19/06/2020
The PSC Administration, SLT, and PTA Executive Board have written an open letter to Chancellor Carranza of the New York City Department of Education and Mayor Bill de Blasio asking them to do what they have the power to do: End segregation in New York City Public Schools:
June 15, 2020
An Open Letter to Chancellor Richard Carranza and Mayor Bill De Blasio
We are the SLT, PTA Executive Board, and Administration at Park Slope Collegiate, a 6-12 public school in Brooklyn, NY, and we are writing today to implore that the DOE take urgent action to dismantle the long-standing segregation in New York City public schools. Since our inception we have taken a public stand against racism, and joined countless struggles to live up to our motto "an injustice to one is an injustice to all". We are deeply committed to promoting student voices and empowering students to fight together against injustices in our world.
We are grieving that, in the wake of the brutal murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and countless others, we must again, and still, demand Justice for Black Lives. Once again, side-by-side with our children, we must fight against racist systems and structures.
The struggle against racism and for integration is one we as school know well. Eight years ago a group of parents from a highly sought after elementary school in District 15 came together with the leadership team at Park Slope Collegiate to discuss their concern that there weren’t enough seats to go around in the screened district schools. Together we agreed to try to create something new -- a school that was truly integrated; racially, economically, and academically. Our success in building a truly integrated school, that doesn't track students based on past academic performance, pulled the curtain back on the notion that screened schools are the only good schools in the district. In fact our school community disrupts the notion entirely. Our decision to move intentionally towards building a more racially, economically, and academically integrated school enables us to consciously shift our philosophy around fighting against racism and for integration and equitable schools. It strengthens our mission and vision and gives us regained hope in developing young people’s perception, activism and the belief that an injustice to one is an injustice to all. It is through our experiences, our stories that move beyond statistics, that we are able to fulfill the purpose of a public school education as a Public Good. As James Baldwin stated, “The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even but a millimeter the way people look at reality, then you can change it.”
While we are heartened to see that things that we have long been told were impossible--removing police from public schools, abolishing admissions screens, funding for restorative justice--are now being widely considered, we understand that these deep structural changes will not come because our policy makers have a sudden change of heart, or because more money has suddenly been found. They will come because we find the collective will to demand it.
The changes we demand are the minimum required to dismantle an overarching system that divides our students, and perpetuates a racist, segregated system. We call on Chancellor Carranza, Mayor Bill De Blasio, and the NYC Department of Education to:
• Abolish admission screens and entrance exams, including attendance, grades, state tests, and SHSAT, which are demonstrably racist based on their disparate impact.
• Abolish for-profit standardized tests, including state tests and AP for All.
• Institute system-wide de-tracking of all classes at all grade levels.
• Remove school safety agents from NYPD purview.
• Create safe passage for students to and from school, allowing students to commute free from harassment from NYC Transit Police and Truancy.
• Remove scanners from all schools.
• Fund schools equitably, including abolishing extra funding for selective schools and prioritizing 100% Fair Student Funding at high poverty schools.
• Increased commitment to training staff in Restorative Practices and Collaborative Problem Solving.
• Increase professional learning for teachers around Anti-Racist teaching practices & curricula.
• Demand CRSE as core standards.
• Allocate PSAL sports teams equitably to all schools.
As parents and educators we are both aware and engaged in the steps the DoE has to take through funding Anti-Bias training, CRSE training and working towards developing discipline guidelines that are grounded in restorative justice practices and beliefs. We also commend the move to ensure that schools are creating equity teams that support positive learning experiences and build community while also helping to hold community members accountable when not upheld. Some structures are already in place and can be built upon with the DoE’s continued commitment to this important work; however, it cannot be done without the demands above simultaneously being implemented. It is vital.
We cannot build anti-racist schools that are not also integrated schools. We need to work together to create the world as it should be.
Sincerely,
The Park Slope Collegiate Administration
The Park Slope Collegiate School Leadership Team
The Park Slope Collegiate Parent Teacher Association Executive Board
