

Question: [inaudible] which was that on the [inaudible] what is the greatest challenge to converting those half-day programs in terms of facilities into full-day public school pre-K or, you know, DOE-approved pre-K programs for full-day, and what's the cost associated with that?

Mayor: Let me start with a frame, and then Carmen, Josh, Sophia, whoever wants to step up, join me. I think the bottom line here is that the number one missing link is reliable funding. Because we know how to provide full-day pre-K. We do it every day in this city to great effect. We have, as we said, a lot more space available, a lot more talented teachers, highly certified teachers ready to go. We have great curriculum, which is the state's Common Core curriculum for the pre-K level, that we're going to employ rigorously here. It's really a question of funding. So a site that's already outfitted for pre-K, it's about, you know, taking a half-day seat and making it a full-day seat. A site that needs some additional efforts, we're going to work with them to get that done.

[inaudible]

Mayor: Please.

[inaudible]

Schools Chancellor Fariña: Traditionally, your principals did not have a big budget. They went for half-day because the half-day is covered by the state. Whole day was never covered by the state, which meant that principals had to make choices of pulling money from other things in their building to get the full day because it required an extra pay for teachers – what we call the prep teachers. So I think many principals are ecstatic about the opportunity to provide full-day, and that money is not coming from their existing budget but it's an add-on.

Pappas: In some cases with the CDO there actually is no challenge because right now they're offering half-day that's publically funded, and the rest of the day parents are paying for. So in those cases, they have classrooms fully outfitted, they have a teacher who's there for the whole day, and they can easily convert to full-day. In other cases, they may have to go into another classroom in their facility. Maybe they were – that's not being used, and then they would have to purchase materials, but that is all available through our current plan .

Josh Wallack, Chief Strategy Officer, DOE: Yeah, I would just add that in order to apply, the community-based organizations had to show that they had a viable, safe plan – a plan to recruit professionals and a plan to get up to speed. But those community-based organizations really do need a reliable revenue stream so they can enter into leases, hire staff, and make the programmatic improvements they need to make to make the programs work.

Mayor: I'm just going to say as a matter of fact, one other point on this question that, remember that the previous administration reduced its commitment to teaching childcare programs, reduced its commitment to after-school programs. So there's a lot of community-based organizations that had built out over the years to handle a lot more kids that have space that's going under-utilized. And that's part of why – we all knew this from the work we all do and then when we put it out formally, we were immediately impressed by how many came forward and that is the first round of our efforts to find space. We know there's a lot more where that came from. Sally's first.

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: Well, I think it's a couple different things. We've put forward this vision so consistently to cover two areas and two areas only. So, reputationally, I think it's pretty clear that I've said this in a way that is really compelling in terms of the fact that I would have to keep my word. And the fact that we put forward such detailed plans – there's lots of mobility here – if we want the ability of all of you and the public to see how we are facilitating those plans. So it is the number one priority of this administration. So we have every reason, in terms of our values and what we think will improve our schools and the future of our city, and our city workforce, and everything, we have all the right motivations to do it. We also have clearly painted a picture to the world – rightfully – that says hold us accountable for this.

But the way we are building out the plan – and Dean can add anything that would be helpful here – the way we're building out the plan is, we don't want the money to move off it. We need the money right where it is to achieve these goals. And I remind people that there's a great precedent in this city that every one of us benefitted from, which was the Safe Streets, Safe City tax. That was explicitly for increases in the numbers of police officers and for after-school Beacon programs. Only. And go back and look at that history – that's what was achieved and it lapsed on time. And you could find a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal – I think everyone would agree, that was one of the best examples of revenue achieving positive goals and a promise being kept. And we want to emulate that. Do you want to add? Okay.

Question: On the issue of [inaudible] going forward [inaudible] how much of it would be ACS, how much of it would be DOE, and what would you do to cut down on [inaudible]

Mayor: We are – I'll start, and I think our health commissioner should jump in – I assume you're talking about the health issues that were raised in the paper today. We're very, very serious about addressing these. Again, I want to make this personal. The reason I got interested in pre-K, originally, was my own children's experience in pre-K. Both had full-day pre-K. It had a huge impact on their lives. And so many parents I know have had the same situation, so this is very personal and I am adamant about the fact that we have to not only do this effectively, we have to do it in a way that's safe and healthy for our kids. So, I think we have a lot of the right regulatory regime. I think we have to do a better job of oversight and that includes adding resources for additional health inspectors. So why don't we have the health commissioner speak to that.

Commissioner Mary Bassett, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: So, the health department has an inspectional role in the childcare centers. There are about 2,200 of these and we do about 6,000 inspections a year. I want to be very clear about one thing. If we find a hazard to children that's imminent and can't be mitigated, we will close the place down, suspend its license, and make sure that the children are safe. There – in these inspections – some 6,000 of which are performed each year – there are a fair number of violations. We have a low threshold when it comes to the safety of children, and about half of the inspections lead to citations. Our goal is to mitigate these citations and that may mean – that means, if it involves a physical plant, removing the children from being in that setting. If it involves employees, it may involve sending that employee home until they can be documented to be safe to be with children.

We take very seriously the safety of children. So, I don't know whether – for example – and some of the things that came up in the press today – there was a rooftop that needs a fence. In fact, the roof has a couple feet of snow, so the children aren't going up there. But the solution to that problem was that the children shouldn't go up to the rooftop, that [inaudible] represents a mitigation of the hazard – we don't want the children exposed to unsafe hazards. We're also mindful that parents depend on these centers. They depend on them as learning settings for their children, as the mayor suggested, and they also depend on them because they work. So, our preference is to mitigate the hazard, which means to ensure that the children aren't exposed to hazards. But we do not tolerate any imminent threat to children. Under half a percent of our day care – of our childcare centers have a violation which is under review and still awaiting mitigation.

Mayor: Just to clarify, less than one half of one percent?

Commissioner Bassett: That's right. These are ones that are overdue for their mitigation and are still awaiting mitigation.

Mayor: Thank you, very much. So I think the bottom line is that we – look, not only are we adamant about the standard and meeting the standard and applying every tool we have to make sure that children are safe and healthy – you'll note that what we've reported already is that we have a surplus of proposals. And again, we're going to hold a high standard on which proposals we choose. So, if we feel that any particular setting isn't right or can't be made sufficiently safe, we have other options and we'll use the other options. Yes, Grace?

Question: [inaudible] already overcrowded [inaudible] set aside for other activities [inaudible] current use?

Mayor: Let me talk about immediate and then long-term in this. And then if anyone wants to add in, feel free. Queens – central Queens – one of our most overcrowded areas in our whole school system. So, Queens as a whole borough – again these numbers are striking, 130 sites applied to provide full-day pre-K last year, 291 – now that's a combination of public schools and community-based organizations. So, first of all, the most important answer to your question is, whether it's community-based organizations that right now are not part of the school system by definition, but are in a position to provide pre-K – you're just talking about pure value added there. You say we have an overcrowded school and that's something – again, part of what I talked about in our capital plan is – we're going to devote more resources to addressing overcrowding in places like central Queens, in places like Lower Manhattan, parts of Staten Island – there's a variety of areas where we have to do a lot more in general on overcrowding. But specifically, if you take a community-based organization that right now has nothing to do with providing pre-K or is providing less than they could, and you bring it up to a higher level, that's just pure value added. And that does not negatively affect anything in terms of your current overcrowding dynamics in the core of the public schools.

The second point going forward is, we've said from day one – this is one part of the plan. There's a capital component of the plan that builds out over time, including in some neighborhoods. We will need to create pre-K centers. And that will take a year or more to do, but we're devoted to doing that. And if there's a neighborhood that we don't have enough space specifically – and that's not most places – most places, based on these results, we're going to have a lot of good options to choose from – but if there are certain neighborhoods where we really need to develop stand-alone pre-K centers, we will do that. And that's a great tool. What do I need to add, if anything? Good? Please.

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: Josh, Sophia, join in. Whatever combination of educational experts, join in.

Pappas: It's going to vary depending on the case. In some cases, when they put the proposal in, it may not be being used. In other cases, the principal has a proposal for how to use that classroom and others to accommodate the pre-K students without adversely impacting other students or programming in the building. So what we're doing now is an extensive review process for each of those schools to determine how many seats they can provide, how many students they can accommodate, and that involves actually going to the schools, following up with our DOE Office of Space Planning if necessary. So in the end, they may end up providing more seats than they proposed or less. But that's going to vary on a school-by-school basis.

Question: How many of schools [inaudible] so far [inaudible]? And also, some parents [inaudible] charter schools [inaudible]? Why, and this may be a point for the Mayor, that co-locating students in public schools [inaudible]? Why wouldn't we take a classroom [inaudible]?

Pappas: So for the public school end, out of the 29,000 seats that are proposed, 9,000 of them are from public school proposals in 282 schools across the city. And that's a combination of conversions and new seats.

Question: [inaudible] pre-K programming were approved [inaudible]?

Pappas: We don't have those details right now. But it's also – some might already have full-day and they're adding to it. Others have half-day going to full-day, others have both. It's a combination.

Mayor: I think on the bigger question – so let me, this is going to take a little bit of framing. And I'll offer this, and if Carmen wants to jump in or anyone else, feel free. So the notion of how we look at our school system to begin with. Right now about 95 percent of our kids go to traditional public schools. About five percent of our kids go to charter schools. If I were to give you those numbers for anything else in our society, you would say, naturally, pay attention to the 95 percent. And I don't mean to be minimalist or kind of simplistic, but I want to make the point to begin the conversation. We care about every child that we serve, including kids who go to charter schools, of course. We want all of them to do well. I've spoken very clearly about the standards that we want to hold across the school system – traditional schools and charters. Things like inclusion of special ed kids, inclusion of English language learners. Obviously, high standards in terms of instruction, parental involvement, a host of the things that we value in every kind of school. And some charter schools – by the way – do a great job on those fronts. Some do not, and that's what we're going to act on.

The ones that do a great job, we're going to work very closely with, positively with. The ones that do not, we're going to push to do better. But the 95 percent is the 95 percent. And we have to focus on serving the kids who make up the vast majority of our school system and serving them much more effectively. Because the statistic that I talked about and put in my budget address, etcetera, only one in four – according to the State Department of Education – only one in four of our graduating seniors is college-ready. That is how far off the mark we are right now. So we have to look strategically at a school system that just is not working for most kids. And to put that out there very squarely, we're not – in an economy, in a society where education matters more than at any point before in human history, we are simply not succeeding. We're very far off the mark right now. So then you say 'Okay, what's the most important things you can do to achieve the strategic goal of getting the school system where it needs to be?' And I have put forward pre-K and after school – pre-K because it sets the foundation, after school because it extends the learning day at a critical moment in kids' educational careers. It gives them the homework help, the tutoring, etcetera. We believe these are transcendent contributions to our school system, but that's not the only thing we're going to have to do. We've talked about improving teacher retention, we've talked about improving teacher training, moving away from standardized tests. There's a lot of things we have to do to uplift this school system.

So when you – if you see that broader frame, then it's mission critical to accommodate pre-K. And it is more important than some of the other things we can do. By the way – historically – co-locations have included not just charter schools, but other types of traditional public schools. It may have been alternative or have a specific theme or been a small school, but they were still traditional public schools not based on a charter. So our argument about co-locations is not charter-specific. It is about how you go about doing a co-location and doing it both strategically and with actual involvement of the stakeholders, starting with the parents. So point one – the only way we move the school system forward is to get pre-K right and after school right. Point two – we won't continue a regime of co-locations that doesn't involve the stakeholders meaningfully. And the proof was always in the pudding. The Bloomberg era co-locations, despite any amount of parental resistance or concern or any effort to offer an alternative, almost invariably got decided upon or approved by the PEP without debate. That's not a real system of checks and balances. So we're going to come up with a different – and we believe better – and more consultative system. And that will govern over whatever we do in the future vis-à-vis co-locations. And that will be at some point in an upcoming announcement when we have that system in place. But for now, we are adamant that the focus on pre-K is strategic to the needs of the future of the school system, and that's why it is more important in this equation than some of the previous approaches to co-location. Yes, Marcia?

Question: Just following up on that question, how do you feel about the fact that these parents who send their kids to charter schools are now mounting a multi-million dollar ad campaign to try and lobby you and to try to lobby the lawmakers in Albany to support their five percent of the equation?

Mayor: Look, it's a democracy and they have a right to mount any campaign they want to. I think if people want to really focus on the specifics of the charter issue. Again, they'll look at the fact – the 95 percent that we have to serve, and then the five percent we want to serve very, very effectively at the same time. And then the question is – within that five percent, do we have a single standard? Are we being consistent? I've said it before, I'll say it again, in the Bloomberg administration, there was not a consistent standard. Certain charter operators were favored. We won't do that. And if that's what is generating this advertising campaign – that a privileged few will continue to be favored – they can advertise all they want. It's not going to affect my view of the world. Do you want to do off-topic? Yes?

Question: Any comments on the Lucian Merryweather case?

Mayor: On who please?

Question: The nine-year-old who got killed in Brooklyn last November, Lucian Merryweather.

Mayor: I don't know the case, I'm sorry.

Question: His little brother got hit with a pipe [inaudible], and his mother also. What promises can you make to –

Mayor: I don't know the case, but we'll be glad to get back to you. I just – again sir, I don't know the case, we'll be glad to get back to you. Yes?

Question: So it's another school-related question.

Mayor: Sure, that's allowed.

Question: So [inaudible] hearing back from high schools. Have you [inaudible] come up with a [inaudible]? I was wondering [inaudible] the Upper West Side where they're clamoring for one. So what does this administration believe about academically [inaudible]? Should they be open to all or do you want [inaudible]?

Mayor: I'll start and Carmen will offer her views. I think in the progression of things that we have to deal with, we have a lot of areas where we have to develop specific policies. Historically, I have felt that the – I have a simpler view. You've asked an erudite question, but let me offer a simpler answer. We need more high-quality high schools, and that can take lots of different forms. And we need them all over the city, and so that's the way I start the discussion. I think on the questions of zone-specific and all, I need to come back to you with a more developed policy. What I also know is, I don't want schools that have become effectively exclusionary. And that described some of our specialized high schools. And we know that we have to create a different approach. The specialized high schools that now have very – what's the word I'm looking for? Speaking so much Spanish lately, I just want to do everything in Spanish.

[Laughter]

Mayor: These specialized schools are not representative of this city, are not representative in part because admissions is based on only a single standardized test. I don't believe that anything should be based on only a single standardized test. And I certainly think the proof is in the pudding if you end up with schools that are so profoundly unrepresentative. So – you know I'm making – I totally differentiate there. I said I do – this is indicative of the bigger values we bring, but I said very clearly to you, we need to come forward to you and everyone with more developed policies on the issue you raised. I'm taking the occasion to say we are looking for every opportunity to create good school options, but also to break down some of the situations where there might be a lack of access. And I think the most egregious examples is with some of our specialized schools. Anything to add or?

Chancellor Fariña: We have put together a task-force to start developing protocols, because one of the biggest surprises – I have to say – starting in this new position that I have, is that we are reinventing the wheel almost on every single issue. And we need to have something in writing that says in this particular case we stand for this, this, and this. And that includes co-locations and everything else. So right now, we actually have a person who's doing a lot of the protocols, and you'll be seeing this coming out as we change [inaudible] and we do other things. So that at least you can hold us to the standard, are we following the protocols? And I have to admit that I was extremely surprised by how few of these we have for anything. So that's what we're doing.

Mayor: And I want to amplify that that is indicative. There's a lot of agencies where we have a lot to change, and there are others where we have proportionally less to change. I look to Mary Bassett, and I would say at the Department of Health there's a lot of policies from the previous administration I agree with. And Mary's going to be working on a whole host of new issues too. But there's a foundation there that we, in many ways, are comfortable with. But when I look at Carmen Fariña, I would say her work is endless because we really are going to fundamentally change a series of things at the DOE. So I think the humble answer to your question is our work has just begun, and we will be addressing that with a package of other changes.

Question: [inaudible] Since then [inaudible] elected? And since then, basically [inaudible] at that point last year [inaudible]

Mayor: I believe in the EPP and I always have. And I think the bottom line is I would have preferred if, as a result of the election, the previous administration had suspended its efforts and given us a chance to reset the situation according to the values that I put forward and that were ratified by the people. That didn't happen, as you know. And in fact, there was a rush by the previous administration, a rush to the exit, in which they took further actions related to the school bus driver. But I believe, and I've always believed in the EPPs, and we have to make that something we act on in the coming weeks. We haven't unfortunately been able to get to that yet, but we intend to. Yes?

Question: [inaudible] Friday morning [inaudible] but you didn't take questions. [inaudible] Is there a reason you chose not to take questions Friday afternoon on[ inaudible]

Mayor: We had a statement and I thought the statement spoke for itself. Yes? You, with the scarf, then Michael. You'll be next. Don't worry. The fact that you stand apart from everyone doesn't mean we won't call on you.

Question: One very quick question, related to charter schools. Is there – what's the status on the some 28 charter schools that are looking to open their doors in September?

Mayor: You mean the ones that were approved at the end of the previous administration? What I said last year, I maintain. We are reviewing that situation and we will come out soon with an answer on what our review has yielded.

Question: [inaudible] small screen debut on the Good Wife, do you mind?

Mayor: That's an impressive segue, okay. Take it through, go ahead.

Question: [inaudible] you were on the Daily Show, recently, and it came out that – you know, your role or [inaudible]

Mayor: I certainly cannot give away the substance of my role, that would violate the omertà of the Good Wife. Does anyone get that reference? Anyone? I thought it was pretty good. I cannot comment in any way, shape or form on what is happening because of the – [inaudible] Oh, well God Bless, it's a great show. I will say – here's what I can say. I watch the show constantly. Chirlane and I are deeply obsessed with the Good Wife and it was an extraordinary experience to meet these cast members that have become like family, we have watched them so long. So it was – it's a fantastic show, and I look forward to you seeing my attempt at acting. Michael?

Question: [inaudible] have you given any thought to the call for [inaudible] not to march –

Mayor: I've spoken to this, I respect the right of city employees to make their own choices on this, I think that's –

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: Again, I think the current reality of city employees marching is acceptable and appropriate. And that's – again – I think a matter of their right to free speech and free expression, so I respect that. Thank you everyone.