NYS Senators Host Youth And Community Speak Out On Equity, Diversity And High School Admissions In Brooklyn

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, May 13th, 2019

Contact: Heather Stewart |917-623-0940| heather@johnliusenate.com

NYS SENATORS HOST YOUTH AND COMMUNITY SPEAK OUT ON EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS IN BROOKLYN

Brooklyn, NY - Last Friday, at NYU Tandon’s Pfizer Auditorium, Senators John Liu, Velmanette Montgomery, Andrew Gounardes, Zellnor Myrie, Kevin Parker, Roxanne J. Persaud, and Assemblymembers William Colton and Jo Anne Simon moderated an energetic discussion with community members who shared their thoughts, concerns and suggestions regarding the issues of school diversity and the specialized high school admissions process. Friday’s event was the second in a series of planned citywide forums for state Senators to facilitate an inclusive dialogue with all community stakeholders in the city’s public schools. 250 members of the community attended. There were 52 speakers who shared their perspective; the list included quite a few middle schoolers, high schoolers and recent high school graduates.

"The state Senate wants to hear from all of the voices who have a stake in the diversity of our schools and these forums are a level playing field; everyone will have a chance to say their piece,” Said Senator John Liu. “Education issues are of great importance to all of our city's communities and our hope is that these forums will unite instead of divide us."

"The issue of how New York City’s 1.1 million children are educated is a discussion we must all have. This issue is much bigger than one test. Beyond the nine specialized high schools, our City has a network of hundreds of high schools where students do not have equal access to resources. Students are dealing with overcrowded classrooms, lack of supplies and other unaddressed needs. I was happy to host such an important discussion in my district and to hear so many young people share their experiences with my colleagues and myself," Said State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. "I thank Senator Liu for bringing us together and look forward to further engaging our constituents, especially the young people who are immediately impacted."

Upcoming forums will be held in the Bronx, this Friday, May 17th at the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, in Manhattan on Thursday, May 23rd at PS 173M and on Staten Island on Friday, May 31st at the Michael J. Petridis School.

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Archived video of the forum will be available after 2PM on nysenate.gov