14 JUNE 7, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Local reps rail against de Blasio’s
specialized school admission changes
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@QNS.COM/@JENNA_BAGCAL
Parents, students and elected offi -
cials across Queens disapprove
of Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Department of Education Chancellor
Richard Carranza’s decision to eliminate
admissions testing to New York
City’s specialized public high schools.
On June 3, de Blasio announced
plans to eliminate Specialized High
School Admission Test (SHSAT). Currently,
prospective students for the
eight specialized public high schools
must take the SHSAT, which is the
sole exam required for entry.
The mayor said that the current
system prevents black and Hispanic
students from getting into these elite
schools. In an op-ed for Chalkbeat,
he said that the demographics in
the eight elite high schools are not
reflective of the demographics in
the public school system as a whole.
Currently 70 percent of students in
public school are black and Hispanic,
while only 10 percent of students in
specialized schools are black and
Hispanic.
De Blasio’s plan would eliminate
the test entirely, while saving 45
percent of the 5,000 available seats
for black and Hispanic students. The
plan would be implemented
throughout hroughout the eight offi cial
cial
specialized pecialized high schools
in n New York City:
Bronx High School
School
of Science, Brooklyn
Brookyn
Latin School,
Brooklyn Technical
High School,
High School for
for
Math, Science
Science
and Engineerng
Engineering
at City
College,
High School for American Studies at
Lehman College, Queens High
School for Sciences at York
College, Staten Island
Technical High School
and Stuyvesant High
School.
Councilman Peter
Koo from Queens District
20 expressed his
dissatisfaction dissatisfaction with with the
mayor’s plan.
“Weakening the
admissions criteria
for schools schools that
are selectively
designed for
academically
gif ted students
is counterintuitive
works
and works
against the
origina l
intent of
speciali
schools. A test that focuses on such
empirically unbiased subjects li
like
math, logic and reading comprehension
compreh
sion faili
cannot be blamed for failing
at diversity. If the city were truly
tru
concerned about diversifying the
these
schools, it would do more to provi
provide
opportunities for robust testi
testing
prep in underrepresented schoo
schools,”
Koo said.
Other officials officials shared shared Koo’s Koo’s se
sentiment.
Councilman Robert F. Holden
ment.Hold
from Queens District 30 said that
that he
“wholeheartedly disagreed” with the
t
mayor’s decision.
“The mayor is taking a system th
that
is race-blind and turning it into into
a
discrimination issue. Right now,no
students are selected based solely
sole
on test results. I think that’s how the
t
system should work,” Holden said
said.
Adam Gawronski of Ridgewo
Ridgewood
has two children in specializ
specialized
public high schools. His son Ph
Philip
ip h
goes to Brooklyn Tech and his
daughter Camilla goes to Stuy
Stuyvesant.
sant. Gawronski and his son sa
said
that eliminating the test will lower
the standards of the prestigious
schools while allowing students to
be admitted based on qualities like
charm, instead of hard work and
dedication.
the
or i g inal
z e d
h i g h
Photo via Flickr/Kevin Case
Mayor de Blasio announced plans to eliminate test to get into
specialized public high schools.
prestigio
students
Walkathon in Forest Park helps Glendale school
low
Photo courtesy of Christopher Chin-Sinn
Rainy weather couldn’t stop the Redeemer Lutheran School community from holding their annual Walkathon on June 1 at Dry Harbor Playground in
Forest Park. Students, faculty and parents walked laps around the playground raising funds for the school’s ongoing educational activities and programs.
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