Children for Children Supports the Continuation of Mayoral Control of the New York City Public School System

NEW YORK, NY (06/30/2009)(readMedia)-- This report reviews the New York City education budget and changes in public school policies beginning with the 1998-99 school

Children for Children, an organization that gives young people the skills they need to become leaders in their communities, urges the New York State Legislature to renew mayoral control of New York City schools and keep moving schools forward.

Maggie Jones, executive director, explains, "We must do everything we can to protect and continue the overwhelming progress that has been made during the past several years. Keeping Mayoral control of NYC public schools is what is best for NYC youth." Jones insists that the improvement in the New York City public school system over the past few years is a credit to mayoral control. A return to the old system would mean a reversal of this progress and would bring NYC schools not only to a standstill but into a state of chaos.

Children for Children (CFC), is a New York City non-profit organization that provides students with meaningful opportunities to impact their communities through service. Since 1996, CFC has mobilized young people, beginning at an early age, to discover their power and lasting potential to solve real world problems through volunteering and service-learning. CFC promotes service as a critical component of every child's education and that in addition to providing measurable outcomes, such as greater academic engagement, increased critical thinking skills and reduction in risky behaviors, it instills in youth a powerful sense of self-worth, self-discipline, leadership and civic responsibility.

The foundation of CFC's growth has been school-based service-learning programs and community-based volunteer opportunities, which now engage more than 100,000 young New Yorkers each year, over 90% of whom qualify for the federal free-lunch program. Through partnerships with countless New York City principals and teachers, CFC cultivates in the city's youngest residents a sense of responsibility for the world around them.

Children for Children stands behind the Mayor and his message that the progress we've made since the legislature first voted to give the city control of the school system has been dramatic by any measure. As a steward of educational progress for the city's youth, Children for Children believes that we must continue to champion mayoral control, strengthening a system of true supports for schools.