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Speeches
Since the start of the new school year, I have visited schools across the city. It will surprise no one that at a number of schools I encountered serious overcrowding. The Department of Education has only recently released a report on school enrollment for the 2002-2003 school year. According to its own findings, well over a third of all City schools are overcrowded, some of them severely.
When classes are overcrowded, teachers and principals are forced to devote too much attention to discipline and to administrative chores. As a result, there is less time for learning, and academic performance suffers. Students in overcrowded classes can feel neglected, and their frustration can cause them to misbehave, skip school, and eventually drop out. Packed hallways and cafeterias exacerbate the tensions that lead to school violence. In other words, overcrowding is a leading factor in all the major problems that plague city schools.
Recently, I received a letter from one high school teacher. According to the DOE's report, her school was sixty-five percent over capacity last year due to the inclusion of a mini school within its walls. This year, the mini school has been expanded and a second one added. Meanwhile, other schools in the area have been capped or are in the process being phased out, sending even more students to this already-crowded school.
Because of the overcrowding, the library is being used as a regular classroom, with two to four classes sharing the space every period of the day. That means regular students and mini school students alike have no access to the library at any point during the day. In her letter, the teacher says, “Stressing literacy and then making it impossible for students to use the library sends a mixed message.” This is a sad but vivid example of
how overcrowding poisons the learning process.
The situation I just described is not unique. Many schools have been downsized, causing a wave of last-minute enrollments in the remaining schools. The sluggishness with which the DOE has processed transfer requests has only made the situation worse.
When Mayor Bloomberg announced his plans to overhaul the school system, many of us believed the days of classes in hallways and libraries were coming to an end. Now, however, it seems undeniable that the DOE's response to this problem has been inadequate. It has become necessary to remind Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein that time is of the essence. The worse overcrowding gets the harder it will be to fix and the more related problems it will create.
I will continue to visit schools as the academic year progresses in order to monitor the effects of overcrowding. In addition, I have joined the United Federation of Teachers and many others in support of ballot initiative calling for a referendum on smaller class sizes. I urge the Mayor and the Chancellor to do the same. I also look forward to seeing how the Chancellor addresses overcrowding in the capital plan to be released next month. It is no exaggeration to say the city's future is at stake.
Thank You.
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