Classrooms to have a/c by 2022

Mayor Bill de Blasio and schools chancellor Carmen Fariña said they have allocated $28.8 million over the next five years to purchase and install air conditioning units in all New York City public school classrooms.

According to data released by the administration, 11,500 classrooms — that’s 26 percent of all classrooms — across the city don’t have functioning units. The funding will provide air conditioning to more than 2,000 additional rooms in the first year of the program alone.

Ed department to hold ESSA public hearings
The state education department has released a new draft plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act.

ESSA provides federal funds to improve elementary and secondary education to schools. It requires states and school districts take measures to ensure all children — regardless of gender, disability, primary language or socioeconomic status — receive the tools they need for academic success and postsecondary education preparation, said MaryEllen Elia, New York’s education commissioner, in the draft of the ESSA plan.

Some of the items include expanding measures to assist low-performing schools, opportunities for experienced teachers to grow their skills, and ways for more English language learners/multilingual learners to gain more proficiency, according to the plan’s summary.

The education department will hold a hearing in and around the city May 20 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Lincoln High School in Yonkers on June 5 at 6 to 8 p.m., to get public input on its proposals.