Test, Mandate Relief Wanted: Croton Community Advocates for Schools

Croton-on-Hudson residents are looking to make their voices heard through community organization Croton Advocates for Public Education (C.A.P.E.), a group that held letter-writing campaigns and a rally at Croton-Harmon High School.

C.A.P.E., led by residents Lisa Cohen and Earl DePass, has drawn the attention of teachers, parents, taxpayers and students as it strives to share its message with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state leadership in Albany to provide proper funding for education and “let working schools work.”

District advocates sent more than 1,500 letters to Albany last week that urge state representatives to listen to community voices when it comes to the state budget and to urge the New York State Education Department to reconsider education mandates like the APPR and the increase in testing, which many believe are not beneficial to high-performing districts like Croton-Harmon.

“I call upon all our elected officials to oppose the ‘one-size-fits-all mentality and to let working schools work, while directing deeply needed attention to the schools that actually need help,” the letter reads.

Groups of concerned district stakeholders gathered at Croton-Harmon High School on March 26 to stage a rally in support of public education. Those in attendance represented a wide variety of interests, including students and their parents, the Croton Teachers Association, administrators and community members who were united in their message to Albany.

“I object to all the testing and the time that is taken out of the classroom doing more creative and engaging activities to do more testing and test prep,” said parent Melissa Frey, who has children in eighth- and sixth-grade. “Next month, the students will spend nine hours of taking tests after doing test prep. Time could be spent so much more wisely.”

Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School Student Government’s president, an eighth-grader, was on-hand at Thursday’s rally, and said, “I want to become a computer software engineer. But if we have budget cuts, they could take away the computer engineering class and prevent me from pursuing my dream.”

Rally and community participants are discouraged by the lack of change in the realm of education so far in Albany.

Village resident, former Board of Education president and education advocate Karen Zevin said, “I find it reprehensible that the Governor is playing with my taxes. He promised when he created the tax cap he would deal with unfunded mandates, but he hasn’t.”

Photo Captions:

Rally 1: Croton-Harmon teachers, students, administrators, Board of Education members and taxpayers gathered for a public education rally at Croton-Harmon High School on March 26.

Letter-Writing 1: Croton-on-Hudson resident and district parent Suzanne Van der Wilden added stamps to the letters residents wrote to New York State representatives regarding public education.

Letter-Writing 2: Croton-on-Hudson residents Julie Minter and Barbara Williams signed letters to send to Albany advocating for public education.

Letter-Writing 5: Croton-on-Hudson resident Barbara Williams spoke with C.A.P.E. member Earl DePass as she wrote letters advocating for public education to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials.

Photos Courtesy of Croton Advocates for Public Education (C.A.P.E.)