Today, State Senator Adriano Espaillat unveiled a new policy paper, putting forward his priorities for federal investment in local schools. Senator Espaillat has already released policy proposals outlining his ideas to prevent displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods, address the epidemic of gun violence, and reduce the exploding costs of child care.
Senator Espaillat has led the race in putting forward specific policy ideas to address the biggest issues of the day. No other campaign in the race has put forward detailed policy papers to solve problems impacting residents in the 13th District.
Espaillat’s latest policy paper, Opportunity for All: Tapping the Potential of Every Child, lays out his vision for supporting education at the federal level, which includes an expansion of foreign language learning, access to AP and technology courses, and support for afterschool programs.
In the Legislature, Espaillat spearheaded the Ladder program, which allocated funding for school construction to the tune of $300 million dollars, creating 16 new schools in the 13th District, and helped fight overcrowding in our classrooms. Espaillat also filed an Amicus Brief on behalf of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity and has been an outspoken voice for New York City schools to receive full and fair funding. Espaillat was a vocal supporter of universal pre-k when it was debated and ultimately enacted in 2014. The program now serves almost 70,000 New York City children.
“To build a strong foundation for our future, we need a quality public education system that taps the potential of every child,” said Senator Adriano Espaillat. “Every parent who wants to send their child to a dual language program should have that option, every student who is capable should be able to enroll in AP courses, and to prepare all of our children for the jobs of the future, they need to receive a dedicated national curriculum on technology. To do this, not only is more investment required but bolder thinking. In Congress, I will provide that leadership to expand access to opportunity to every child.”
In Congress, Senator Espaillat will fight for a series of reforms to help local schools.
- Increase federal funding for innovative dual language programs, and support initiatives like the Bilingual Family Literacy Breakfast Program: Our world is more interconnected than ever before, and this trend will only continue. Teaching our young students another language at an early age will catalyze cognitive development and promote academic achievement. But today, most public school students in New York City receive no foreign language instruction until high school, when it becomes exponentially more difficult to develop language proficiency. Congress must make bold investments toward a multilingual future and create a language learning system for the 21st Century that serves our children from an early age.
- National Curriculum on Technology: A fully implemented national curriculum on technology would help harness the full potential of the digital revolution. In order to prepare our children for the jobs of the future, they need to receive instruction in coding, robotics, virtualization, and all science applications.
- Expand AP courses through the federal Advanced Placement Incentive Program grant: This grant increases the participation of low-income students in pre-AP and AP courses and tests. Grants can be awarded to local school districts or to nonprofit organizations in the community to make AP courses more accessible, particularly to students of color. In order to unleash the full academic talent of our young students, they must have the opportunity to showcase their skills.
- Title I Schools: Title I schools should be allowed to extend after school programs to 6pm and provide our students with additional opportunities and resources to succeed.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
It does not take an election for congress for a State Senator to say what he will do to improve a lacking educational system. Why has this not been already proposed by this State Senator in Albany?
Yes I know it is federal monies, but it could have been applied for all these years, and Senator Espaillat ran two times before for this congressional seat. Why all of a sudden in this election does he say it?
Where was he the two previous elections - SILENT?
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