Education
Overcrowding in East Side public schools threatens to deny a generation of children their constitutional right to a "
sound basic education." We must make more school seats available now, build more schools to keep up with current development, and investigate new solutions for building educational infrastructure.
I have a strong commitment to public education that stems from being a graduate of the
Bronx High School of Science, State University of New York's
University at Albany and
University at Buffalo Law School. I helped create Community Board 8’s Youth and Education Committee, identified a
Free Yellow Bus Program for local youth service providers, and created an internship program to better serve the youth and education needs of our community. As your Council member I will continue to fight for increased funding for youth services and education.
Parents at P.S. 183, who worked with Councilman Ben Kallos to increase the total seats on the Upper East Side from just over 123 to 515 since 2014, say they are relieved to have more pre-K seats because it can be tough getting a spot in the neighborhood.
"As an Upper East Side parent, I am concerned not only about the chances of my own child obtaining a pre-K spot in the neighborhood but also about the children of my friends and neighbors," resident Ariel Chesler said. "That is why I have been speaking out about the insufficient number of seats in the area."
For more than a year, members of the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network, which advocates for more than 500 families' needs, also worked to get more free pre-K seats on the island, according to member Eva Bosbach.
But the city is resisting, saying a pilot program in middle schools only increased lunch participation by 6%.
“We have an opportunity to make sure that 1.1 million children don’t have to worry about hunger, which would be huge,” said Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan).
But Farina said it would have to show better results before getting expanded. “Our numbers are not reflecting this has made a major difference,” she said.
“Helping our teachers integrate computer science into their curriculum is critical to preparing our students for the careers of tomorrow,” said New York City Councilmember Ben Kallos. “The close relationship between Cornell Tech and P.S./I.S. 217 not only benefits the Roosevelt Island community but also serves as a model for how public and private institutions can work together.”
