Before he announced his mayoral campaign earlier this month, Anthony Weiner released a policy booklet outlining his ideas for the city. But not everyone is on the same page.
In particular, a school parents group has taken offense at his cost-cutting proposal to eliminate paid parent coordinators from the city’s schools budget. Mona Davids, the president of New York City Parents Union, said advocates are even willing to set up a campaign designed to defeat Mr. Weiner in the mold of one currently being waged against one of his rivals, Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
“This is something that we take very seriously,” she told Politicker this morning. “Others may not think that Anthony Weiner can be mayor, but anything is possible with this primary. And there will be ‘Defeat Chris Quinn’ and there will be ‘Defeat Anthony Weiner.’ We mean business.”
Ms. Davids suggested that advocates will tail Mr. Weiner at campaign stops around the city–just like advocates follow Ms. Quinn–unless he reverses course. She noted that paid parent coordinators–who function as liaisons between the parents of public school children and the Department of Education–are disproportionately women of color, and pointed to parents’ statements in support of keeping the positions.
“Our Parent Coordinator is the bridge between parents and our principal,” Sonya Hampton said, for example. “Parents know if they have an issue, they can always call our parent coordinator even after school hours.”
A press release, referring to Mr. Weiner’s request for a “second chance” after his infamous Twitter scandal two years ago, further connected his embarrassing incident to the issue at hand.
“Weiner talks about supporting the middle class and helping low income New Yorkers enter the middle class, but yet seeks to eliminate almost 1500 jobs, driving them to the unemployment line,” it read. “For many Parent Coordinators, their jobs are their ‘second chance.’ Ironically, Weiner is asking New Yorker’s for a second chance at employment using our tax dollars, yet he intends to destroy that chance for 1500 Parent Coordinators.”
Mr. Weiner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another of Mr. Weiner’s education ideas–streamlining the process in which troubled kids are kicked out of the classroom–has also rankled feathers and led another public school advocacy group to protest outside of his Park Avenue South apartment before his highly-anticipated mayoral bid even launched.
Good - start trailing Weiner around the city, protesting him at every stop he makes.
The point is moot at my school, however, where the parent coordinator was long ago let go so they could save money and use it on test prep.
Unfortunately, there are Parent Coordinators(PC) that are being used not as initially intended.
ReplyDeleteSome PCs are assigned the duties/tasks of a school aide or bathroom monitor or cafeteria monitor or guidance counselor or secretary. Go to the small high schools and interview those PCs and ask them if they are actually doing the duties of a Community Associate/Parent Coordinator. Trust me, if they were put under oath by OSI/SCI, they would tell you exactly their daily duties.
Many principals are misusing the budget funding for the job title "Parent Coordinator". Is this happening in all schools? No, because you do have parent coordinators that actually do the job of one and they are excellent in maintaining the relationship between parents and the parent.
But I strongly suggest that an investigation be conducted in the small high schools in the Bronx.
I've seen it and I'm reporting it.
In my school, they laid the PC off and used that money for a test prep class.
DeleteDoes anyone know who Weiner's ed advisor is????? If anything he should make sure that PCs are people who are qualified and that their duties pertain to that of liaison. Sounds like he also wants parent voices silenced.
ReplyDelete