Happy Friday to all! This week, there is a lot happening in New York in relation to early childhood education news! The articles below cover our top picks for the most important reads for this week. Happy read!
The city has signed up 51,600 children for pre-kindergarten programs, meeting the total enrollment for the 2014-15 school year and about three-quarters of the way to the de Blasio administration’s goal of enrolling 70,000 kids for the fall.
Tougher new teacher certification exams have raised concerns for the judge assigned to 1996 discrimination lawsuit brought by minority teachers alleging bias in old exams.
The judge's concerns come weeks after Chalkbeat reported data showing disparate gaps in the passing rates between white teacher candidates and their black and Hispanic peers.
The city plans to use AmeriCorps service members as mentors in nearly 130 schools, including 94 schools part of the de Blasio administration's Renewal Schools initiative.
As the city looks to expand its full-day pre-kindergarten offerings for a second straight year, some parents want their half-day options back, saying the six-plus hours is too long.
Responding to complaints from some parents who believe full-day prekindergarten is too exhausting for four-year-olds, Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his signature program Wednesday, saying children "need full-day.”
