Latinos leaders lay out post-Bloomberg education blueprint

Advocates from the Latino community are calling on new election officials to give proper attention to the school system’s largest student demographic population.

Forty percent of New York City public school students are now Latino and 13 percent are still learning English, according to a policy white papers out today. A coalition of community groups presented the recommendations at a press conference at City Hall. 

Some of the proposals resemble much of what Democratic nominee Bill de Blasio has already outlined in his citywide education platform: Universal pre-K, create 50 community schools in four years (de Blasio wants 100), expanding the school day, and changing the single test admissions process for specialized high schools. 

Some proposals are specifically related to Latino and immigrant students. The coalition wants schools to ensure that ELL students aren’t ignored by the shift to Common Core learning standards instruction, expand the number of international high schools and significantly increase the number of dual-language programs. 

A copy of white paper is below: 

NYC Latino Education Policy Blueprint