Meeks on EducationPart II- A Message to Parents

In last weeks article, I expressed my feelings about education and the important role it plays in our childrens lives. Throughout the article, I touched on educational issues that will be addressed in articles to come. Today, I honor that commitment and address K-12 education.

As many of you will agree, education in our community is not what it should be. We have far too many of our students not learning what they need in order to compete in society. I know that in order to improve todays sad state of affairs, we must try to improve education in many ways- specifically through the involvement of parents.

Parents, please allow me to paint a picture of the dismal education we promise our students. Below entails just a few things I know about education:
There are more than 47 million children in public school this year- a record high.
While the number of students increase, more than 2 million good teachers will retire.
New York is currently cutting education costs in order to balance its budget. New York alone has loss a significant amount in funding compared to the amount promised by federal education legislation. New York State has taken a hit of over $952,791,054 in educational funding.

This picture I paint is not one of estimates, approximations, or worse case scenarios. It is the truth. The above points I have made just scratch the surface. I am not close to describing the unwelcoming schools our students will enter come September 8th. What I want every one of you to do is replay this picture over and over again in your head and tell me what role you can, want, and will play in the upcoming school year.

I leave you with one more thought. One man alone cannot change the destiny of a community, but a community as a whole can change the destiny of not just one man, but the entire community and all those who become associated with it. Let us be that community.

Should you need to contact me on this issue or any other, please do so at 718.949.5600.