Public School Parents in Brooklyn Hold Town Hall, Set Education Priorities for City's Next Mayor

Parents from across Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, East New York and Bushwick met at Restoration Plaza Tuesday night for a town hall meeting to discuss the quality of education their children are receiving and the most effective approach for working with the next mayor to advance their goals.

The meeting of 100 or so parents and political representatives was organized by Families for Excellent Schools representing more than 5,000 parents across the city -- primarily from low-income neighborhoods -- who organize, canvass, and recruit fellow parents to fight for policies that impact their children's education including school choices, school safety, teacher effectiveness and parental involvement, among other issues.

“For too long, a handful of groups with other interests have claimed to speak for parents in New York City,” said Jeremiah Kittredge, executive director of Families for Excellent Schools.

“In fact, the only ones who can and should speak for parents are parents themselves—and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish by empowering parents to organize in their communities, rally for their own causes, and hold the next Mayor accountable for giving every family an excellent education.” 

However, the parents at Tuesday's nights town hall, the second in a series, focused on identifying core issues to raise with candidates during the current mayoral campaign and, more specifically, for an upcoming parents forum with the candidates in June.  

“Tonight was a rare opportunity to say what issues are important to me,” said Amanda Blair, a parent from Crown Heights and a chapter leader with Families for Excellent Schools. “I know that if our children are going to get the education they deserve – whether it’s therapy for my son, a longer school day, or high quality teachers – we’ll need to make sure schools and politicians are hearing from parents directly.” 

Beverly Reese, a parent and new volunteer with FES said, "Until tonight, I had no idea how much power the Mayor has over public schools, and how much [it could all] change next year with someone new in office"

"I know I'm going to be thinking long and hard now about who I vote for, based on the issues in education we discussed tonight."