Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Attends Family Night at Brooklyn Generation School, Answers Questions From Parents

September 30, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you. Thank you. I am so glad that so many parents are here. I want to thank you. Before I say anything about our other distinguished guests and about the ideas I want to put forward, I want to thank you. 

I just retired as a New York City public school parent. When Dante graduated in June, that was the end of the line for me as a New York City public school parent. And Chirlane and I had an amazing experience with Chiara and Dante in our school system. 

But I can tell you the reason I’m so appreciative that you’re all here is the parents are the difference-makers. I always say we are the first and last teachers of our children. When parents are engaged, everything’s possible. 

And there’s great, great professionals in the room here. There’s incredibly dedicated educators, but the family – the family can take that child the extra mile. The family’s commitment, the family’s involvement is something that we need desperately. We haven’t had enough of that in a lot of our schools. 

A lot of our schools weren’t welcoming enough of parents being part of the solution. I know parents are part of the solution. And your willingness – I bet a lot of you had a long day at work, long day dealing with a lot of things, but you’re here tonight because you’re committed to your child and your child’s future. So give yourselves a round of applause to begin. 

Now, you just have to spend a few moments with Lydia Colon Bomani to see that there’s a lot of passion in what she does. She feels her commitment to this school, you can tell. She believes in this school. She believes in the parents. She believes in the students. By the way, we know this – all of us who are parents, we know that parents – parents can see through their children’s eyes. And when your children are believed in, they pick up on it, they can feel it.  When the principal has faith in the children, the children know it, and it encourages the children to be the best they can be. So let’s thank Lydia for all she does.

[Applause]

And I believe that parents are crucial to moving our kids forward, moving our schools forward. It’s why tonight is such a powerful example – this kind of parent power all together in a room. 

Now I want to ask a question about this school and your experience. How many of you, before this meeting, to hear about this meeting, how many of you got a phone call, a text, an email urging you to come to this meeting? Put up your hand if you were reached out to come to this meeting. Excellent. Excellent. Because part of what’s so powerful about community schools is that it’s not just talk about parent involvement. It’s constantly reaching out and encouraging parents to come in and be a part of the solution, and creating lots of venues for that to happen. 

Now we have been doing this all over the city. We created our community schools effort and we’ve made sure that every single one of our renewal schools are schools that have had challenges in the past but now are coming back strong. Every single one of them is a community school. That means they get a lot of advantages. They get a lot of extra resources so they can continue to get stronger all the time. And one of the crucial pieces is that we put a focus on parents coming in and being a part of the school. 

We’ve had, just in the weeks leading up to school opening, we reached out all over the city. Literally we had people knocking on doors, sitting down with parents, talking to them about what would make their school better and how we can help their children more. 

35,000 parents were reached before school even began to get them involved. 

[Applause]

And you know that if you’re in sync with your principal, if you’re in sync with your child’s teachers, what a huge difference that could make. So we’ve been changing the whole approach in the whole school system. 

One of the things that we did that I’m very proud of is last year we started a new policy. Every week our teachers have time set aside just for communicating with parents – nothing else. Focused communication with parents. Because parents – I know this from being the father of Chiara and Dante – parents want to know what is a child doing well? Where does a child need help? What can I do to help them do their homework better or do it more on time? What’s the thing they need to do as a parent?

We found with our children that constantly reading to them made all the difference in the world, that it got them so engaged and energized. But parents are looking for that information. They’re looking for guidance on how they can best help their child. The best way to do that is to be in a constant dialogue with the school, with the principal, with the teachers. And that happens all over the school system, but it particularly happens our community schools. The idea is to make sure that we have the things that will make this school great. 

So what are the things we talk about when we talk about a renewal school and a community school? What does that mean? 

It means extra time for instruction – extra course time so kids can learn more. We know that the more time a child spends in a classroom, the more opportunity to learn. 

It means more afterschool.

It means for kids who need or want weekend or summer chances to learn, that’s available to them too.

It means more guidance counseling, [inaudible] a lot of kids need that extra support. If they have a challenge they need to overcome or if they’re looking ahead to college and their career, they need that chance to talk with someone who can really show them the specific things that will get them there. 

All of those things are part of a community school. 

Another thing that I love about a community school – I hope you’ve heard about this – in all of our community schools, we’re making available for kids who need it – they get screening for their eyesight and if they need eyeglasses they get free eyeglasses. It’s such a fundamental thing.

[Applause]

Because think about that – the smartest kid, the most motivated kid can’t succeed if they can’t see the board, right?

Sometimes it’s as simple as a child needs a little helping hand, like realizing their eyesight could be improved with eyeglasses. 

And let’s also talk as parents about the fact that we know whatever’s going on with a child affects learning. Meaning if they have a health challenge, if a child has a health challenge it’s going to affect their ability to learn. And that could be a physical health challenge, that could be a mental health challenge. 

My wife Chirlane talks very openly about the way we need to, as parents, work with our kids, even if they’re having mental health challenges – it’s part of human life. Well, in a community school, you have that capacity right there in the school. You have professionals who are there to help, whatever the problem is, and help a child be in the best position to learn and grow and move forward. 

And a community school and a renewal school means we want the entire community to participate. So one of the things you’ll see is not only are you as parents welcomed in, the whole family is welcomed in to a lot of activities in the school. So the whole family feels a part of the success of your student who’s here.

It’s a very different approach. It’s an approach that values community, that values family, that values the role of parents, and puts resources behind it. Because we know a lot of kids would succeed if there was just a little more help available to them. They’re ready, they’re willing if they can get that helping hand. 

So that’s what we’re doing here. And we believe – and Lydia said it – we believe every child has tremendous possibilities. Not every child will choose to go to college, and some children will want to go into a certain career – they have a dream for themselves and the moment they feel they finish high school they want to pursue that dream, and that’s great – but every child should have the opportunity to go to college if they want that. If that’s what’s right for them, that door should be wide open and they should have the things they need, that strong foundation that makes college real for them.

So we’re building across this school system a different approach. And you’ll see it just in the next few years. Any child over our school system who needs a chance to get higher level courses – they want to go to college, they want to take Advanced Placement courses – we’re going to have them in every school in the city, not just some of the schools that have been strongest historically. Every high school will have Advanced Placement courses so every child can feel what that excellence is like, so they can start to build that road to college right in high school and do college-level work. That’s the kind of change we’re going to make.

The slogan we’re using is “equity and excellence.” Excellence in every single school; equity meaning it doesn’t matter which neighborhood or which school, the same high standard – that’s what we believe in. Isn’t every one of our children worth that high standard? Every single one.

[Applause]

Every single one. 

So I’ll finish with this point before I turn to the chancellor. I believe fundamentally that we can make a huge change, that we can help our children in ways that were never tried before. I believe you must be a part of that, and obviously you  believe it too because you’re here. 

I do want to ask your help. We need you to be involved. I’m reaching over for my form here – I’ve got a form I’m going to show you. We need you to be involved in the school. And we need you to tell other parents how important it is to be involved. There’s a form that got passed out that says, “count on me.” Count on me. And it talks about things like coming to a parent meeting or attending a parent-leader training or passing out flyers about school events, okay? 

Take a look at this. Now, if you sign this, I want you to sign it with a whole heart, okay? I want you to sign it and then follow through on it. Because, remember, every parent needs to be involved. Every parent needs to be involved. And one of the things that you can do is talk to your fellow parents. Talk to your fellow parents, because you can show them what an impact it can make for them to be involved in the school to make the school better, but also in their child’s life. Okay? I want to emphasize that. You need to let your fellow parents know what an impact it will make if they’re connected to the school, connected to the teachers, and doing everything to help their child learn. 

Parents can make a huge difference. You haven’t been given every opportunity to in the past, but now we’re saying parents are the difference-makers. And that’s what’s happening in this great school, and that’s why this school is moving forward. 

I want you to hear from the chancellor and I want you to hear from the assembly member, and then we look forward to hearing from you. When we come to that part of the program, we want your questions, we want your ideas, we want you to tell us about the experiences you’re having in the school. The floor will be open to everyone. 

Now it’s my honor to introduce a woman who – okay, I know she looks very young, but a few weeks ago, she celebrated – check this out – she celebrated 50 years in education – 50 years educating our students.

[Applause]

And I – I came up with a phrase just for this occasion. I’ve got a new slogan – I’m going to unveil it here. Carmen Fariña, you’re not getting older, you’re getting better. Chancellor Carmen Fariña –

[…]

Mayor: Okay, parents, it’s your time now. What’s on your mind? Questions, comments, ideas. Where are we looking? 

Parent: Right here. 

Mayor: Okay, you have the microphone. Good. 

Parent: Good evening, everyone. Hi, my name is [inaudible]. I’m the PTA president, alumni parent. My son graduated 2012 and attends Gifford College in North Carolina. 

Mayor: Congratulations. 

Parent: Like other students here, Joshua was a part of the College Prep Academy. I love this school so much that I brought my daughter here. [inaudible], she’s a junior. Parents here know Brooklyn Generation is doing well. Why is it we still on the renewal list? How can we get off?

Mayor: Excellent question. I’m going to start and pass it to the chancellor. So the renewal schools start with the fact that the state of New York keeps a standard, and they determine each year schools that they think need to be stronger. We say those are schools that are renewal schools, meaning those are schools that in our view need the right kind of investment that they often haven’t had. Some schools fell behind, not because there weren’t good people in the building or because the kids weren’t good or the community wasn’t good, but because they didn’t have the support they deserved. And some schools, bluntly, over the years, were written off instead of invested in. So I believe fundamentally in investing in schools. And what we’ve seen time and time again, you put great leaders in a school, you get the teachers energized, you get the parents involved and then you add some of the things that make the school stronger, like the extra learning time and the extra guidance counseling, the free eyeglasses – all of these just help and help and add up. So I believe that the schools that are part of the renewal school effort – I think that each and every one of them has a chance in just a few years to no longer be on a list like that, to move forward and be strong. That’s the name of the game. We believe that this is a temporary status. It is a temporary status that we look forward to surpassing and overcoming because we have the talent and the resources to make  difference. 

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña: I think one of the ways to look at is the glass half full and half empty. And I see renewal schools as half full, because you’re getting a lot of resources. But also one of the first statistics you heard today was about attendance. If you’re not in school, you can’t learn. And one of the first things that people look at, if you’re not in school, does it mean you don’t like the school? Does it mean there’s other problems at home? The fact that the attendance in this school has increased so dramatically, which it has, just in the last couple months, is a major indicator of the fact that you will be doing well as a renewal school. The second thing that I look at when I look at statistics is teacher retention. Do you have teachers who care enough about the building they’re still here? You have an algebra teacher, you have math teachers, you have teachers who have committed themselves to this school in a way that shows that they’re success. Like I – and I totally agree with the mayor – the extra time – but student after student that I spoke to today said the teachers care about me, and that makes a difference. But schools do not work if the parents are not behind – not doing their homework – I don’t believe parents should do kids’ homework – but making sure those kids are out the door at a certain time in the morning – at the right time – and end up in the right place. One mother said I got a phone call and my child was like ten minutes late to school – that’s your job, guys. And those kids who think that extra ten minutes of sleep is worthwhile will always be in a school that’s not doing well. So make sure your kids get to school on time. And I guarantee you, with the work that’s going on in this school, little by little, enjoy the perks, we are going to get it there. 

[Applause]

Mayor: All right. Who else?

Parent: Good evening. My name is [inaudible]. My child Andrew [inaudible] just graduated from BGS. 

[Applause]

Mayor: Congratulations.

Parent: Thank you. I was one of a group parents, students, and staff who attend two days college tour upstate with the children. As a result of this experience, my son chose his school and got in four years, full scholarship –

[Applause]

Parent: Daemen College. 

[Applause]

Parent: Thank you. I am so proud to be a part of Brooklyn Generation. My question is how do we get the word out about our students and achievements and these great programs?

Mayor: Excellent. Well, first of all, congratulations to you. I want to go over that phrase for everyone to hear – the word “full scholarship,” okay? If you have a goal in life, focus on the words “full scholarship.” They are magical words. So you showed it could be done with your child and it is about – and I think this is very, very important to recognize, especially with the kind of help that’s going to be available here – the guidance counselors and the other help here – that a child that is motivated that you helped to motivate, do not for a moment forget the fact that those scholarships exist in this world, and that you may find that that college education becomes a lot more affordable than you ever imagined, because there are a lot of schools that have that kind of support available for a child. So it means, you know, get in the game and stay in the game, because, like our friend her – it’s [inaudible]? – [inaudible] – [inaudible] won the lottery, so that proves that it can happen, okay? All you need is a student and a dream. 

[Laughter]

So – but I want to say, getting the word out – and I’ll pass to the chancellor too on this – that I think the important thing here is a renewal school. We chose the word carefully. Renewal is a part of the human experience, isn’t it? Right? All through history, all through our lives we seek renewal. We’re not perfect. Sometimes things don’t work the way they’re planned, but we come back. Part of what creates renewal is faith. So if you have faith in your school, faith in your principal, faith in your teachers, things start to change. And they should have faith in you. What parents can do is build that faith through action, both in terms of everything you can do – the chancellor’s right – I have certainly struggled with young people who don’t like to get up in the morning – we all know that problem, right? – well, we have to – we have to be the difference-makers as parents – get the kids up, get them ready, get them out the door. We have to be the difference-makers who say, “Is that homework done before you play Xbox?” Okay? Or whatever it might be. So that is where, if parents keep deepening their commitment, the word spreads that something special is happening. I really do think that’s a key part. Part of how you build the reputation of this place is through your involvement and then the word of mouth that you spread from what you’re seeing with your own eyes. 

Chancellor Fariña: And I will even be more specific, because I’m asking not only all the renewal schools, but all the schools in the city to do several things. First and foremost, have monthly open houses. No one is going to come to you knocking on your door and say can I come in. You’ve got to go to all the middle schools in your immediate vicinity as a group – probably two parents and one of your more successful – your student with four-year scholarship, he needs to go on a road trip, and he needs to go to all the middle schools and say I went to this school, this is what they did for me, this is what they can do for you. We want to see more open houses in all our schools in the city – renewal or not – so parents who come in – because what happens sometimes – and I’ve seen this over and over again – that schools get reputations. And their reputation may have been five years ago, might’ve been three years ago, but you want to say to people, “This is not who we are now. This is what you need to see.” Every parent in this building needs to bring one parent who said, “You go – you send your child where?” And say, “Come with me. Let me show you what I’m doing in my school.” The other thing – and I just did this with several elementary schools – you need to go to faith-based organizations and ask if you can speak at one of their deacon’s meetings or one of their meetings and say, “Let me tell you about my school. Let me tell you about my experience. Let me tell you things that you don’t know and ask me questions.” So that person to person connection is crucial. One of the schools that I worked with – renewal schools I worked with last year had a street fair, and she invited every – she put flyers all over the place and she said come talk to our teachers. It was a Saturday. People came from all over to do the street fair. And when they started talking and saw that teachers were there on Saturday, she had an additional 30 students sign up this year in a renewal school that was losing enrollment. So, guys, it’s up to you. You have to get the word out. It’s your experience that’s going to make other people come here. 

Mayor: Who’s next? Where’s the magical microphone? There we go. 

Parent: Good evening. My name is [inaudible], and I’m new to the PTA. My son Cameron is a freshman here at BGS, and one of the reasons I chose BGS is the administration. They show their concern for the kids through their activities and through their actions, and that really touched me at open houses and everything else I went to where I met people from BGS. But my question to you is what are you doing to address the issues students face outside the school to make them feel better prepared?

Mayor: Could you explain that a little bit more, when you say that?

Parent: My son is a freshman, so coming into high school for him it was somewhat of a shell-shock, but not really, because I tried to prepare him, but what are there things to do to help school students be prepared to come to high school, to deal with high school? If they’re going to a new high school as a freshman, as a sophomore, as a junior, what are the things that help them to be prepared to come to school?

Mayor: Well, I want – I’m going to answer the – what I guess I would call more the academic side, but the chancellor’s the expect on the child development side, so I’ll let her speak to that, but on the academic side, the plan we put out – the Equity and Excellence plan – is going to reinforce all levels of education. So we started last year with pre-k, because I felt fundamentally if every child didn’t have full-day pre-k, we wouldn’t be able to give them the maximum opportunity. Now we have full-day pre-k for every child in the city. And just a moment of advertising here – if you know a family member, a neighbor, a coworker, anyone who has a 4-year-old or a 3-year-old about to be 4 this year who’s not signed up for pre-k, have them call 3-1-1 and sign them up, because I can say from my experience with Chiara and Dante, full-day pre-k sets the foundation for all the learning thereafter. So please tell everyone you know to take full advantage of that. But we start with that. We’re now adding a program to bring all children up to reading level by third grade, which is crucial, because kids who have that momentum by the third grade have a very high rate of success thereafter. Then we’re adding a lot of supports even before high school. We’re making sure all kids are exposed to algebra before high school because it’s been proven to have a very positive impact on the way they think and the way they can handle homework and schoolwork and success up ahead. So every child in this school system is going to get algebra while they’re still in middle school; and – something I’m very proud of – college access for all. The experience you had, [inaudible], the difference that happens when a child sees a college campus and sees that possibility, we’re going to do that in middle school. We’re going to ensure that every New York City public school child is taken for free, with their family members who want to come along, on tours of New York City colleges. Now, upstate’s nice – upstate’s a nice place, but we have amazing colleges in this city. We have the City University of New York, we have private colleges, and they’re all enthusiastic to welcome all the children of this school system to come see what’s available. So we’re going to have free tours during the middle school years. I think, to answer one part of your question, that’s going to communicate to our children that they can set their sights high, and that high school is going to be a time of both success, but also the springboard to college. I think that’s going to be motivating for them.

Chancellor Fariña: Well, I think you’re dealing with what happens the first year of any school. I have a three-and-half-year-old grandson who has started pre-nursery school, and I got a frantic phone call from my daughter every single day – he’s not making any friends, he doesn’t like school, the teacher doesn’t like him. I said, don’t call me until it’s three days in –

[Laughter]

– because the reality is, it’s called transition. And what happens – every ninth grader thinks – and guys, if you’re a ninth grader, puts your hands over your ears – I’m too ugly, I’m too fat, I have no friends, my best friend is in another school – whatever it is, that’s what they’re going through. And we have to understand that it’s part of life’s transitions. So one of the things we need to do – particularly with ninth graders, but I would say the same thing about sixth graders and four year olds – is how do we listen? And actively listen, and really say, you know, I know it’s hard to start a new thing – imagine starting a new job, and you have to make new friends – but also understanding that part of a problem – it’s going to be for the rest of their lives, so how do you help them deal with it? And making sure that you don’t panic until at least week three. You see, today I emailed my daughter and said, “How was school today?” She said, “Terrific, Mom” – like she hadn’t bothered me every night for the last –

[Laughter]

So, I think you really have to have transition. What I’m asking principals to do more of – have some real strong advisories the first two week of schools. Make sure everyone has a brother or a sister that they can talk to, preferably a twelfth grader who has a sister or a brother – and I don’t mean that in the literal sense – in the ninth grade, to help them through it. Also, ninth graders feel that they’re never going to be accomplished like a twelfth grader – so how do we lessen that? The other thing I used to recommend as a superintendent, particularly if you don’t live in the neighborhood, to bring your ninth grader to visit the neighborhood and get used to it, because one of the fears kids have – particularly that young lady who is travelling by bus – she’s new to the city. So how do you ride on the bus with the kids so they get used to the travel? And also – you know, I’m almost embarrassed to say this – but one of my daughters had to travel quite far to high school from my neighborhood. And I literally got on the bus with her the first time, introduced myself to the bus driver –

[Laughter]

Now, I don’t recommend that you do this, but the reality is, transitions are hard. And then every night, sit and talk – how did school go today? It’s – and every day, you’re going to see it’s a little better. And by the way, in a school like this, if it doesn’t get better, feel free to speak to the guidance counselor and the principal, and say, what can you do to make them a friend? I used to bribe some children to be friends with other children, at least for the first two weeks until they found their own friends.

[Laughter]

And it think it’s part – what you do as a parent is not different than what you do as a principal, and I think that’s really important.

Mayor: I’m going to add one more thing before we go to the next question. So, my son Dante went to Brooklyn Tech, which is a really big school. And Dante had trouble the first year. He didn’t have a lot of friends from the school that he went to before coming with him from M.S. 51. Big place – you could easily feel kind of lost in it. And even though he was doing okay in school, he was clearly not as comfortable as he could be. And what we started to realize was, he needed something he could connect to that was a little smaller than a 5,000 kid school. And for him it proved to be debate. He got involved at the end of his freshman year with debate, and it just captured his imagination. It got all his energies engaged. He had a group of friends instantly, because everyone who was in Debate Club started becoming friends. You know, for some kids, it’s going to be an activity like that. It might be sports, it might be a club, it might be something else. But, you know, there’s lots of different path to a child feeling that comfort and that motivation. But a lot of times, what I’ve found is listening for what the child cares about. At a certain point, he decided this was the most important thing for him. Once he figured out what mattered to him, everything else because easy. So he was a little shy, he wasn’t very certain, he wasn’t very confident – and then he got involved in debate. First of all, you could not shut him up after that point.

[Laughter]

But then, fast forward – so, just this weekend, I was at his college campus, and it was parent weekend. And I’m walking through the campus with him, and like every five or six feet, someone’s like, “Hi Dante! Hi Dante! Hey Dante!” And I’m like, well, he doesn’t seem to have a social adjustment problem anymore.

[Laughter]

So, have faith that when they find their thing, it will give them the energy to go forward.

[Applause]

Parent: Okay, okay. Anyway, I want to say thank you for coming, Mayor and staff. And I want to say thank you to everybody else. And I want to say thank you to the teachers, because they’re very important. We are who we are because of the teachers today. My daughter, she’s a teacher, she teaches in 292, and I believe that parents are very important, because, as a parent, you have to stay – you have to say in the kid’s life at all times and watch them closely. Like my son – he went to – I’m sorry – he went to Westinghouse and, you know, you just have to be there with him. And I want to ask you something – is it possible to have,  in a community school – to have trade classes for students and parents, such as electrical and the plumbing?

Chancellor Fariña: We’re actually increasing the number of CTE programs –

Mayor: Say what CTE is.

Chancellor Fariña: CTE – oh, I’m sorry – Career and Technology and Engineering programs, where it doesn’t mean that you’re going into the job market, but you’re going to learn something, and you could still go to college, but that’s a choice that you can make. And Westinghouse is one of those CTE schools, and we have a lot more of those that we’re developing, and programs within existing schools. This isn’t one of them, but anything’s possible. If principals have interest in CTE programs, particularly – the new CTE programs that we’re encouraging are computer science. And you’re seeing that – the mayor explained – we’re going to be doing a lot more computer science in the years ahead, so it’s possible to have a sequence of study in CTE. But I absolutely agree with you – more plumbing and electrician – and we have welding as one of the things that we’re teaching in schools. But we need people who will be in the workforce and do these jobs in the future, so, definitely.

Mayor: Let me add to that real quickly. So one of the things we’re doing with this new initiative called Computer Science for All – and the idea is at every grade level – this will be phased in over the next few years – children are going to be exposed to computer science in a variety of ways – not – not just in a classroom that’s devoted to computer studies, but literally through everything they do. It could be through math. It could be through social studies, science – all sorts of different areas. There’s going to be more and more using computers and computer science. So you’re doing two things at once – you’re teaching the subject matter, but you’re also teaching the children to have the ability to do higher level work with computers. That’s going to have a huge impact for their future. For one thing, our technology industry is huge and growing in this city, so it means a lot of kids are going to get the grounding they need to go into that kind of work – but also teaches them a different way of thinking, and it teaches them some of the thinking skills that will help on many other levels. That’s one point. The second point is this: the whole idea of meetings like this is to say exactly what you said. That you get – this gentleman gets a gold star.

[Laughter]

Actually, I’m – I go back to the time in education where you got the gold star on your forehead, okay?

[Laughter]

So, he gets a gold star, because if you say, look, one of the things I think would make this school stronger is some of the career and technical type courses, well, that’s what parents are supposed to do – bring that idea forward. Now the principal, of course, has to figure out what’s going to work, and do they have the resources, but the notion is, to take – to literally constantly ask the parents, when you look at your own child’s experience, what’s going to help your child succeed? And if a lot of parents say, that’s the kind of thing my child would really be into and would help them succeed, then that’s a signal to the principal to find a way to get it done. Who’s next?

Parent: [Speaks in French]

Mayor: Merci beaucoup.

[Laughter]

Teacher: So, [inaudible] said he would like to thank everybody for welcoming his son to this school. They’re very helpful. And his son has a problem with his eyes, and he would like to know where he’s supposed to go to get his eyes examined, because he needs glasses.

Principal: So, that was – she’s one of our teachers. This is our foreign language teacher who translated for us. [Inaudible]

Mayor: Speak up.

Principal: So, we have – part of –

Mayor: Speak up. Speak up.

Principal: Part – I think this works. Part of the – with the community schools initiative and the – the mayor’s initiative is this vision screening. And so, what we actually have done is our community school director and partners are working with us to get the vision – I think it’s a vision van, I’m not sure – a vision van here. But if your child – and if you’ll share that with him – if your child, right now, needs screening, then he can come to his – his student advocate or to the community schools office, and we’ll get him to those services.

Mayor: I do want to ask this – Chris Caruso’s here from the community schools effort. Why don’t you tell people, just so everyone knows, how quickly that’s going to be in all the community schools.

Executive Director Chris Caruso, Community Schools: Sure. Thank you, Mayor de Blasio. So every community school this year will get screening for every student. We’re rolling that out. It’s starting next week, actually, in a number of schools, and then we’re scheduling each school.  By the end of the school year, we will screen over – just about 60,000 students across all the schools. I would also like to encourage [inaudible], if you – to also reach out to your Community School Director here – Kelly’s in the back. And they’re really the glue – the community school directors in each of the schools are the glue to all the other supportive services. And every community school has a community school director that can help make the connections to the services.

Mayor: Why – why is she being shy if she’s the glue?

[Laughter]

Mayor: Okay?

Kelly Dunham, Resource Coordinator, Community Schools: I’m not shy [inaudible].

Mayor: Are you the glue? Are you the glue?

Dunham: I am.

Unknown: Do you want the [inaudible]?

Dunham: What’s that?

Unknown: Do you want the [inaudible]?

Dunham: Okay. [Speaks in French]

Mayor: Okay.

[Applause]

Okay then. Okay. I just want to say – I just want to say, showoff.

[Laughter]

But, okay, now you’ve proven to me you’re the glue. Okay.

[Laughter]

I also want to say, these eyeglasses – so, we’re very, very, very excited about this partnership. So this company based here in Brooklyn, if I remember correctly, Warby Parker – Warby Parker. So, ladies and gentleman, this is not just free eyeglasses for kids who need them. This is – these are stylish pairs of eyeglasses.

[Laughter]

This is up to date eyewear. So it’s an incredible opportunity for our kids. Who else?

Parent: Hi, nice to meet you again, sir. My name is [inaudible]. My question to you is, what is one of the major accomplishments that you feel that you made for renewal schools?

Mayor: Well, to me, the – look, we’ve just started, but we already see, and the chancellor can speak to it in more detail, and I want to thank Superintendent Amy Horowitz, who is leading the renewal school effort – thank her for her great leadership.

[Applause]

We already see progress in terms of attendance; we already see progress in terms of test scores – because attention’s being paid to these schools. Resources are being – are flowing into the schools. And it’s like everything else in human life – when people know they’re being invested in, they respond differently. And so one of the things we saw over the summer is, a lot of the teachers who were amongst the highest quality teachers in the renewal schools, when given an opportunity to choose to work in any school, they said, no, I want to be in this school, because this school’s on the move. This school’s getting better. I want to be a part of making this school great. So that’s the kind of thing we see is already being generated. But the real measure is going be over the next couple of years, as all these investments really are felt deeply. And I think you can see immediately that, you know, what we’re able to do is address so many of the pieces of what our kids need – again, whether it’s, they need eye glasses, they need health care, they need counseling – whatever it is, on top of what we’re doing academically to strengthen the schools, we think it’s going to have a huge impact. And then the parent involvement piece is going to take it to a whole other level. Do you want to add?  Or Amy?

Chancellor Fariña: I would say energy – that every renewal school – I think I’m doing two tomorrow – that I go to, people are energized. They feel new attention is paying to them. They’re getting extra resources. And also, although parents have an opportunity in many of these schools to opt-out to other schools, the vast majority are staying, because they know we believe in you. And I think that’s really one of the biggest successes.

Mayor: Do you want to add, Amy? Amy Horowitz.

Executive Superintendent Aimee Horowitz, Department of Education: So I also feel like our schools feel supported. They feel like they have people that they can turn to if they have questions. We’re providing extra support for teachers, in addition to the support that we’re providing for students and support for school leaders, and as you can see here tonight, support for parents by actively engaging parents and training people in how to do meaningful parent workshops and respond to the parents needs. So I feel like those are some of the initial great accomplishments, and there’s so much more to come, because we know that our schools can be successful because our schools have wonderful students like the students here. 

Mayor: Well said.

[Applause]

All right. 

Principal Bomani: Can I just – can I – can I just point out –

Mayor: You could – you’re the captain of the ship, you can do whatever you want. We’re the guests in your house. 

Principal Bomani: So in the big – you know, you’re talking about the city and the renewal schools, and I just want to point to, directly, attendance improvement, drop-out prevention. We have a young man here who went – for those of you that understand statistics – 16 percent of the time is how much he was attending last year. This year – and our school year starts August 24 – but through the community schools grant, we were able to do summer enrichment, engage those students since July 7. So from July 7 to date, this young man went from 16 percent all year to 100 percent. Mr. Warren Hawkins, would you stand up please?

[Applause]
[Cheers]

100 percent. And that is the parent – the families that are there to support him – that’s his family. 

[Applause]

[Cheers]

Mayor: Way to go. 

[Applause]

Warren Hawkins, job well done. 

[Laughter]

Unknown: Yup. Keep it up.

Principal Bomani: And family who supported him, get him out every morning – that like – right there. 

Mayor: All right, family! Family!

[Applause]

[Cheers]

Excellent. Excellent. Who’s next? Right there. 

Parent: Hi, good afternoon. My name is Nicole Scarlett. I have two children in the public school system. BGS has been good to my son so far, but my question to you and the chancellor is what are you doing for the special education children? My son is in the Coop Tech Program at Canarsie High School, and I want to know what are your initiative for the after-fact. Meaning, if they don’t earn an [inaudible] diploma or a portfolio – I mean, they can’t earn the Regents, so they have to go for the portfolio or the [inaudible] diploma – are you working with organizations as far as after the fact so they could get a job?

Mayor: Let me start and then pass to the chancellor. Look, the idea that – we approach all children with the notion that they have tremendous potential. And so everything that we’ve done, whether it’s pre-k or after-school programs, Computer Science For All, everything we’re talking about is meant to be for every child in the school system, including children with special needs. And we adapt it according. For example, we are going to work to get every child to literacy at third grade – to reading level at third grade. We think that’s absolutely essential to their future. We know from some of our special ed kids that’s going to take some additional support, but we’re committed to putting in those resources to do it. We’re also trying – and we’ve begun – we’ve got more to do – to make it easier on parents of children with special needs in their efforts to navigate the school system, because what I heard from so many parents over the years was they already have a particular challenge trying to support their child and then they met a second challenge dealing with the bureaucracy. We don’t people to have to go through that second challenge, and we’re trying to reduce it and streamline it. The chancellor can tell you more about – to speak to your specific question – then you’ll follow up. Let me let her answer your first question, though, about what happens. 

Chancellor Fariña: Well, one of the things we’re working on is more of what we call the overage-undercredited students, and also District 79, which takes students beyond the age of 20, and give them more of a career support while they transition from their [inaudible] world to a workforce-ready world – not an easy thing to do, but this is something that our special needs department is working hard on – and it’s what we call District 79, Tim Losanti’s program, but if you want me to be more specific, I’m happy to take your name and get back to you with specifics. 

Question: I would like – hello – okay – I would like to know, like, how can you let the IP flow from middle school to high school? Because once my son got to high school, the IP got lost. Everything that was on it from middle school disappeared once he got to high school.

Chancellor Fariña: Okay, we’ll we’re – first of all, we’re computerizing a lot of this information so that won’t happen. But like I said, to the degree that you’re giving your specific information, I’m happy to follow up and get back to you tomorrow. 

Mayor: So the chancellor’s offered you a free personal consultation – take her up on it. Don’t let –

[Laughter]

– don’t let her out of the room, okay?

[Laughter]

Mayor: I’m supposed to go to another meeting, but I want to take two or three more, and then if there’s others, you know, obviously the principal and chancellor can stay longer, but – 

Parent: Hi, my name is Tanya [inaudible]. I’m the Director of Wellness and Preventive for Brooklyn Generation School, and I’ve been here since the inception of the school. So my question is what are the other mental health initiatives that are happening around the school? Because I work with an amazing team – I’m going to ask my wellness team to stand up, please – of licensed mental health counselors –

[Applause]

– credentialed alcohol, and substance-abuse counselors, social workers, guidance counselors, and interns – and we’ve worked this summer to put together an amazing mental health initiative plan, but I’m just curious to know what is going on in other schools. 

Mayor: I’m going to let the chancellor speak to that, but I just want to say, first of all, I love the fact that this school has a wellness and preventative director, because doesn’t that speak volumes that wellness is valued in this school?

[Applause]

So thank you. Thank you for what you do. 

Unknown: [inaudible] amazing!

Mayor: And she’s amazing, too!

Unknown: She’s amazing. 

Mayor: We got a witness there. So also we want – we’re going to make sure – both in the schools and beyond – that mental services are more readily available, because that’s what’s fair, that’s what’s right, and that’s what’s going to help people move forward. My wife Chirlane is spearheading a citywide effort to totally revamp our approach to mental health, but I’ll let the chancellor speak to some of the things we’re already doing in the schools. 

Chancellor Fariña: I’m going to let Chris answer, but I’m also going to be very clear on something – one of the things that we have to stop, particularly in co-located campuses – is being silos. And one of the things we’re encouraging schools to do is to share good resources. So in this school, you have seven campuses. All of you have some good stuff that you can share with each other. And the more you share, the more likely that everybody’s going to get a piece of the pie. So that would be one advice. We’re actually giving out grants in some parts of the city – if two schools in a building, like for our AP courses, if each one of them has a different AP course, they can take the courses in each other’s schools, because we’ve got to share resources. That’s the only way we can maximize this to a certain degree.

[Applause]

Executive Director Caruso: Yeah, and other schools are making partnerships with licensed hospitals and clinicians. I know you guys have a partnership here with CCM. 

Unknown: [inaudible]

Executive Director Caruso: Yup, exactly. So that’s happening citywide across community schools. And in each school, we’re doing targeted interventions for students with specific clinical needs, and then universal interventions – so how are we supporting positive youth development and behavior across entire schools?

Mayor: Okay, who else? We’ve got time for a couple more. Go ahead. 

Parent: Good afternoon and welcome. My name is [inaudible] and my son [inaudible] is in the 11th grade here, and he really do love the school. I have two questions. You talked about the – being to school on time. I am a single mother. I work at JFK Airport. And I work overnight, which is 3 o’clock in the morning. She just – she is three years old, she just started going to school. Now, my son [inaudible], he’s very good. He help me get her ready and take her to school in the morning. Sometimes I – I wake him at 6 o’clock in the morning. I know not every day he probably will be here exactly for 8 or 8:30. What if he’s running late? What is the consequences or the help I am going to get? Second question – I would like to know – I – well, I grew up in the Caribbean. 

Mayor: We didn’t know that.

[Laughter]

Parent: All the schools in the Caribbean – high school, private school – we have a uniform. I would like to know if there is anything in place to change the dress code and have uniform? Because it’s becoming a problem with the fashion and the brand name, the sneakers, the Jordans, so I would like to know. 

Mayor: Go ahead.

Principal Bomani: So, let me address the first question about the support for you as a parent. So, one of the things that we look to the community school is creating what your needs are, then to create support systems and connect you to resources that will get you what you need, so that [inaudible] can get what he needs. Right? Because the answer is not to excuse him running late. The answer is, what are the resources that we can connect the family with to build supports for you so that [inaudible] can get what he needs and you get what you need. And that’s what we’re doing with community schools. The second part about the uniform – when I got here – and I have testimony from my parent-partners, and Amy was here when I came onto the campus – one of the first things they said is, my kids are always wearing uniform. You must have a uniform. And my thought, and my sharing with them is we had a lot of other things to tackle before we had to tackle uniforms. That is not off the table. We have student-voice. We have parent-voice. The parents have been in the forefront about this, but have made decisions to put some other things up front. So, if that’s something that you want to bring to us, please do. The parents welcome that. They’ve been fighting for it for years. So, I’m asking you to bring that up.

Mayor: Let me add to that. And I think it’s important to understand, there’s something – everyone okay? Okay. There’s something democratic – you know, the democratic process is important in terms of a community school because I think we can see in a lot of places some parents really believe in uniforms, other parents are very resistant – some kids are cool with them, some kids are not. That’s a good conversation to work through and come to a decision, and parents should advocate for what they believe. I understand and agree with the principal – you’ve got to figure out – sort of, order your steps. What are the things you’ve got to do first? But part of what is important – just like the conversation about whether there should be a career in technical classes – parents come in and say, this is a thing I think would make the school better. And if a lot of other parents feel that way, and the principal sees how they can get that done, that’s the whole idea of a community school. But I also want to say thank you, because I’m impressed that even though you have the challenge of the overnight job, the way you’re making things work for your family, you know, in a world where you see a lot of bad news, it’s good to remember some of the good news, which is a hardworking person who’s making it work for her family despite the odds. So, thank you for what you’re doing.

[Applause]

Principal Bomani: And I’ve been called to do – the job of a principal is to make some hard decisions here. So, I’ve been told that the mayor has to get to this other meeting. So, I want to thank him for coming. 

Mayor: One more – I said one more. 

Principal Bomani: One more, okay. 

Mayor: One more, then I will.

[Laughter]

Mayor: It’s time for one more. 

Principal Bomani: One more –

Question: Hi, my name is Thomas Zimmerman. I’m a 10th-grader at BGS. I just want to ask you how you feel about the regents in – like, a whole. Like, you know, I don’t think you know, but these regents is hard – like –

[Laughter]

Question: Like, I got, like, 85 questions on this one test that, like, we – some questions we learned in the beginning of the year. I don’t know these questions. Do you – but the real question is, do you want to increase the difficulty? Or you want to decrease the difficulty in these regents? 

Mayor: It’s an excellent question. I thank you for that. Now, you may be surprised how much I know –

[Laughter]

Because I’ve had a variety of words used to describe the regents by Dante and Chiara, and they were not favorable words. Okay? So, yes, we’ve been down that road. Look, I want fairness, so this is why it’s so important to say it that way. I think we need high standards. I’m someone who believes in high standards. Why? Because to succeed in today’s world, you need to reach that high standard. It’s just the reality of what’s happening out there in the world of work. More and more jobs require education than ever before – literally, ever before in history. In more and more jobs, you succeed if you have those computer skills or other skills that are going t give you the ability to compete in the workplace. So, as parents, it’s our job to say, we don’t want you to have the easy path, we want you to have the path that will prepare you for the rest of your life – and that is the more rigorous path. And we think that’s absolutely the right thing to do. But what’s unfair is to say, hey, reach this high standard, but we’re not going to give you the preparation to do it. And honestly, I think that’s what happened. A much more rigorous standard was adopted without giving students the support to reach the standard. So, what we’re trying to do now is say, look, we’re going to give the teachers the preparation to teach the higher standards better. We’re going to give to students all of the extra opportunities, like at this school, extra time to be in a learning environment after school – all the things that will give them more opportunity to learn. And for the kids coming in behind, they’re going to start learning earlier with things like pre-k from the beginning. So, my honest answer to you – it may not be the popular answer – but my honest answer is, yes, I believe in the high standard, but I believe we have to do more to help you reach the high standard. 

With that, I say thank you, everyone. Thank you very, very much.