纽约抗议特殊高中改革废除SHSAT，国会议员孟昭文发申明

2018年6月7日，星期四

陌上美国
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最近纽约和全美华人都在关注有关纽约特殊高中(又称“天才”高中、重点高中等)招生政策变更相关的新闻。

6月3日，市长白思豪出台了改革八所特殊高中入学招生方式的政策，旨在3年内废除以SHSAT（特殊高中招生考试）为基础的现有方法。在没有经过任何公听的情况下，市教育委员会就市长的计划以16：12的投票结果同意废除。

来自http://www.ny1.com

纽约当地华人反应强烈，次日就发起了小规模集会抗议。又快速通过微信和各种渠道集合，计划于6月10日发起一场亚裔为主的游行抗议聚会。

今早，看到国会议员Grace Meng(孟昭文)通过推特公布了就此事的申明。

申明全文可以从孟昭文议员的官方网站获取，版权属于孟昭文议员官网。

来自于孟昭文议员的官网

中文翻译

美国国会众议员Grace Meng（D-Queens）今天发布了关于市长计划改变纽约市特殊高中入学程序的声明。

“教育委员会联盟就市长计划的投票结果令人失望。
作为纽约市一所特殊高中（Stuyvesant High School）的毕业生，我对市长对特殊高中招生提出的巨大变化感到失望。
我们城市的很多中小学生都处于越来越退步的教育中。作为母亲，我的两个孩子在纽约市公立学校就读，我亲眼目睹了这些问题。市长的决策，不仅没有直面真正的问题，反而是对纽约市学校严酷现实的真正所需关注点的转移。这不仅错误而且短视。
作为民选官员，我也对市长和局长未能提前召开会议，邀请包括纽约市AAPI(注：AAPI是一个亚裔和太平洋岛国移民组成的大组织)在内的所有利益攸关方，就做出投票的仓促行为感到失望。他们发布了一项实则将破坏纽约市最成功高中运作方式的提案。最受影响的社群没有机会参与这些讨论，甚至他们还被动地陷入相互争论，(市长)这种做法是一种毫无领导力的体现。
我也对局长就“一个特定的族裔拥有特殊高中入学权”的评论提出质疑。我感觉受到侮辱，而且这种评论是错误的。亚裔美国人不是通过独霸的方式去拥有这些学校的入学资格的。
我同意市长的意见，即市内特殊高中的多元化需要改善。但是必须让来自各个不同背景的社区领导和民选官员的声音被表达并听到。我呼吁市长和校长在今后改革特殊高中招生有关的活动中，与AAPI社区保持沟通互动。并呼吁大会做正确的事情，阻止A.10427a的通过。将AAPI社区完全排除在讨论之外是不尊重和错误的。
市长本来可以选择创建更多的特殊高中来满足需求，他可以通过向在Albany的州府申请给纽约市的每个小学，中学和高中提供更多的资源。或者他可以选择去解决更深层次的系统性问题，即在我们的城市存在的各群体居住上的自然隔离及造成的相应(教育资源分配上的)问题。市长没有从这些角度入手，却是去推动八所表现良好的学校改变招生方式的立法，这并不是一项经过深思熟虑后的政策建议；这种做法带来了一个让人震惊的新闻头条。“

英文全文

QUEENS, NY – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) today issued the following statement on the mayor’s plan to change the admissions process for New York City’s specialized high schools.

“The Assembly Education Committee’s vote that advances the mayor’s plan is disappointing.
As the graduate of a New York City specialized high school (Stuyvesant High School), I was disappointed by the drastic changes the mayor proposed to specialized high school admissions.
Far too many of our City’s elementary and middle school students are being left behind. As the mother of two young children who attend New York City public schools, I have witnessed these problems firsthand. The mayor’s decision to distract from the harsh realities of the New York City school system by proposing these changes is not only wrong, it is shortsighted.
As an elected official, I am also disappointed that the mayor and chancellor failed to convene a meeting of all relevant stakeholders, including the City’s AAPI elected officials, before they unveiled a proposal that seeks to dismantle how the City’s most successful high schools operate. To exclude impacted communities from such discussions, or to pit them against one another, is not leadership.
I also take issue with reported comments made by the chancellor about one ethnic group owning admission to specialized high schools. I am insulted, and these comments are false. Asian Americans aren’t trying to own admission to these schools.
I agree with the mayor that diversity at the City’s specialized high schools needs to improve. But community leaders and elected officials from ALL backgrounds must have their voices heard. I call on the mayor and the chancellor to engage the AAPI community in any future effort to overhaul specialized high school admissions processes, and I call on the Assembly to do what is right and block A. 10427a from passage. Keeping the AAPI community completely left out of the discussion is disrespectful and wrong.
The mayor could have chosen to pursue the creation of additional specialized high schools to meet demand, he could have requested more resources from Albany for every single New York City elementary, middle, and high school, or he could have chosen to address the broader systemic segregation in our City. Instead of focusing on comprehensive reform in one effort, the mayor’s legislative push concerning how eight well-performing schools operate isn’t a serious policy proposal; it’s a headline.”