DISTRICT 8 COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNCIL (D8 CEC)

Petition to Demand

Equity and Excellence in Education Via a Combined Plan to Fully Fund Poor Schools According to Need and to Fully Invest in Poor Neighborhoods

Dear New York City and New York State Elected officials,

The District 8 Community Education Council demands that you pass legislation to build programs to level the playing field for poor neighborhoods and poor schools in New York State and New York City to truly get our schools to perform well. Invest in our neighborhoods and our schools so that our children can thrive, and our schools can experience true equity and true excellence. Historically speaking, American neighborhoods, cities, states, individuals, families, and schools prosper because of government investments that serve as the foundation for economic, community and academic development. That has not changed and will never change. Invest in the Bronx and in every poor neighborhood and invest in every underperforming and underserved school in the Bronx and in every poor neighborhood so that poor individuals and poor students can have a chance at those inalienable human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stipulated in the Constitution. Please uphold the Constitution by simultaneously investing in poor neighborhoods and underperforming/underserved schools because:

1)     There is a proven correlation between underperforming schools and underserved neighborhoods and communities;

2)     The Coronavirus Pandemic has revealed deep inequities in our schools and community, which are a direct result of government disinvestment in high-poverty neighborhoods;

3)     The upcoming budget cuts are a direct threat to the improvement of our schools and the progress of our students, which will exacerbate the inequities that existed even before the pandemic;

4)     We know government and private investments in our poverty stricken neighborhoods will also uplift our schools by providing much needed resources and services to our students and families inside and outside of schools, which in turn will have a direct impact on the performance of our students;

5)     We know that our students will come back to school with serious emotional issues that will impede school performance due to the severe effects of the pandemic, which were intensified by poverty: A) causing aggravated food insecurity, B) causing inability to social distance due to living situations, C) causing unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus due to unhealthy work situations and lack of testing, and D) causing unnecessary spread of the virus and death from the virus due to limited services and care;

6)     This pandemic is already revealing that our students are falling behind educationally due to the gaps in technology and technological skills from both our students and parents – meaning their inability to A) obtain devices for remote learning, B) have access to Wi-Fi to participate in remote learning and C) operate their devices and the required programs to fully participate in remote learning;

7)     Education doesn’t happen in a vacuum and it should never happen again that a situation, such as this pandemic, should result in the falling behind of our students academically and the traumatization of our students and families due to avoidable situations that are directly related to poverty.

Therefore, New York City and New York State elected officials, please resolve to join the District 8 Community Education Council, every poor neighborhood and every underserved school in raising your voices against poverty and eliminating the education and achievement gaps by passing laws and funding programs to simultaneously invest in underserved communities and underserved schools. In the final analysis, injustice is about investing the least into those who need the most.  Equality is about investing the same into everyone and ignoring the extra needs of those who need the most. EQUITY is about equalizing the playing field and investing the most into the neediest amongst us. The D8 CEC 8 and "We the People" demand EQUITY in poor neighborhoods and underserved schools all over the Bronx, New York City and New York State.