Op-Ed Letters to the Editor
Building school diversity
and excellence together
BY JUMAANE WILLIAMS
It’s time we all learned a lesson on school
diversity.
When the NYC School Diversity Advisory
Group (SDAG) released its recommendations
for addressing the nation’s segregated
school system, a 9,000 word report with a
wide range of recommendations, most people
read just three words – gifted and talented.
When I met with the students teachers and
parents who are members of the Advisory
Group – it was a high school student who put
it most succinctly. She said that reforms and
reactions would always involve two components,
data and experience.
The data is clear – and along with many
other students, I’ve had the experience.
As a kid, I was in the Gifted and Talented
program beginning in third grade, then at
Philippa Schuyler Middle School. That experience
helped prepare me for Brooklyn Tech,
and ultimately where I am today. But right
now, the barriers to that kind of enrichment
are overwhelming, and the implementation
unconstructive.
The separation of ‘gifted and talented’ students
is itself fl awed — especially four year
olds — as is the implicit idea that students
outside the program lack certain abilities. As
a student with Tourette Syndrome and ADHD
— which went undiagnosed until high school
— I could have been categorized ‘special education’
as needing additional support. Categorizations
and labels cannot be so simple, nor
can educational systems.
Enrichment cannot be about privilege. Preparing
for and passing an extensive verbal and
nonverbal entry exam before a child can read
and write is about privilege.
Research shows that separating students
by achievement levels at young ages hurts integration
efforts, pulls down students in the
“general population”, and does not help students
who qualify as Gifted and Talented. The
solution is not to eliminate the benefi ts of the
gifted and talented program, but to remove
barriers to them.
Without argument, there should be a path
for highly achieving students to advance. But
those opportunities should be available to all
students, all classrooms, all communities.
Our elementary educational system needs
a dynamic schoolwide enrichment model
where elementary aged students are placed
in modules based on achievement level – all
contained within the same classroom. Each
student would have their educational needs
and opportunities met within the context of
the classroom – not removed from it.
We can have a differentiated curriculum
that encompasses multiple learning levels, all
within one classroom — and those modules
can be fl uid based on changes in student performance.
New York City should be a model for progress,
but we need a model that helps all students
progress.
Williams is the city’s public advocate.
MTA has eye toward
progress in new year
BY PAT FOYE
It’s a new year, and while
we’re still facing some
challenges, the MTA is
more committed than ever to
delivering progress for New
Yorkers. Our core mission is to
provide safe, reliable transportation,
and that remains the
guiding principle in everything
we do.
The good news is our $51.5
billion Capital Plan was deemed
approved on schedule for the
fi rst time since 1981, and we’re
not wasting any time. Our new
Construction and Development
division has already begun on
accessibility projects.
On Jan. 2 — the day after the
Capital Plan was approved — we
started reaching out to contractors
to fi nd qualifi ed candidates
to complete this work. As you
may have read, the plan calls
for the addition of 70 new accessible
stations. That will more
than achieve our goal to ensure
that no rider is ever more than
two stations away from an accessible
station.
This year, we’ll also begin
modernizing signal technology
on six subway line segments.
This will fi nally bring our
outdated system into the 21st
century, allowing us to deliver
faster and more dependable service.
We’re not only moving the
ball forward in 2020, we’re also
raising our standards.
We expect our agencies to
perform and deliver, and right
now we’re seeing promising
improvements in on-time performance
on the subways and
commuter rails. On-time performance
on the subways reached
83.4% in November, the sixth
consecutive month with OTP
above 80%. And Long Island
Rail Road and Metro-North also
saw gains overall in 2019, arriving
on-time 92.4% and 94.4%
of the time, respectively.
On our buses, we’re pushing
forward with borough-by-borough
Bus Network Redesigns,
with an ambitious proposal in
Queens. Our draft plan envisions
shorter and more direct
routes, more links between
the borough and the Bronx,
Brooklyn and Manhattan, and
faster ways to get around within
Queens.
This is a once-in-a-generation
chance to reimagine how buses
can best serve the riding public,
and we’re looking for your input
every step of the way to make it
a success.
Agency-wide transformation
is the fi nal key to enacting lasting
reform at the MTA. With
new leadership in place, we’re
streamlining operations to renew
our focus on core service
delivery. Our senior leaders are
dedicated to creating the worldclass
transit system New Yorkers
deserve.
We know there’s a lot of work
to do, but we’re committed to
showing our customers that it’s
truly a new day at the MTA.
Pat Foye is chairman and
CEO of the MTA.
Disclaimer: The views expressed
in all op-eds are those
of the author, and are not necessarily
the views of amNewYork
Metro or its staff.
Local News
Read all about it!
thevillager.com
Schneps Media January 16, 2020 9
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