From our inbox:
WHAT: 32BJ SEIU officers, public school cleaners, City Council members, and education advocacy groups hold press conference to release findings of a new report highlighting inequalities in public school facilities across the city. WHEN: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 10am WHERE: In front of the Department of Education, Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers Street, Lower Manhattan WHO: Héctor Figueroa, 32BJ SEIU President Shirley Aldebol, 32BJ SEIU Vice President Rahn Wade, NYC school cleaner and 32BJ member NYC Councilman Jumaane Williams NYC Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito Zakiyah Ansari, Alliance for Quality Education parent activist Ocynthia Williams, United Parents of Highbridge parent activist WHY: Years of deferred maintenance and inadequate facilities funding have forced students from the poorest neighborhoods to try to learn in some of the most neglected school buildings in the city. This disparity in building conditions predominantly affects Black, Latino and other nonwhite schoolchildren and could further widen the achievement gap.