Power of Ten Update
Special Edition: Assessment Reports of East Ramapo
In this special edition, Power of Ten shares with you three new independent assessments of the East Ramapo school district. Taken together, these three reports constitute a damning verdict on the failed policies of the NY State Education Department (NYSED) to protect East Ramapo children’s constitutional right to a sound basic education.
1. Not Making the Grade: New York’s Jim Crow School District
2. East Ramapo Ambassadors Youth Lobby Day Speech
3. School budget cuts and academic performance: The case of the East Ramapo Central School District
1) Not Making the Grade: New York’s Jim Crow School District
This report is produced by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), a major organization dedicated to defending everyone’s constitutional rights. They conclude that educational outcomes in East Ramapo are far worse than other Rockland districts. They recognize that a situation in which a white majority controls essential public services for a community of color, in a hyper-segregated setting, can only be described as what it is: “Jim Crow”.
Please access this report here: https://www.nyclu.org/en/campaigns/not-making-grade-new-yorks-jim-crow-school-district
2) East Ramapo Ambassadors Youth Lobby Day Speech
This report was presented by East Ramapo students to lawmakers in Albany. The students report on terrible conditions of overcrowding, and violations of the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). It must be noted that the overcrowding is a direct result of the white school board majority converting two public school buildings into private all white institutions, and that the NY State Education Department has not taken any steps to replace this loss of classroom space.
Read the students powerful speech here: East Ramapo Ambassadors Youth Lobby Day Speech
3) School budget cuts and academic performance: The case of the East Ramapo Central School District
This is a Public Policy Senior Thesis by Duke University Student Mona Tong. It includes a detailed history and analysis of the district’s educational and financial issues, as well as the socioeconomic issues of the community. This is the most complete and detailed analysis of the district ever done. It should be required reading for every policy maker.
Read it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LKyLQY_B-6ZLGyPCTg1A74fIwkPPEoGZ/view