April 13, 2017Mayor Bill de Blasio: …the death of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam. It is a shock to all of us – highly, highly respected jurist, a trailblazer, someone who, by all accounts, you know, came from humbling dynamics, but turned into someone of great capacity, great impact – always kept her feet on the ground, always remembered where she came from. And it’s just very, very sad. It’s someone who for so many people in the State, for so many young people had been a role model – someone who made history in the State in such a powerful way and is lost to us so suddenly, and we obviously are still waiting for the full investigation. But to the extent that the challenges and stresses in her life contributed to this, it’s a reminder that even the most accomplished people still deal with extraordinary challenges inwardly, and we don’t get to see that, and it is humbling.So, it’s a sad day – someone who got so far and then we lost so soon. I just wanted to say that upfront because I know it’s on the minds of so manyWith that, I want to thank the Chancellor who you will hear from in a moment; thank the First Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris and all the leadership of DOE and the Administration that is present here for this meeting.And you know, we have this week – we had an opportunity to really focus on Staten Island and it has been very, very productive and we’re going to be doing that up ahead with each of the other boroughs.One of the things we’re finding right away is when an entire administration focuses in this manner a lot gets done; a lot of things that were waiting for resolution get [inaudible]. It’s a big city, so by the nature there are lots of things on any given day that we’re working on that still haven’t been resolved, but when you focus everyone’s attention on one thing a lot of things move. It has been very, very productive.And there is also the opportunity to hear from people. I certainly – I got a lot out of the resource fair we had, the office hours, open house, whatever you want to call it. I got a lot out of it, a lot of great suggestions and some complaints that were good to hear from people and I think helped us to think about things we need to do differently.Again, we’re going to continue that model going forward. I am looking forward to the town hall meeting tonight with Councilmember Debi Rose. All of these things help us to understand how to keep deepening our work. But let me say that in terms of the work of the Department of Education, it is outstanding in all five boroughs, but there are some successes here in Staten Island that are really extraordinary. And the vision that we put in place of Equity and Excellence plays out in many ways. But I want to help you understand what it is meaning for Staten Island already. The fact is we got 66,000 public school kids on Staten Island and Equity and Excellence as a vision has helped them be part of the great citywide trend towards higher graduation rates, lower dropout rates, and higher test scores. This is happening everywhere, but nowhere is it happening more powerfully than Staten Island.Staten Island has the highest graduation rate and the lowest dropout rate in its history. It also leads the city with the highest graduation rate and lowest dropout rate citywide.
So that is something that Staten Islanders should be very, very proud of.Pre-K – central element of our Equity and Excellence vision – obviously, my number one priority when I came in the door as mayor. There are five times as many kids enrolled in full-day pre-k in Staten Island today than in the school year that was underway when I took office. So we have been in here three years and three months. We already have five times as many kids in full-day pre-K, almost 4,000 kids today versus just under 800. And already – as another piece of the Equity and Excellence vision – every middle school kid in Staten Island has two things they didn’t used to have. Every middle school child has access to free afterschool programs, literally every single one. It is their universal right now. And on top of that every middle school child in Staten Island, this school year, is being taken to a college to see what college is all about and to know that that opportunity can be there for them. And this is a key part of Equity and Excellence to get that early college exposure – literally every single middle school student in Staten Island will have that experience.Now, when we started the school year this year we went all over the City – the Chancellor and I – one of the places we went that we’re very proud of is Port Richmond High School. Port Richmond is a school that is definitely on the upswing; some great things happening there. I was struck – it’s a community school, it’s a school that has when you see what physically has been created there, extraordinary. The health center, the involvement – this is something the Chancellor talked about, a passion of hers – the involvement of colleges in Staten Island in Port Richmond; some very, very powerful things happening here. And it is also the first high school with a new language program on Staten Island. So, you know the mission is simple it is to give each kid a chance to succeed.If you had to boil down what we talked about in these meetings every single week is how we give every kid a chance to succeed. And I am convinced that this vision is working and we are seeing real tangible evidence of it here on Staten Island.With that, I would love to turn to the Chancellor for her comments.Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña: Well, first of all, I have to say that Staten Island is actually the model for our collaboration with University partners. There are three universities out here; St. John’s, Staten Island, as well as Wagner. And they were the first in the City to embed some of their instructors, guidance counselors in our high schools. And this is a large effort and I came to many meetings here with the Borough President with his commitment that if you’re going to be on Staten Island, you’re going to have to give value back to Staten Island. So, we’re actually using Staten Island as the model for the rest of the City.I think also, Staten Island has a particular advantage for having one superintendent and one borough office that actually talk to each other on the regular basis and that they have a common vision. I think also having elected officials out here who really understand education and are committed to it makes a big difference. This is a district that is also experimenting and I don’t want to use jargon – I will be very clear because of the large number of IEPs in every single elementary school in Staten Island. There are teachers who are specifically trained; it is something we call [inaudible] with students who may have some disabilities. And this is the first time ever that any district has embraced as citywide.Today I went to visit I.S. 51 and I think I.S. 51 has done a particularly good job of putting houses – they are getting ready to do Bye Bye Birdie. I got to see their band, got to see their theater program. These kids all came in during the holidays. This is a holiday week for kids and yet there were a lot of students in that building being energized.
There was some alum who came back to help practice with the band. They were doing STEM work; some of the best STEM work in the City is actually also happening – P.S. 57. I want to give them a shout out. They started soapbox derby [inaudible].So I think having spent a lot of time in Staten Island in the past and even in my former jobs, I see a certain amount of energy. I see a certain amount of commitment out here that I think is really, really spectacular. And I think also that what you’re seeing is an engagement of parents that is really different than what has happened before. So I – like I said I couldn’t be prouder. I worked very closely with the elected officials out here. But I do see the energy here on a very high level compared to what it might have been – I go back to this analogy, before there was a Verrazano Bridge. So I remember. And this is now a place where the expectation to go to college for example is much higher than it has been. And the college readiness – not just the graduation – college readiness is at an all-time high. So [inaudible] keep working with people out here. Honestly [inaudible] for all the growing people coming to Staten Island. The New St. George terminal I think is going to really enhance the district even more. So, I do think that taking all of that into account. I also want to say that Staten Island press – I want to give a shout out to the press. It has really done something really remarkable and I hope to see this go citywide. Staten Island Advance now highlights our hidden gems in their newspaper. And it has helped us make public education matter of conversation out on the Island by saying what different schools are doing and I just sent them a thank you letter today because it really sometimes means that you can’t judge a school by what their reputation was five, ten years ago.Mayor: That’s right.Chancellor Fariña: You’ve got to rebrand and the press can help us do that in places where its real and deep.Mayor: Well said. Thanks, everyone.