Last Friday I attended a roundtable discussion with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Charlayne Machray and several different parent blogger colleagues at City Hall. The discussion was primarily focused on universal full day pre-k in NYC. While the press has made this event out to be a time when the mayor was speaking to a group of parents who already approved of his plans, that is simply not true. Just like with any other gathering of parents, we hold a variety of viewpoints and see parenting issues (including education) through different lenses.
While I thought that it was a great start, there are still more parent voices that I would like to hear. For instance, a friend on Facebook mentioned that the concerns of parents of kids with special needs were not adequately addressed. I agree. That’s not my parenting lens, so let’s have a vocal parent of kids with special needs play an active part in the conversation. Personally, I would also like to see more economically disadvantaged parents having a say. Since many are making full-time universal pre-k out to be a “class” thing, I don’t feel comfortable with primarily middle to upper-middle class parents being the ones being listened to the most in this conversation.
Anyway, the discussion was a good start…and I appreciate it. My friend and colleague Rebecca Levey did a great job pulling the parents together for this first conversation. While I still have mixed thoughts (which I will share below) about the UPK plan, I did walk away with a more favorable impression of Mayor de Blasio. It was very obvious to me that he sincerely desires to meet the scheduling needs of New York City parents when it comes to their kids’ education. It is also very clear that he believes that full day pre-k is in the best interest of New York City kids. As a result, I don’t question his intentions regarding implementing universal full-day pre-kindergarten in NYC.
Initially, I didn’t like the fact that full-day pre-k would be the only option for parents who desire public pre-k. I changed my mind about that though. While half-day pre-k worked the best for my family, I understand that Mayor de Blasio has to think about the city as a whole. The reality is that more NYC parents desire full-day pre-k than half-day. (I’ll save my rant about “research” that supports the social and educational advantages of full-day pre-k for another day. I’ll just say that data is easily manipulated based on what – and whom – you choose to include and leave out. Ironically, I gained my mistrust for sociological research as a History and Sociology major at Columbia. That research and methodology class changed my life!)
However, there are other areas of the plan that I still don’t feel great about. Several of the issues were raised at the meeting and one was not. You can view the entire roundtable discussion below:
The questions that were raised included the following:
-Since there is current overcrowding/not enough spaces in the current NYC UPK program, where will we get the spaces to meet the needs of this expanded program?
-Current pre-k seats don’t guarantee spots in the kindergarten where the kids attend pre-k. Will that change?
-Will there be adequate medical coverage to meet the needs of kids with allergies, special needs and such?
-Will the high stakes testing environment of NYC education trickle down to pre-k students?
Overall, Mayor de Blasio used the “two trains” analogy. He is under the belief that we can tackle both current overcrowding and related issues along with full time pre-k at the same time. Meanwhile, I tend to prefer the let’s get one train on track FIRST. Once that “train” is successful, then we can move on to the next one. I prefer that we fix the current overcrowding and related issues before funding full-time pre-k. That is my personal opinion though. Perhaps relevant data is showing that the parents of this city can’t wait any longer…that they need FT UPK now. If that is the case, then hopefully the two trains mindset will succeed.
One last thing that concerns me about this plan (that was not discussed at the meeting) is the manner in which Mayor de Blasio wants to fund it. You can read more details about his plan and the funding at Mayor de Blasio’s site, but the gist of it is that he wants to add a five-year surcharge/increase the city’s income tax on those who earn over $500,000 by .55%. That will both pay for universal pre-k for all 4-year-olds and fund after-school programs for all middle school students. I don’t agree. While I think that there definitely needs to be tax reform so that the wealthy are paying their fair share of taxes (and not wiggling out of doing so with various loopholes), I’m not a fan of arbitrarily adding surcharges to high earners in order to fund programs. I just don’t think that it’s right. There has to be a more equitable way to fund these programs.
In the end, it would seem as if I don’t agree with Mayor de Blasio’s plans for full-day pre-kindergarten in NYC. That is not true. I simply think that both more thought regarding the realities of implementation and financial compromise in regards to funding the program are necessary. I think that it’s a good thing for NYC to aspire to full-time UPK in an effort to meet the needs of its parents. My hope is that all (who are involved on the political end) will put politics aside and work together for the best interests of the parents and kids of this great city. Now, that is a train that I would be more than happy to jump on!
What are your thoughts about universal full-day pre-kindergarten in NYC? Do you have a strong opinion one way or the other?
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