You are reading

DOE Faces Backlash for Not Releasing School Enrollment and Attendance Numbers

First-grade students at P.S. 377 in Ozone Park (Ed Reed /Mayoral Photography Office)

Oct. 8, 2021 By Allie Griffin

The New York City Department of Education is facing backlash for not releasing public school enrollment and attendance numbers for the school year thus far.

City Council members along with the head of the city’s powerful teachers union criticized the DOE for what they say is a lack of transparency at a council education committee hearing Wednesday.

United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said he believes the city has the data but has not released the numbers because the DOE is hiding the high levels of students missing class.

He estimated that as many as 180,000 public school children have been out of school this year, according to the New York Post.

“They know how many kids didn’t show up… They are hiding this,” Mulgrew said.

Chair of the Council’s Education Committee Mark Treyger also questioned DOE officials as to why they have not released any raw attendance numbers.

“It is unfathomable to me — and insulting to this committee and to the public — that they will not share the attendance data and information,” he said, according to the Post.

The DOE has posted daily attendance records by the percentage of students in class, but it has not provided the number of students attending class versus the number missing class.

Treyger said the lack of information is creating distrust of the system among parents.

“This should be basic. This should not be controversial,” he said. “The fact that we don’t share how many kids are enrolled in our school system right now is unacceptable to me and, quite frankly, further erodes trust with the public.”

A DOE spokesperson directed a reporter to the attendance percentages when asked to provide the attendance numbers. The spokesperson added that the enrollment numbers will be released at a later date.

The Post reported that the DOE said the figures won’t be finalized until the end of the month.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Ridgewood mother and daughter arrested for attacking woman over parking spot: NYPD

A Ridgewood mother and daughter were arrested Monday after they ambushed a young Black woman who tried to park her car in a spot in front of their apartment building that they frequently cordon off with garbage cans and traffic cones.

A family friend was standing at the northeast corner of Onderdonk Avenue and Putnam Avenue at around 7:30 p.m. when the 21-year-old Jada McPherson tried to park her car in the spot. The man placed a garbage can in her way. She drove off and circled the block multiple times. She tried to pull into the same spot one more time, but the man tried to stop her again. McPherson got out of her car to confront him, and an argument ensued.

Man in his 50s sought for exposing himself to 13-year-old on E train in Forest Hills: NYPD

Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and Transit District 20 are looking for a suspect who allegedly flashed a 13-year-old girl on a Queens subway train last month.

The victim was riding a southbound E train approaching the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station at around 1 p.m. on Monday, June 30, when she saw a stranger exposing himself to her, police said Wednesday. The perpetrator ran off the train at the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station and fled in an unknown direction. The youngster was not injured during her encounter with the stranger.