46 The Queens Courier • JUNE 7, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
46 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 7, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
sun
THE QUEENS
editorial
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
CONTROLLER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
KATRINA MEDOFF, RYAN KELLEY, JENNA BAGCAL
SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Queens Courier
All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating
special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the
error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be
guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or
reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold
THE QUEENS COURIER and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting
from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
WALKING THE STREETS OF LIC // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @littleman_onyx
Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To
submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram, visit our Facebook page, tweet @
QNS or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
STORY: An old-fashioned, fi ve-day summer carnival heads to
Astoria
SUMMARY: The Old Fashioned Carnival will fi ll Astoria Park’s
parking lot with an electrifying annual summer ritual from
Wednesday, June 6, through Sunday, June 10.
REACH: 10,771 people (as of 6/3/18)
Taking specialness out of specialized schools
“Th ey need to look like New York City.”
Th at’s what Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday of the city’s eight specialized public
high schools in announcing his two-pronged plan for reforming the admissions process
to them.
We agree with him on that point. Students of every background in New York City
ought to have the chance to attend the best high schools our city has to off er.
However, we strongly disagree with de Blasio’s plan to achieve that diversity — for it
lowers the schools’ high standards while diminishing what makes these institutions so
desirable for so many parents and students.
Th ough 70 percent of the city’s public school students are black and Hispanic, Th e
New York Times reported, they received only 10 percent of the off ers for seats at these
specialized high schools last fall. Th e majority of admissions off ers for these schools
have gone to white or Asian students.
Th at disparity refl ects the achievement gap that continues to persist in our city’s public
schools, even as the de Blasio administration has made tremendous strides in recent
years to fi ll the void. Th e gap has existed for too many years, but with continued investment
in early childhood education and other programs to boost student progress at
every public school, that gap will close over time.
Still, the mayor seeks something of an overnight cure to correct the disparity in specialized
high schools. His proposal would reserve 20 percent of all specialized high
school seats for disadvantaged students who narrowly missed the cutoff . As the Times
reported, this would allow the city to pull more students from high-poverty schools;
these students would be eligible to attend the specialized schools by completing the
summer Discovery program.
While that idea is welcome and would help increase diversity in the specialized
schools, the other half of de Blasio’s proposal — eliminating the Specialized High
School Admissions Test (SHSAT), something which requires state legislative approval
— would prove to be a tremendous disservice to our city’s children.
Th e high standards at Brooklyn Tech, Stuyvesant High, Queens High School for the
Sciences at York College and other specialized high schools are what make these institutions
so desirable. It’s motivation for middle school students to work harder, study
longer and be more attentive in the classroom.
Th e city must do a better job preparing all of its middle schoolers for the SHSAT, and
for attending high school in general. Th e Department of Education should expand various
education programs to boost student performance and also consider other criteria
(such as state test scores and each student’s academic portfolio) in the specialized high
school admissions process.
Anything less would be shortchanging our children — and they’ve been shortchanged
enough.
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Associate Publisher Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
VP, Events, Web & Social Media Amy Amato-Sanchez
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Katrina Medoff, Ryan Kelly, Angela Matua
Suzanne Monteverdi
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Assistant to Publisher Deborah Cusick
Classified Manager Celeste Alamin
Controller Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The
publishers will not be responsible for any beyond the cost of the space occupied by
the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position
cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication.
VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes
all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the
publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
link
link
link
/www.qns.com
/www.qns.com
link
