Date: Thu, 26 Jan 1995 12:20:13 -0500 (EST) From: David Casti Subject: ACTION ALERT: New York Multicultural Education Submitted by: Emily Rizzo SAVE MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION Board of Education President Carol Gresser (Queens) has introduced two resolutions to gut the effort to make education in the New York City Public Schools more multicultural. Her resolutions would limit the score of multicultural reform to dealing with differences based only on "race, ethnicity, and linguistic group," excluding the categories of religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability which are INCLUDED in the 1989 Multicultural Education Resolution. the resolutions also view multiculturalism in its more narrow sense (e.g., achievements by famous members of "minority" groups), ignoring all current scholarship in the field about dealing with the whole school environment. These resolutions come before the Board of February 15 at 6 PM. to testify, call 718-935- 3294 by February 14. Among the groups opposing the resolutions are the Anti-Defamation League, Advocates for Children, the African-American Group for Equity Education, the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, and the Chancellor's own Multicultural Advisory Board as well as Chancellor Ramon Cortines himself. Those interested in organizing against the resolutions can come to Advocates for Youth (24-16 Bridge Plaza So. - #7 or N to Queensborough Plaza) on February 6 at 3:30. It is critical that we write our Board Members -- and the Borough Presidents and Mayor who appointed them -- and oppose these resolutions. Here are the Board Members with the name of the person who appointed them and their stand on this issue. We want them to note NO on these resolutions. BOARD MEMBER BORO PRES. OR MAYOR POSITION Luis Ryes, Manhattan Ruth Messinger(D) SURE NO Sandra Lerner, Bronx Fernando Ferrer (D) PROBABLE NO Carol Gresser, Queens Claire Shulman (D) SPONSOR - YES William Thompson, Bklyn. Howard Golden (D) LEANS NO Louis Desario, Staten I. Guy Molinari (R) UNCOMMITTED - SWING Irene Impellizzeri, at-large Rudolph Giuliani (R) SURE YES Ninga Segarra-Velez, at-large Rudolph Giuliani (R) PROBABLE YES - SWING All Board members can be written to at the Board of Education, 110 Livington St., Brooklyn, N Y 11202 or called at (718)935-2000. The Mayor cal be written to at City Hall, New York, N.Y. 10007. The five Borough Presidents can be written to at their respective Borough Halls (consult your borough phone directory blue pages for address). For more info., call 212-674-2600 x252. STRATEGY - SWING VOTES Our biggest hope for defeating these resolutions lies in shoring up our no votes (Reyes, Lerner, and Thompson) and in getting one more vote. We can try for Desario, who had a good record as a Staten Island school superintendent on multicultural issues, and Ninfa Segarra-Velez who is also a Deputy Mayor and is directly answerable to the Mayor. If we can convince Giuliani to oppose these resolutions -- at least behind the scenes --Segarra-Velez will note his way. If you only write two letters, then one should be to the May re Segerra-Velez's vote and the other to Desario. We should also let Queens Borough President Claire Shulman know that we opposewhat her representative (Gresser) is doing. A sample letter might read: "I am appalled by the resolutions introduced by Board of Education President Carol Gresser to weaken efforts to make education in the City schools more multicultural and to exclude dealing with diversity based on religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability. We are a very diverse City and students should be helped to understand deal with all human diversity. If New York's students are to grow up to compete in the global economy and to work with the diversity right here in New York City, they need to have their minds opened wider. I urge you to oppose these regressive and divisive resolutions."