Is occupational therapy (OT) in short supply for NYC students? Current conversations have focused on expected losses of social workers, psychologists, and bilingual supports as schools race toward a fiscal cliff caused by the loss of pandemic stimulus dollars.  Beyond that alarming eventuality, NYC is currently missing the boat for special needs students who  require occupational therapy. Why is OT a thing? What exactly is occupational therapy? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act says that occupational therapy is a type of related service. Occupational therapy can maintai ..read more

If you are a NYC public school parent, did you know that your struggling student is entitled to receive academic assistance for free?  That’s right.  So, before you spend money on a private tutor or tutoring service take a peek at this blog post about academic intervention services (AIS). Across New York State, according to education law, school districts are required to provide academic intervention services to students who score below the state designated performance level on state assessments and/or who are at risk of not achieving the State learning standards.  Based on scor ..read more

I recently attended a legislative breakfast in my school district.  A legislative breakfast is a chance for schools within the district to put forward special funding appeals and have these requests be heard and presented to the public. On that day, attendees completely filled a school gym that had been outfitted with a delicious buffet and tables for seating.  Each table was prepared with packets of information that had a dedicated page for each school located within the district.  Packet pages showed the name of each school with its associated mascot or crest, a notable quote ..read more

Once again, I had the pleasure of adding my resources to the collective table in the name of parental empowerment at the Citywide Leadership Team Legislative Conference which was held in Brooklyn on October 26, 2023. After the event I was asked a wonderful question pertaining to funds that are given to school leadership team (SLT) members.  It occurred to me that perhaps I could offer some information on this topic because we all know that when we are informed, we become empowered. So please consider this a short primer on SLT funding in NYC public schools. In this era of transparency, pr ..read more

Are we on the brink of yet another school bus strike?  Here’s some basic information about pupil transportation in NYC public schools.  New York City students can travel to and from school via the school bus service and use of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus and train system.  City public schools claim to serve 150,000 students across the city with 9,000 bus routes. Bus services are provided from outside transportation companies who are vendors that have contracts with the school system.  Students can ride the MTA system buses and trains through usage of ..read more

An inspired coalition of education stakeholders called the Citywide Leadership Team  (CLT) has announced its’ proposed calendar for the upcoming school year. The CLT goals are to improve the quality of education, teaching, and learning, for all NYC public school students by ensuring that effective and efficient policies that promote exceptional opportunities are implemented by including the voices of all education stakeholders. ➢ Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 9:30am ➢ Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 7pm ➢ Tuesday, January 9, 2024, at 9:30am ➢ Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 7pm ➢ Tuesday, M ..read more

New York City public schools have recently intensified their efforts to work with children with dyslexia. A $100,000 investment for the structured literacy school pilot is one such example. However, there’s another learning difference that is widely known but hidden with respect to meaningful categorization and that’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd). Research done in 2014 by Gregory Fabiano, PhD. Et.al, indicates that across New York State there are 10.4% of diagnosed and suspected children with adhd in the classroom.   And yet, like dyslexia, this learning difference ..read more

Hi everyone!  Before I get into the topic, I’d like to thank my subscribers for staying tuned. For today’s installment I’m going to discuss just regular ol’ general education which doesn’t get much attention very often. Despite slowing enrollment declines and stable projections as reported by the DOE, let’s not forget that general education enrollment is still down by a significant amount.  Although there are fewer general ed students, increased expenditures have led to larger per capita spending. General Education Enrollment and Spending. General education enrollment was more than 8 ..read more

History and Purpose. If you’ve been involved in education circles for any amount of time you’ve probably heard something about Title I funding.  Title I funds have been a very important component of school budgets for almost 60 years. Title I is the largest federal entitlement grant for New York City public schools. Originally enacted as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, Title I was reauthorized under both the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and is generally reauthorized every five years.  The purpose of Title I a ..read more

On April 11, 2023 I spoke with the Queens Community Board #13 about school comprehensive education plans and the budget. Here’s a summary of the highlights. The NYC Chancellor’s Regulations give school leadership teams authority to review school budget data. It’s helpful to be mindful of certain times in the NYC public school budget cycle which actually starts in May. Assembling key data is helpful to establish education plan goals. Key pieces of budget data for schools are publicly available. Here’s how you find them. You can use school allocation memos to your advantage. SAMs detail how ..read more