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Say Banks, Adams have undermined their mission

Early childhood education workers criticize staffing cuts

Posted

Educators say that the Department of Education’s early childhood division is being dismantled and have planned a no confidence vote in the leadership of Deputy Chancellor Kara Ahmed.

Two days before the start of the school year, about 400 instructional coordinators and social workers working in early childhood programs received notice that they had been excessed — meaning that their positions had been eliminated and that they would have to apply for other jobs if they wanted to keep working in the public school system. Although DOE officials said the affected staff are still on payroll and can apply for other jobs, the workers said they have been in limbo. 

The DOE has been working to reorganize the program by moving the staffers from central offices to district offices so that they would be closer to schools. But educators disputed this statement by emphasizing during a Nov. 4 rally that they already worked in classrooms.

“It is ironic that the senior leadership of the Division of Early Childhood Education did so little to acquire an education about the division they were to lead,” said Alison Demos, an instructional coordinator. “I currently support 37 classes. We are not sitting in some office refusing to go near children.”

Karen Clay, a pre-K social worker in Queens, said that she travels between several schools and works with 40 classrooms and at least 85 teachers, principals and administrators. “I don’t know how much closer I can get,” she said.

Hundreds of members of the United Federation of Teachers and other supporters participated in the rally outside of the DOE’s headquarters at Tweed Courthouse in lower Manhattan to protest the changes.

“Our children deserve stability, our children deserve consistency, and that means keeping the adults in place. We want those excess letters rescinded,” said Karen Alford, the UFT’s vice president for elementary schools. 

Instructional coordinators help teachers plan lessons that are appropriate for 3- and 4-year-olds, while social workers meet with families to address issues such as food insecurity and abuse in the home. Some educators noted that there was an increased need for socio-emotional support staff because of the pandemic.

“Without the support of my IC and my social worker, I don’t know how we could have weathered all of this unknown grief and trauma that was happening; that is still happening today,” said Meg Jones, a teacher in the early childhood division. “If you take away that valuable support, you are taking away the heart of our program. We are getting a clear sign from [Schools Chancellor David] Banks, from [Mayor Eric] Adams, that they do not value this.”

'A shell game'

Banks announced during last week’s press conference that the DOE is planning to conduct financial audits and an analysis to reallocate pre-K and 3K seats as part of the department's reform efforts. He described the early childhood division left by the previous administration as “dysfunctional,” and that unraveling it is a “major mess.” 

But at the rally, Tammy Miller, a UFT chapter leader for daycare providers, noted that if the DOE “is truly serious about overseeing the division of early childhood and taking care of children and families, it will honor the commitment by treating workers fairly.”

“It’s an old shell game; where the new administration comes in and blames the old administration, leaving the office in shambles,” she added. “Sadly enough, the dedicated workers are always impacted by these random, uncoordinated, poorly-planned decisions.”

Several educators feared that 3K and Pre-K For All  — a signature achievement for former Mayor Bill de Blasio and considered a preeminent early childhood education program  —  was being undermined.

Humberto Cruz-Chavarria, a former director for multilingual education at the division of early childhood, said he left his job over the summer because he felt the current leadership did not have a solid plan for the program.

“Chancellor Banks, Deputy Chancellor Ahmed, your work has accounted for nothing. You have built nothing. You have tried to dismantle a system supporting hundreds of thousands of children,” he said. “By fostering employees’ confusion and chaos: that is a mess.”

Banks called the no confidence vote “deeply disappointing,” noting that Ahmed was “the right leader for this school system.”

“No employee is going to lose their job. We are literally talking about making this system more efficient,” he said. “I’m not sure what their vote of no confidence even means.”

The DOE’s early childhood division has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks, particularly since the DOE owes millions of dollars in reimbursements to early childhood centers. Daycare staff rallied at City Hall last month over missed paychecks caused by the delayed payments.

During the Nov. 3 press conference, Banks announced that the DOE will create rapid response teams to speed up invoicing and payments, and will pay all early childhood education providers at least 75 percent of their contracts, even if their enrollment had significantly declined.

District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido called the change “a step in the right direction.

"The City of New York owes a debt to every child care provider and day care worker who showed up for our youngest New Yorkers without the promise of a paycheck,” he said.

clewis@thechiefleader.com

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