UFT: Newsletter

Letter about school crowding... If you do one good thing for education, you will CLICK THE LINK BELOW AND SEND A MESSAGE TO BLOOMBERG'S DESK!

Dear COLLEAGUE,

School overcrowding has become a citywide crisis. Since the beginning of the school year, reports of overcrowding have come from all across the city — a Bronx principal said the Department of Education was sending "students to the school that they know we don't have room for"; the Manhattan borough president released a report showing that residential development was far outpacing increases in school capacity; and Staten Island parents reported a kindergarten class "bursting at the seams" with 38 students in one room. On Sept. 15, the New York State Department of Education said that New York City's class-size reduction plan had fallen short of expectations.

UFT President Randi Weingarten has said that the city's new five-year capital plan for school construction "presents a huge opportunity" to address the overcrowding crisis. "For New York City," she said, "reducing class size must be a top priority."

We are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein to eliminate school overcrowding and give our children the small classes they need to learn and grow by creating A Better Capital Plan.

You can help by participating in the UFT's fax campaign. It's really easy — just click the link below:

* Send a fax to the mayor and the chancellor

Sincerely,
Marvin Reiskin
Director of Legislation/Political Action