WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 14, 2017 17
LETTERS AND COMMENTS OP-ED
MIXED
REACTIONS
ON TRUMP’S
JERUSALEM PLAN
President Trump’s plan to eventually
move the U.S. Embassy from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem should be very slow
to evolve, if at all, due to the enormous
political impact that this action will
have on peace talks between Israel and
the Palestinian Authority.
Already, many leaders of Arab countries
in the region have expressed
their concerns over this possible move
by the Trump administration. There
is the fear that widespread, violent
protests will break out all across the
Middle East, which will only fan the
fl ames of rage already in place.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
I would like to applaud President
Trump’s decision for the U.S. to recognize
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This I
see as a bold decision and hope this will
not create more turmoil in the region.
As some Biblical scholars have pointed
out, about 3,000 years ago, King
David created Jerusalem as the center
of Israel. The Jews lost their homeland
but have returned home to worship
what God had given them so long ago.
This decision, I hope and pray, will
eventually bring peace as President
Trump has hoped for. The world must
eventually endorse the Jewish state’s
claim of sovereignty over any part of
Jerusalem, and peaceful negotiations
can hopefully resolve this issue.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
The Workmen’s Circle condemns
President Trump’s decision
to declare Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel. This action, both
ill-conceived and very dangerous,
will set the peace process, already
in jeopardy, back for years if not
serve as a bitter ending to an
already tenuous situation.
We affirm our long-held position
that peace in Israel must be
part of a negotiated two-state
solution, along with mutual
protections for both Israel and
Palestine. Jerusalem’s status
must be determined by a peace
negotiation and agreement between
Israelis and Palestinians,
not an imprudent declaration
by the United States.
Ann Toback,
Executive Director,
Workmen’s Circle
Editor’s note: For those unfamiliar
with The Workmen’s Circle,
it is a nonprofi t organization
advocating for issues aff ecting
the Jewish community while also
promoting social justice.
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not necessarily those of this
publication or its staff.
A closer look inside our public schools
BY SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR
CARMEN FARIÑA
As an educator for 52 years, I
know that all of our schools’
most important work happens
in the classroom.
In my fi rst four years as New York
City schools chancellor, we’ve invested
in our classrooms through our Equity
and Excellence for All agenda – our belief
that every child, no matter what ZIP
code they live in or where their parents
were born, deserves a great education.
By any measure, our schools are
the strongest they’ve been, with record
high graduation rates, record-high
numbers of students going on to college,
record-low dropout rates, and improving
test scores. We’re building on this
progress with 3-K for All, Computer Science
for All, and Community Schools.
Many of our investments in classrooms
across the city – particularly in training
teachers and improving classroom
instruction – are less splashy and oft en
overlooked, but are just as critical to our
vision of Equity and Excellence for All.
Here are a few of those “under-the-radar”
investments that are making an
impact in our classrooms:
• 80 minutes of teacher training. Nearly
four years ago, one of the fi rst things
I did was set aside 80 minutes at
every school every week for teacher
training. This is a game-changer
for schools and the children and
families we serve. During the 80
minutes, teachers learn how to use
new cutting-edge resources; plan for
upcoming lessons; and look closely at
students’ performance on tests and
essays to figure out what they’re
teaching well and what they need to
do better.
• Passport to Social Studies. Since I was
a child and my father read Spanish
books with me about the history of
Spain (his native country), Social
Studies has always been my favorite
subject. Unfortunately, it was not
seen as a priority in schools, but it has
to be. We must prepare students to be
thoughtful, productive citizens, and
they absolutely have to understand
history, civics and current events.
• Investments in middle school. We
now provide an aft er-school seat for
every middle-school student, and
also started a program called “Teen
Thursdays,” where seventh-grade
students can visit many local cultural
institutions. It’s not a given that kids
and families feel welcome at their
local museums and cultural centers;
programs like this connect our students
and parents with their city in
a new way. We’re also homing in on
middle school math through our Algebra
for All initiative – making sure
students get the math instruction
they need in fi ft h grade and middle
school so they’re ready to take on advanced
math courses in high school.
• Collaboration over competition. Last
school year, we tapped into that
collaborative spirit and brought the
“co-located campus initiative” to 20
campuses across all five boroughs.
Participating schools are on a single bell
schedule so all students on the campus
can share AP and enrichment courses,
increasing access to more rigorous
coursework. Teachers come together
for shared professional development,
there are family welcome centers to
encourage all parents to get involved,
and there have even been campus-wide
proms. By coming together, schools that
would have been siloed are sharing best
practices and strengthening campus
culture – and students are benefiting.
• Family engagement. We’ve increased
the number of evening parent-teacher
conferences to make them more
convenient for families – resulting in
a 40 percent increase in conference
attendance – and provided additional
training to parent coordinators on
engaging parents in their school
communities.
These “under-the-radar” eff orts –
and many like them – are making a
real impact for children and families
across the city. There’s a lot of work our
teachers and principals are doing every
day to put us on the path to Equity and
Excellence for All, and put our children
on the path to success.
A LOOK BACK
This 1945 photo shows the
intersection of Myrtle and
Cooper avenues in Glendale,
looking west toward the
Glendale Memorial Triangle. The
triangle looks much diff erent
now, as a new public plaza
was recently constructed there.
Send us your historic photos of
Queens by email to editorial@
qns.com (Subject: A Look Back)
or mail printed pictures to A Look
Back, ℅ The Queens Courier,
38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361. All mailed pictures will be
carefully returned to you.
