Survey Page
THE YRNES REPORT 2008
The Youth Researchers For A New Education System (YRNES) is a “diverse group of youth from all over New York City (NYC) who have come together for a common goal: to be instruments of change in the NYC public school system.”
Their report summarizes a year of hard work planning their project, collecting their data, understanding the meaning those data, and synthesizing their efforts into a major contribution to the widening public discussion of what should replace mayoral control of the schools when its legislative mandate expires next year.
YRNES researchers began with two basic questions:
1) What are NYC youths’ perspectives on what is and is not provided in their schools?
2) What are NYC youths’ perspectives on school organization and leadership?
By the end of their project, they had not only documented the range of perspectives on these questions but had also touched on more fundamental topics of dignity, respect, and purpose and how they play out in the schools that are supposed to belong to the public.
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this report are those of the YRNES researchers.
( 2349.70Kb) The Parents' Parent Survey
Many parent activists felt that the first NYC DOE parent survey ignored issues of vital concern in local school reform debates. With leadership from Class Size Matters and a no-strings grant from the United Federation of Teachers, a group of parents published their own survey. NCSC assisted with survey design, on-line data collection, dataset construction, and preliminary analysis. Class Size Matters conducted the analysis summarized in this report. In the future, NCSC hopes to address additional issues raised by the data. Summary of NCSC Straw Poll on Cell Phones, Searches, and Metal ScannersLast spring, the New York City Department of Education announced that cell phones and electronic items would now be confiscated. Parents, their various organizations, and some youth groups responded energetically. The high volume of largely uncoordinated activities presented interested parties with multiple venues to express their opinions. One of these options was a straw poll on this website. Click here for the results. Public Advocate's Survey of Conflict Resolution Service Providers
"To better evaluate the degree of institutional support for conflict resolution and social/emotional programming in New York City schools, the Office of the Public Advocate and the National Center for Schools and Communities (NCSC) at Fordham
University surveyed non-profit providers of this programming about their contribution to city public schools; the effect of DOE school safety and discipline policies on the services they provide; and their overall experiences working in New York City public
schools. The survey resulted in the following findings:
· 85 percent of providers of conflict resolution and social/emotional programming in middle schools do not agree that DOE school discipline policies adequately address the social/emotional needs of the students;
· 85 percent of providers to middle schools do not agree that DOE school safety policies effectively address the root causes of violence and disruptive behavior.
· 86 percent of providers to high schools do not agree that the current DOE school discipline policies are sustainable in promoting long-term results in dealing with violent and disruptive students.
This report offers the following recommendations, among others, to improve the provision of conflict resolution and social/emotional programming in New York City schools and thereby improve student safety and achievement:
· Create a central Conflict Resolution and Social/Emotional Programs Office
· Establish a Conflict Advisor/Counselor Position in Select Schools
· Establish a School Safety Planning Committee" (from report intro)
NCSC assisted in survey design and provided the onlinte platform for survey respondents. The Office of the Public Advocate conducted the analysis and produced the report. 2005 Straw Poll of New York City Education Activists
NCSC's post-election day survey of parents, teachers, administrators, policy makers, social activists and elected officials reveals a lack of support for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s educational reform agenda.
Download file: strawpollupdate.pdf ( 270.40Kb)
Source: National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham
|
