Parents Group Gives De Blasio Poor Marks On Education
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is performing poorly in many areas when it comes to the city's schools, according to a report card issued by a parents group.
Of the 15 subjects that NYC Kids PAC graded de Blasio on, the mayor receive three F's and five D's, WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported.
The F's came in class size, transparency and accountability, and diversity. The D's were for space planning, parent engagement, busing, special education and privacy.
Parents Group Gives De Blasio Poor Marks On Education
"He's failed miserably in a lot of those areas, and, yeah, I feel angry," said parent Karen Sprowal.
NYC Kids PAC, which endorsed de Blasio for mayor in 2013, compared his campaign promises to his actions so far.
"I personally, based on these grades, would be hard-pressed to endorse him (again) at this point," said the group's president, Shino Tanikawa.
"When it comes to actually what our schools need to improve, he is not really shown a significant improvement over the last administration," added NYC Kids PAC's Leonie Haimson.
The mayor did earn a few A's, for halting school closures, improving arts education and lifting the student cellphone ban.
The mayor's office disputes the low marks, saying in 15 months it has taken steps to increase parent engagement and laid out a more than $4 billion plan to battle overcrowding.
"In just 15 months, Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Fariña have laid a new foundation to lift up all our students, no matter which zip code they live in," a statement from the mayor's office said. "From launching Pre-K for All, to extended learning time for tens of thousands of students, to bringing new resources to bear at our most troubled schools, we are focused on raising achievement and strengthening school communities. This is just the beginning, and we look forward to the work ahead."
The report card's release comes as de Blasio is pushing for the state extend mayoral control for New York City schools.
