Testimony of Randi Weingarten before NYC Council Commitees on Education and General Welfare

Nov 13, 2008 10:07 AM

Good morning Chairman deBlasio, Chairman Jackson and distinguished members of these two committees. My name is Michael Mulgrew and I am the Vice President of Career and Technical High Schools for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).

As evidenced in the recent report by the Center for New York City Affairs, there is a crisis of chronic absenteeism in all too many of our public schools. That absenteeism is a major problem that drastically limits a child’s opportunities to learn. On behalf of New York City teachers, I want to thank you for holding this hearing on this important issue.

New York City educators have always known that there were individual schools beset by extensive student absenteeism. But until the publication of the “Strengthening Schools by Strengthening Families” report authored by the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs, most people had no idea how widespread this problem was in the lower grades. It was a problem that teachers, but few others, were talking about.

That was then; This is now.

Using the DoE’s own data, “Strengthening Schools” demonstrates that chronic absenteeism has reached epidemic proportions, especially in those schools serving communities of high economic need. The lead finding of this study – that more than 90,000 children in grades K through 5 had missed at least a month of school last year – must be a clarion call for action. Absenteeism during those formative years often leads to bigger problems in middle school and high school, and is a precursor of dropping out.

Chronic absenteeism is one of the strongest predictors of academic failure, and it is symptomatic of larger issues at play in a child’s life. Some common personal or health-related reasons include chronic illness, caring for siblings or learning difficulties. Socio-economic factors can include a lack of transportation or proper clothing, language barriers, extended family travel, sometimes to countries from which families have emigrated, or deeper problems within the home. There can be school-related factors as well, such as harassment and bullying.

While the causes may differ, however, the net affects of chronic absenteeism are very clear: children begin to see gaps in their learning and as a result become more frustrated with school and more likely to drop out. They also become socially isolated and insecure, and more likely to exhibit bad behavior, or worse.

 

This is a challenging and complex issue, and a “business as usual” approach is not going to properly address it. As illustrated in the Center for New York City Affairs report, there is clearly much more work that can be done, and the DoE’s answer cannot simply be to say this is one more obligation a principal must fulfill. A workable solution is going to require collaboration between the city and the community to make sure that proper services and supports are available to every school and every student that needs access to them. Needs and resources must be aligned.

I also want to note that chronic absenteeism is likely to get worse in a faltering economy as families become destabilized and are forced to face many challenges, including problems with housing, job security and child care. We are very concerned about the safety net services that families depend on in. That safety net, which the ONE NY coalition is fighting so hard to preserve, is in many ways the only thing keeping some families afloat during these tough economic times.

The organizations that provide safety net services are in an exceptional position to help tackle the absenteeism problem. That’s why this is the time for a collaboration and partnership between the community and the city to make sure those services and supports get to students and families who need them. In this effort, we need to employ every possible resource. We need a new level of coordination among city and state agencies, and we also need to involve other groups and organizations,  as the New School report states. Only by strengthening communities will we strengthen schools. Perhaps nowhere is the logic of UFT and AFT president Randi Weingarten’s call for the creation of ‘community schools’ which bring wraparound services such as health care programs to students and their families, more compelling than in this instance.

The UFT is in the process of organizing a summit on absenteeism in hopes that working with educators and elected officials, various community groups, advocates, unions and city agencies, we can develop strategies that will address the issue with the urgency it deserves. The conversation can begin right where the New School report left off, by discussing how to establish closer relationships between schools and community organizations that both strengthen families and improve student achievement. Attendance is higher in schools where parents and communities are actively engaged. It’s been suggested by the New School and others that our efforts should first focus on the early grades, when going to school is especially critical and habits are established. We agree. We will talk more about this summit in the weeks ahead.

As we delve deeper into this topic and search for solutions, it’s important to understand what’s being done at a school level and what obstacles our personnel are experiencing. I want to introduce you to the three experts who are here with me today. Each of them will tell you a little about what they do and how their roles fit into today’s topic.

Ann Englesbe is head of our Social Workers & Psychologists chapter; Angela Reformato is head of our Guidance Counselors chapter; and Steve Grossman heads our Attendance Teachers chapter.

 

 

 

 

SOCIAL WORKERS

Good morning. My name is Ann Englesbe, and as Michael said, I head our chapter of Social Workers & Psychologists.

There are currently 1560 social workers and 1295 psychologists in our schools, and I want to stress that they are a very talented, highly-qualified group who play an important role in the lives of children.

Social workers and psychologists are in schools to help children cope with and actively address their social and psychological problems by targeting behavioral and mental health issues. Their work includes counseling, crisis intervention, conflict resolution and anger management, as well as developing programs or facilitating services. They will directly intervene with students and their families if there are at-risk issues.

Our work can be daunting. For example, some of our chapter members work exclusively with at-risk children and those that need Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), while others work with pregnant teens.

It’s important to note, however, that we serve ALL children. Some of our chapter members work with pre-k programs, for example.

We try to understand what is triggering the attendance problem and work with the student, their family and school staff to help resolve the issue. You never know what you are going to find when you investigate the situation. I dealt with a case recently where a girl was staying home regularly because her mother had seizures, and she was afraid to leave her alone in the house. Another case I dealt with recently involved a mentally ill child who had not been treated properly. It can really run the gamut – from bullying to child abuse to dealing with the death of a sibling or parent.

We are trained to probe and investigate these issues, to work with teachers, and then to work with children once we’ve done that legwork.

 

GUIDANCE COUNSELORS

Good morning. My name is Angela Reformato, and I am the chapter leader for Guidance Counselors.

 

There are currently 3150 guidance counselors in NYC schools. To build on what Ann was saying, you just never know what types of issues children are dealing with. One of my recent cases had to do with a girl who had signed up for the military, but then thought better of it. She stopped coming to school regularly because she realized that if she failed out, she wouldn’t have to go.

Like social workers, guidance counselors have extensive training. Many people view the primary role of guidance counselors as having to steer students through the college application process. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in many respects.

We help students navigate through their school years and provide support and counseling for their academic needs and life choices. In elementary schools, we work to anticipate issues that may become obstacles in a child’s life and then prevent those problems from happening. In secondary schools, students go through the many emotional and physical changes that require special attention from guidance counselors. In high school, we help prepare them for adult life by guiding them in course selection and activities that will help them prepare for their future. Along the way, guidance counselors also meet with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to discuss important issues.

We also spend a lot of time doing IEP counseling because we are among the few that can do that sort of work.

There is at least one guidance counselor at each secondary school and each student is supposed to have a yearly guidance meeting. Elementary schools are unfortunately not staffed properly. Some elementary schools have full or part-time guidance counselors, but some do not. Even where there are guidance counselors, caseloads far exceed state guidelines, often by double, and a lot of that is a function of budgets.

 

ATTENDANCE TEACHERS

Good morning. My name is Steve Grossman, and I am the chapter leader for Attendance Teachers.

Over 100 years ago, the pioneering New York State Legislature led the nation by writing some of the first child protective legislation. These laws took the form of Compulsory Education laws and other statutes designed to end the exploitation of child labor. It was at this progressive juncture in time that the mission of Attendance Teachers was joined. The New York State Education Department requires Attendance teachers to have a Masters Degree in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling, as well as hundreds of hours of experience to be licensed.

Today there are almost 1.1 million students in New York City Public Schools and less than 400 Attendance Teachers to serve them (as well as children in state, private, and parochial schools). Many of these students are immigrants, impoverished, transitory, with all of the endemic ills of the poor. Attendance Teachers cover up to 20 schools scattered all over a borough, which is a vast improvement over last year's modality. Some Attendance Teachers are assigned to one large High School.

Beyond mere risk factors for eventual academic and economic success, absenteeism in the early grades can be an indicator of outright harm or abuse. Every day Attendance Teachers make a difference in the lives of children in this city. There is no way to quantify how many children have been saved from harm by the timely intervention of an Attendance Teacher–a trained professional, knocking at the door of an absent student. It is all too often a wake-up call to a parent. When Attendance Teachers meet they often discuss strategies to improve student outcomes. Despite inadequate facilities we remain committed to getting the job done.

When I was last here we discussed aspects of the horrific Nixmary Brown case. With adequate staffing our interventions can be faster and more sustained. Everyone likes special plans, projects, or programs. Adequate staffing amounts to more feet on the street doing the very tedious and unglamorous, labor intensive casework. Case by case on an individual basis. There is no substitute for this. A computer program does not intervene with children, a robocaller does not return a kid to school, a fancy program does not identify the basic needs a family might lack to enable a child to return to school.

With the continuous unfolding of more dismal economic news every day, it is apparent that there will be more and more stressed-out adults in this city. This type of environment can lead to some disastrous situations for our youngest students. This is a real concern that we hope will be taken seriously and will lead to some ameliorative hiring.

 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I want to thank Ann, Angela and Steve for coming and again thank the Council for holding this hearing. If we all work together, we can make a difference on this issue.

 

 

 

 

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