New York Appleseed’s executive director, Nyah Berg, testified at the City Council Committee on Education’s hearing on the DOE’s recent changes in the admissions processes, which has slightly improved the notoriously stressful and complex process, but still is not meeting the DOE’s own stated goals of equity and excellence. The testimony highlights the assumption that applicants in this process are English-speaking, independent, non-disabled, housing-stable students with minimal outside needs, which is not how many of NYC students identify. As the application process is not serving the majority of NYC students, we call on leadership to make intentional enrollment policies that will center equity and diversity in addition to being the catalyst for real integration.
Read full testimony here.
