Fall 2020 Reopening Recommendations
July 17, 2020
Given the recent draconian budget cuts and the DOE’s current plans for a partial in-person return to school, that goal—which we continue to believe is foundational to transforming our society— is under threat. So as we look toward the learning experiences that will greet our students this fall, we want to update you on our policy stance and invite you to stand with us.
ASID echoes the many calls to listen to and elevate the voices of students, parents and teachers in any reopening plan, and joins our many partners who are calling for a safe and equitable return to school in the fall. In particular, we stand with the Alliance for Quality Education’s comprehensive, student-centered roadmap for a reopening plan that finally fully resources our schools. And, as always, we advocate for a comprehensive, anti-racist approach, inspired by and aligned with the ‘5R’s’ of Real Integration, as developed by the students of Integrate NYC and reflected in nycASID’s policy platform. The 5R’s continue to light the way toward a more equitable education landscape in New York City; we find them more relevant now than ever.
We have outlined a “5R’s approach” to reopening our schools. To accommodate the current moment, the order of the “R’s” is a bit different, and there are links throughout to help you dig deeper, learn more, and most importantly, take action. Please stand up for these proposals, and share widely!
nycASID’s Statement on Urgency to Act on Admissions Screens
June 2, 2020
The New York City Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation (nycASID) stands strongly for the removal of discriminatory admissions screens in the City’s public schools. New York City's system of screened schools feeds the racist and classist methods of hoarding power for some in order to deny it to others. This system perpetuates a dual set of educational opportunities: one for students of predominantly privileged backgrounds and another for students - mostly students of color - whose families and communities have been denied access and opportunities.
The urgency to remove discriminatory admissions screens is amplified during the COVID-19 crisis. If used this year, common screens, such as test scores, grades, and attendance - which highly correlate with family resources and opportunity - will further limit opportunity to students most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and further entrench the segregation in NYC’s school system.
The NYC Department of Education has heard from students, families and educators on this issue for years. It’s time to act.
We urge the City to adopt nycASID’s proposed integration framework, which calls for the removal of all screens that result in the exclusion or isolation of students of color, in favor of admissions criteria and processes that center the creation of an inclusive and just education system.
Check out and share our video!
Joint Statement in Support of the School Diversity Advisory Group (SDAG) Recommendations
November 25, 2019
We stand for a truly integrated school system, one in which all students attend schools that are equitably funded, that are diverse in race, class, ability, and language, and that celebrate the rich cultures of our city’s communities.
It is unacceptable that, on the 65th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education case and the 55th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, New York City maintains one of the most segregated school systems in the country.
This is no accident. We have inherited a system that is rooted in racism and one that will continue to perpetuate racism unless we act. We must undo decades of inequitable school funding, of racial and economic separation in our neighborhoods, and of limiting opportunities to a select few instead of guaranteeing that all students are equipped to flourish.
We have an opportunity now to take a significant step towards real integration. We follow the lead of students when we call on Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza to take swift action on the most recent recommendations of the School Diversity Advisory Group (SDAG), an independent group of students, parents, educators and community members who over the course of two years held eight public town halls and two student symposiums, consulted research, and engaged with hundreds of people to chart a way towards an integrated school system.
In particular, we must eliminate admissions tests and screens at all levels that concentrate wealth and privilege into the most resourced schools, such as testing 4-year-olds for Gifted & Talented programs. We must replace exclusionary admissions policies with new research-based programs that ensure every child’s gifts are nurtured. Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza, you have already accepted 62 of the 67 recommendations from the SDAG’s first report. It is time to accept and act on the recommendations of the second.
To our fellow elected officials, we call on you to sign onto this joint statement. To all New Yorkers, we call on you to stand with young people in confronting this issue by signing this petition to Mayor de Blasio: http://bit.ly/supportSDAG. It’s time to take radical action to finally retire segregation.
Signed on:
Senator Zellnor Myrie (D20)
Senator Robert Jackson (D31)
Senator Jessica Ramos (D13)
Assemblymember Walter Mosely (D57)
View Our Keystone Event
Featuring Nikole Hannah Jones, the world renown NY Times journalist, founder of the NY Times 1619 Project, and 2017 MacArthur Foundation Genius Fellow and Peabody Award recipient!!!
nycASID’s Real talk 2018: School integration in New York City
This event was held in Brooklyn, NY and included parent testimonials as well as a panel discussion on school integration in New York City.
Parent Testimonials: Tiara Puglisi (PS 307), Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq. (Brighter Choice Community School & Medgar Evers College Prep), Rev. Adriene Thorne (PS 8)
Panel Discussion: Iman Abdul, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Leanne Nunes, Sam Rosaldo (Moderator)
nycASID and NYU MetroCenter partner to host
“From Integration to Anti-Racism: How We Show Up as White Parents Integrating Schools” event on September 25, 2019.
Learn more about the event here and see images captured below.
About this Event
As the changing demographics of NYC neighborhoods and citywide efforts at school integration shift the landscape of NYC public schools, how we show up as white parents matters. All of us have internalized messages and behaviors that center our (white) opinions, experiences, and ideas, but we can learn to challenge these patterns in ourselves, each other, and in our school communities.
Especially if you are a white parent committed to becoming antiracist, please join us for an interactive evening of learning and growth! The workshop will be led by white organizers who are also parents and members of a multi-racial team at NYU Metro Center.
There will be opportunities to sign up to continue this critical personal and systemic work.
If you have questions, please reach out to Barbara Gross at blg4@nyu.edu.
Check Out nycASID’s Policy Proposal, 2018
Dare to Reimagine Integration in New York City’s Public Schools
nycASID’s Statement Re: The NYC School Diversity Advisory Group’s 2nd Report
August 27, 2019
The School Diversity Advisory Group has released its second set of recommendations. As in the first set of recommendations, we are happy to see that parts of nycASID’s policy proposal, Dare to Reimagine Integration in New York City’s Public Schools (2018) were included. In particular, nycASID wholeheartedly supports the recommendations to:
Discontinue the use of the Gifted & Talented admissions test and phase out existing programs at the elementary and middle school levels;
Eliminate the use of exclusionary admissions practices at the middle school level that create segregation;
Eliminate lateness, attendance, and geographic zones as criteria for high school admissions and enrollment;
Ensure that all high school admissions criteria are transparent and designed to reduce the racial and socio-economic isolation currently prevalent in most high schools; and
Redraft district lines to support the long-term goal of having all schools reflect the city population
These are critical steps towards transforming segregated state of New York City public schools. While these recommendations provide a solid foundation, more work is needed to articulate the goals, milestones and systems of accountability whereby the above recommendations will be implemented. We call upon the NYC Department of Education to quickly adopt these recommendations and produce plans for implementation.
We at nycASID stand in unity with all organizations that are working towards the real integration of the school system, including Teens Take Charge, IntegrateNYC, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), NY Appleseed, the NYCLU, NYU Metro Center, and other members of the School Diversity Advisory Group. We continue to support all efforts to create a truly integrated school system, in accordance with the 5 R’s of integration that were adopted in the first recommendations from the SDAG.
Our statement on NYCDOE Adoption of School diversity advisory group Recommendations
June 10, 2019
Today, the NYCDOE has adopted 62 out of 67 recommendations put forth by the School Diversity Advisory Group’s (SDAG) initial report. We’re happy to see that parts of Dare to Reimagine Integration in New York City’s Public Schools (2018), nycASID’s policy proposal, were adopted. We thank the SDAG for considering our work while formulating their recommendations, and we applaud Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza for taking bold action by adopting recommendations that will facilitate meaningful integration in our schools.
The iterative process between the SDAG and the NYCDOE is a powerful collaboration for the furthering of integration. More action is needed, and we hope our recommendations for eliminating exclusionary admissions policies serve as a valuable guide for shaping the SDAG’s next report. The Mayor and Chancellor have signaled that they are aligned with student-centered policies, and we expect that they will adopt the robust recommendations that will come out of the subsequent report.
Analysis:
Point-by-point review of the DOE’s response to each of the SDAG’s individual recommendations
Opinion: DOE’s Desegregation Plans Offer Hope, Need Improvement
Our statement on the School Diversity Advisory Group report 1
February 12, 2019
The NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation (nycASID) recognizes the promising first steps taken by the School Diversity Advisory Group (SDAG) in its initial recommendations released today, but calls for much bolder action to dismantle the systemic barriers perpetuating school segregation in New York City. We are proud that SDAG adopted many of the recommendations from our June 2018 Policy Platform, particularly the embrace of the “5 Rs of Real Integration” framework developed by IntegrateNYC, and the call for a Chief Integration Officer. We also support the call for culturally responsive practices and ethnic studies for all students, and the use of a diversity score in evaluating all schools. The City must act immediately to implement these important components of a comprehensive effort towards integration. Unfortunately though, these efforts will fall flat unless SDAG and the City address student assignment system-wide, and fully adopt the nycASID desegregation framework and the 5 R’s as a whole.
Although we applaud SDAG’s reference to more ambitious short, medium and long term integration goals by requiring district, borough and then city-wide integration plans, these will only be effective if the City develops powerful metrics for defining integration. The SDAG report crucially also does not address features of student assignment in NYC that disproportionately reward white and privileged students regardless of merit or ability, such as redlined school district and zone boundaries. It also does not raise the impact of school choice on racial isolation, and ignores the call for the comprehensive equity resource audit we and others recommend to begin to balance resources between schools. SDAG’s subsequent report will address the problematic gifted and talented model used in the city, exclusionary and inappropriate middle school screening, and the overly burdensome and subjective high school application process; we hope to see robust and powerful recommendations on these issues, consistent with the nycASID framework.
Our statement on the district 15 middle school diversity plan
June 26, 2018
The NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation applauds efforts by the D15 Diversity Plan Working Group and School Community to create diverse and meaningfully integrated middle schools in D15. We especially support the elimination of academically selective and segregative school screens, as well as the prioritization of 50% of seats to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch (FRL), are English Language Learners (ELLs), and/or are Students in Temporary Housing. This plan is the result of deep investment from D15 community members, Superintendent Anita Skop, the DOE, and an inclusive community engagement process led by WXY Studios. This process is deeply aligned with the priorities articulated in our recent Policy Proposal for Citywide Integration. We hope the D15 plan can serve as a model for other community school districts pursuing Real Integration.
Our statement on the district 3 middle School Diversity Plan
June 26, 2018
The NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation applauds efforts of the District 3 leadership and community to disrupt the persistence of segregation in their middle schools. We believe the implementation plan as outlined is smart. However, we are concerned with a number of specific components of this proposal, mainly, the 25% priority of students who qualify for FRL, which is well below the district average, as well as the maintenance of selective admissions methods (screens) which are the primary driver of segregation in the district. We encourage D3 leadership and community members to continue engaging all stakeholders in D3, and look to the community engagement process that has unfolded in CSD 15, which has been very inclusive, and has led to very bold recommendations. This process has created space for critical conversations about race, class, and difference among community members, and could benefit the D3 community. Additionally, we offer the nycASID Policy Proposal as a guiding document for Real Integration. We are hopeful this plan is just the first step, and are committed to supporting the D3 community in realizing its goals.
Our statement on Mayor De Blasio's plan on specialized high school admissions
June 13, 2018
nycASID applauds and welcomes the Mayor's and the Chancellor's moral leadership on the issue of school segregation. However, while admissions to specialized high schools clearly needs to be addressed, we must remember that it is one of many system-wide and external factors that keep NYC schools highly segregated. Residential housing patterns contribute to school segregation, but redlined zones, discriminatory enrollment screens, and overly complicated and competitive admissions processes also have a significant impact.
nycASID continues to advocate for a community-driven process to drive reform, such as the one underway through the School Diversity Advisory Group, its Town Hall meetings, and the D15 Middle School reform efforts. However, these efforts must be coupled with strong DOE leadership and a bold vision for addressing the root causes of segregation across our whole system.
nycASID has laid out a framework for tackling these root causes, which we encourage the DOE to consider seriously.
nycASID's advocacy goal for Summer 2018 is that the Mayor and Chancellor will prioritize immediate actions that can support integration across all levels of education.
First among these actions is to appoint a Deputy Chancellor of Integration and Equity, who will open the Office of School Integration and Equity (OSIE) and begin the process of:
A. Removing citywide admissions policies known to be segregative in favor of those designed to promote equity and real integration, consistent with community input and established legal principles.
B. Expanding annual Diversity Accountability Act Reports to include data on applicants to any screened/special programs that remain.
C. Conducting a Citywide School Equity Assessment to identify and address areas where schools are vastly under-resourced in everything from facilities to materials to high quality teachers and class size.
D. Implementing initiatives for culturally responsive education, restorative justice, and increasing faculty diversity.
E. Supporting all schools to support all students, by adopting research based methods of providing effective differentiation for a range of learners.
nycASID calls on the City to continue engaging the community in developing ambitious goals and benchmarks towards integrating its schools. These efforts should align with IntegrateNYC's 5 R's of Real Integration (Race and Enrollment, Resource Allocation, Relationships, Representation, Restorative Justice).
We encourage all to attend and participate in the upcoming School Diversity Town Hall on Thursday, June 21 from 6:30pm-8:30pm, at Frederick Douglas Academy, 2581 7th Avenue, Manhattan. For more information and to register, go here.