Support Our Schools

With three-quarters of students learning remotely, the former Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus Co-Chair and I authored a letter demanding a desegregation of online learning, initially covered and then endorsed by the New York Post as an opportunity to “make remote learning into a winner for many kids.”

Imagine the public education system we can create together, with the ambitious goal of taking on systemic racism and segregation, all while providing a historic opportunity for students of every race and ethnicity. There would be no more lotteries. No more geographic preference based on racist red lining. No more false constraints created by generations of disinvestment in communities of color. Parents and students could simply apply and be guaranteed a seat in the virtual classroom of their choice. Equal educational opportunities for all.

School can be hard enough without bullying which has now expanded from in-person and in the classroom to online. Ben was bullied as a student in elementary school and has worked with schools in the district to give teachers, staff, and students the resources they need to take on bullying. One program Ben has supported in the City Council is the Brave Mental Health initiative championed by the United Federation of Teachers to provide a free hotline and chat service for at risk students along with trainings for teachers and staff as well as direct services to students and their families. As the next Borough President Ben Kallos will bring the resources and support principal, teachers, parents, and students, need to end bullying.

Homework can be hard, particularly when their isn't even a place to do it at home let alone family members that can help. As a student, Ben struggled through homework until a teacher who saw him struggling stepped in and suggested that in the absence of a place to do homework at home, he could do it in the school library before and after school hours where teachers were on hand to help. As a Council Member, Ben learned about Dial-A-Teacher from the United Federation of Teachers that has been around since 1980, wishes he know about it as a student, gotten the word out to his community, and has supported funding in the City Council. As Borough President, will continue to support this program and make sure every students gets the homework help they need.

With every single one of New York City’s 1.1 million public school students learning online partially or fully, the Department of Education estimates that there are still upwards of 77,000 students who still need internet-capable devices, despite repeated assurances from Mayor Bill de Blasio that “every student who needs one gets one.” Legislation Council Member Ben Kallos authored with Council Member Farah Louis and sponsored by Education Chair Mark Treyger, Borough Presidents Eric Adams and Gale Brewer, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Council Member Stephen Levin, would force the city to give free laptops and tablets with Internet to all public school students and to report on the quantity, costs, distribution and demographics of students receiving devices. As a Council Member Ben will fight to pass this into law, but if that doesn't happen by the time he becomes Borough President, Ben will buy every student who needs one a laptop on day one.

New York City has a crisis of empty storefronts and with the pandemic empty commercial spaces, which we need to rethink as community spaces. That’s why Ben proposed using these spaces for schools and we’ve done exactly that for pre-kindergartens all over the neighborhood. As we seek to recover with more space per student, lower student teacher ratios, and finally acknowledging the need for child care, Ben will work as the next Borough President to open more schools, libraries, and community centers in vacant store fronts and commercial spaces throughout Manhattan.

Manhattan is a largely built environment and if we build new education infrastructure as part of new buildings that will only house more families we can finally start to alleviate school overcrowding. The City should offer a zoning bonus to include new schools, libraries, youth centers, or senior centers, as part of new development without taking away any housing. In fact, I’ve made it a standing offer for any developer in the neighborhood, though most have chosen a public-private partnership with financing from the city. We've done it before and we can do it again. Let’s build new schools as part of new developments and finally alleviate school overcrowding.

Ben graduated from a New York City Public School and can tell you himself that his text books were decades old and racist. That's why as Council Member Ben Kallos wrote an opinion editorial in the Daily News with Silicon Harlem's Clayton Banks proposing open textbooks as an immedaite way forward. New York City is spending $84 million a year on textbooks. That number is staggering, especially given that many of the textbooks are older than the teachers using them, largely Eurocentric and in some cases dictated by partisan politics.

Rooting out racial injustice must include the classroom, where textbooks too often perpetuate notions of white supremacy through a narrow focus on the achievements of white men. Expanding the narrative through open textbooks can help teach the rich diversity of shared contributions across cultures. From Arabic numerals and Katherine Johnson in math to Marie Curie and George Washington Carver in science, key figures and developments have been neglected in every subject, not only history.

We can make these learning materials more reflective of New York City’s diversity and put limited resources to better use by adopting open textbooks. As a Council Member Ben has introduced legislation to mandate open textbooks as part of giving every student who needs one a laptop. If the legislation is not passed by the time Ben becomes the next Borough President he will buy a laptop for every student who needs one on day one and make sure it comes preloaded with open textbooks that are culturally responsive.

Education is ever evolving and we need to give our teachers and administrators the professional development they need to give every student a modern education. As a candidate Ben observed training at the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) and has supported that program as well as Teacher Center and Computer Science for All in the City Council. As the next Borough President Ben will continue to support training for our teachers and administrators throughout their careers.

After finally winning universal prekindergarten for the Upper East Side in 2018, Ben began to fight for Universal 3-K. In 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the roll out of "3K for All" by the 2021 school year. As of last year, 3K for All is only planned for half of school districts, serving only two-fifths of children, leaving an estimated 39,000 children without 3K throughout our city. As a Council Member and as the next Borough President I will win 3K for All.

Every child should have a job without getting caught in the Cath-22 of needing experience to get experience. Last year, Mayor de Blasio gave a 48-hour notice that SYEP would shut down entirely. It was eventually partially maintained—with 35,000 available employment opportunities, down from 75,000, and with 5-week instead of 8-week jobs. This year, Ben led a rally alongside Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, as well as Borough Presidents Gale Brewer and Eric Adams, to restore this funding, and won restoration of 70,000 slots for this summer. But Ben and his allies want to push further, as the lead sponsor on legislation he co-sponsored with now-Congress Member Ritchie Torres to guarantee youth jobs. As Borough President, Ben will continue the fight for universal summer youth jobs.

It can be hard to learn at the same time as overcoming many of the challenges that come with living in poverty. Providing resources to students and families to address everything from hunger to housing instability to job training to on-site medial and mental health has been found to improve student performance. Council Member Ben Kallos initially ran on this in 2013 and since then with the support of the City Council Community Schools have been rolled out to 31 schools serving 20,000 students. This has been championed by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) who created the program in 2012 and are now advocating for United Community Schools. As Borough President Ben will work to bring wrap-around services to expand United Community Schools throughout the borough of Manhattan.