Mayor Bloomberg Takes Step in Right Direction with Kindergarten

Janet Joyce Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Now, the mayor of New York is not going to be going to Kindergarten, but he is taking the steps to make it a lot easier for kids of New York, and Long Island, to attend. The Alliance for Quality Education is announcing their immense pleasure in the way that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Dennis Walcott are expanding full day prekindergarten by adding 4,000 slots for the next school year.

The reason for this step in the right direction is to combat the fact that only 13% of black and latinos graduate high school prepared to enter into higher education. The thinking is that with a good solid foundation at the early childhood level, good learning habits will be instilled for increasing high school graduates, as well as those who are ready for college.

In praising Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott, Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director of the Alliance for Quality Education said;

“As a mother of eight children all of whom attended Headstart or Pre-kindergarten, I fully understand the importance of these programs. Quality Prekindergarten is the corner stone of education as it provides the tools necessary to be ready for Kindergarten and ultimately ready for college and careers. We do have concerns about where the space for these slots will come from as our classrooms in NYC are already overcrowded. Nevertheless, the undeniable fact is that most effective way of closing the achievement gap is to put all of our students into quality early education environments. In this climate of the economic crisis, education budget cuts, school closings and lay-offs, I am happy to see that Mayor Bloomberg, City Council and the NYC Department of Education are prioritizing our youngest students and giving them a chance to succeed. This step comes at an optimal time when the Education Reform Commission is having hearings. The Commission should call for statewide expansion of prekindergarten, which not only gives students the opportunity to learn, but saves money in the long run,”

Founded only in 2000, the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) has quickly become New York state’s lead community-based organization in the fight for high quality public education. A statewide non-profit, AQE unites a coalition of parents, children’s advocates, schools, teachers, clergy, and others.

janetj@longislandyellowpages.com

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