There are 3 areas of the school system that need to be addressed.  The teachers, the students and the school buildings in which the learning process takes placed.  Listed below are my experiences with the public elementary and elementary system over the course of three years.   Based on that involvement and the research conducted with educators, there are areas that have been identified as areas requiring improvement.  The following table contains links to descriptions of the three major areas to be addressed in the education system.  These links are listed here and repeated below "My Experiences with the Public School System" for your convenience. 

My Experiences with the Public School System

Having no children of my own, there was no reason to believe that I would be involved in educational and school safety issues. My involvement with the neighborhood kids began with the founding of the Joe Horvath Baseball and Softball for Youth League in 1997.  The league is named in honor of a long-time  children's advocate who saved many a youth from going down the wrong path in life. He was a friend and former hockey coach of mine when I was growing up. The City of New York honored his efforts on behalf of children by the permanent naming of 52nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenue as "Joe Horvath Way".   Many of the kids associated with the league attended the local public elementary schools.

My entry into the school system's issues occurred when  I was approached by two families who had concerns about their children's education and safety at PS 111, which is also known as the Alfred S. Ochs Academy. At that time my plate was already filled with various issues of highly questionable activities on the part of the local community board and other city  agencies as well as with community matters. However,  it is not my nature to turn people away when they ask for assistance, so I prepared to become involved. After a short period of time, I did not hear any more complaints from the parents so I thought the problems at the school were solved. That was in 1999. The year 2000 was quite a different story with quite a different principal! In fact, the problems were so bad that teachers at the
school contacted me in confidence at home. Early on I thought that it was only a matter of becoming accustomed to the ways of a new principal -- the same as in business when a new manager takes over. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Investigation quickly revealed that the problems of the previous year were only the tip of the iceberg!

Born and raised in Clinton, this neighborhood school issue was something unfamiliar because it concerned child safety issues.  The good people of Clinton, also known as Hell's Kitchen, have always been staunchly protective in this regard.  I was in SHOCK when I discovered that the parents and teachers insisted our meetings be held in secrecy due to fears of retaliation on the part of the principal.  During those meetings and many late night/early morning telephone conversations, ALL problems were revealed. After approximately two months of secret meetings, I was prepared to address the many issues and a meeting was arranged between myself, the principal and a representative of school District 2.

I was naive about the extent to which the NYC public school system was dependent upon the good sense and good will of individuals within the system. Neither the school principal, nor the district representative were prepared or interested in resolving the many issues at the school. The proof of this when I was banned from the school after hand
delivering minutes of the meeting, which is five pages in length covering issues from safety to the C30 selection committee for a permanent principal.  The minutes also outlined a game plan to address all of the issues addressed in the meeting.  Since it was obvious that the concerns during the meeting fell on deaf ears, a final emergency meeting was called among the distressed families and teachers and a decision was made by committee to have a protest outside the school. Three days after the protest began, a campaign of harassment began that included threatening 8th graders that if they continued to protest outside of the school that they would not graduate!  This was followed by police action in which my civil rights were violated requiring intervention by a New York Civil Liberties attorney.

Despite the continual whispers of arrest during this peacefully conducted protest, and the stalking measures of NYPD after my rights were violated, success was finally achieved! The principal was not at the school the following year and the head of the district moved onto "greener pastures" as they say. Unfortunately I've heard that they moved on to other positions within the educational system where one can only hope some positive changes occurred in their performance and attitude. However, I tend to doubt it!

Since the Clinton neighborhood is the most sought after piece of real estate in the city and it is in the process of gentrification, many active groups in the neighborhood have battled the Giuliani administration in court as I did to protect it. One battle, which had a most disappointing conclusion, involved the installation of a McDonalds fast food
restaurant in the middle of a "Safe Corridor" developed to protect over 5,000 students in need of orderly routes of travel to and from a couple of high schools. A "hang out" along this route was disruptive to the peace and a potential hot spot for trouble. Since Clinton is defined as the Clinton Special District, the McDonald's restaurant could have
been stopped with a legal action had the attorney followed appropriate courses of action that were advised by me.

These are only some of the reasons I decided to run for the office of Public Advocate. Change can be accomplished more swiftly and broadly with the resources of concerned government offices connected directly to each distinct neighborhood. Unlike most government agencies, the Office of the Public Advocate is designed to respond to people and not the bureaucracy. In my role as Public Advocate, I pledge to tackle the problems that I discovered with the educational system of the City of New York as the number one watchdog.

The following section is a broad outline of issues to be addressed by the Office of the Public Advocate when I am elected. This section is broken into three parts - children, teachers and schools. It should be noted that each section only contains a portion of the many ills within the system. I hope to receive input from each of your involved in the educational system through this interactive site. Specific email addresses are provided for separate areas of concern regarding the educational system of the City of New York.

It is apparent that the NYC Board of Education has failed in it's responsibilities to educate the students of the city in a safe and educationally provoking environment.  More unfortunate is the fact that the Ed Stancik's Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigations has failed in being the watchdog of the system.

Over the course of two years I visited his office on more than one occasion to resolve problems at PS 111 because either the principal or District 2 did not want to solve them.  And because of the failure of his office to address the problems, people like myself have to get involved, which is absolutely outrageous in terms of taxpayer dollars and lack of holding people accountable for their failure to provide a a safe educational environment.. In the role of Public Advocate I will ensure that all problems that are reported to the Office of the Special Commissioner of Education are resolved in a timely manner.

If you are aware of a situation that has fallen on deaf ears regarding your school for too long, please contact me at Comments About the School System.

The following table contains links to descriptions of the three major areas to be addressed in the education system.  These links were also provided at the top of the page for your convenience.

The following table lists some of the issues that I've come across in my research.  They should prove valuable to parents and teachers alike.  If there are other websites that you are aware of and should be added to the list, please contact me at Education Websites.