You can feel it as soon as you walk in the door. Feldman asked committee members what help they needed to do their jobs better, and answered questions on issues ranging from reading curriculum to per-session payment policies. She discussed the need for fixing school buildings, a task that would be facilitated by passing the bond issue on November's ballot, and assured members that the UFT was continuing the fight to pass the tier enhancement bill. She also talked at length about the union's role in improving early-grade literacy. The math and reading scores dwarf the city's averages.
Teachers pour their lives into their pupils.
Children vie to become members of the Principal's Reading Club, parental involvement is high, and there's a studious, engaged atmosphere among the children, all in the crisp yellow shirts that are part of their uniforms. Nor is it a matter of kids doing well 'despite the neighborhood they live in,' as it's often put. Given the right learning environment, every child can be educated. At both schools, teachers are saying that students are doing better academically. It confirms a sense I have that citywide, kids are doing better.