MARK WEPRIN SPEAKS OUT ON SCHOOL TESTING
Left to right: Barbara Silberman, Queens UFT Special Representative for Salary and
Political Action; Mary Vaccaro, UFT District 26 Representative; Assemblymember
Mark S. Weprin; New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Karen Alford, UFT
Vice President of Elementary Schools
Parents and teachers joined Assemblymember Mark Weprin and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum
in front of a local school to speak out once again on the excessive emphasis on high-stakes
standardized tests and test preparation in our public schools. The press conference was prompted
by the news that the Department of Education plans to extend its standardized testing program to
students in grades K-2, a decision that will surely exacerbate the problem.
Assemblymember Weprin was simply alerting the public to what parents of school-age children
already know: Standardized tests have become a plague on the learning environment in schools.
Mr. Weprin is not opposed to using standardized tests to evaluate student achievement, but when
tests are about school administrators’ financial rewards, job security, and school ratings, students
end up learning how to bubble in the answer choices through canned test prep strategies. Children
are spending weeks doing practice tests and memorizing test strategies instead of learning.
WOMEN’S HOSPITAL GROUNDBREAKING
Assemblymember Weprin joined in breaking ground on Long Island Jewish Medical Center’s Katz
Women’s Hospital, to be housed in a new $300 million ten-story pavilion being built in front of the
existing hospital.
Left to right: Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, North Shore-LIJ President and CEO Michael
Dowling, Iris and Saul Katz, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Nassau County Executive Thomas
R. Suozzi, Assemblymember Mark S. Weprin
The Business Council of New York State named Assemblymember Mark Weprin as one
of its Legislative Champions. The designation recognizes state legislators who share the
Business Council’s mission to create economic growth, good jobs, and strong communities
across New York. Assemblymember Weprin is Chair of the Assembly Small Business
Committee and a leading advocate for business development in the state.
Principal Jennifer Ambert (left) welcomed Assemblymember Weprin (center) to P.S./I.S. 178Q,
The Holliswood School, for its Peace Day program. The students at 178 took part in the Pinwheels
for Peace project to make a public visual statement about peace, tolerance, cooperation, harmony
and unity. They planted their pinwheels in the ground outside the school so that the message of
peace would reach all who passed by.
At Public School 186Q, The Castlewood School, Assemblymember Weprin installed the officers of the
student government and presented them with New York State Assembly Certificates of Merit.
Assemblymember Weprin, Principal Dr. Dina Koski, and Assistant Principal Debra Gershman join
students from Public School 26Q, the Rufus King School, on stage as they show off traditional
costumes from countries across the globe. Mr. Weprin was at P.S. 26 to install the new student
government, and as part of the ceremony, students dressed in clothing that reflected their families’
countries of origin.
Public School 203Q, The Oakland Gardens School, has a new mascot, Oakley the Owl. Assemblymember
Weprin met Oakley when Principal Carole Nussbaum invited Mr. Weprin to install the student government officers.
At Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, Assemblymember Weprin spoke to the twelfth graders about this
year’s election, encouraging the students to register and vote.
Assemblymember Weprin (left) and Principal James Ambrose (right), Public School 115Q, the Glen
Oaks School, congratulate Gurbinder Kaur on her beautiful depiction of the bald eagle.
ADDRESSING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
Left to right: Assemblymember Vivian Cook, Speaker Sheldon Silver, Ways and Means
Chairman Herman D. Farrell, Jr., Assemblymember Aurelia Greene,
Assemblymember Mark Weprin
As a member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, Mark Weprin participated
in a hearing on the impact of the global financial crisis on the New York State economy.
The purpose of the hearing was to review the impact of the rapidly declining financial
markets and federal response to the crisis on New York State’s economy and to
discuss appropriate state responses.
SAMUEL FIELD Y
The Samuel Field Y’s Empire Club invited Mark Weprin to a meeting at which the topic of
discussion was Access-A-Ride, the MTA’s transportation service for disabled riders.
Assemblymember Weprin fought successfully to have Access-A-Ride service extend into
Nassau County.
Mr. Weprin also sponsored a free forum on Medicare Part D at the Samuel Field Y. Those
who attended heard a presentation about Medicare’s prescription drug coverage.
Assemblymember Weprin met with folk artist Harry Glaubach, a longtime resident
of New Hyde Park, Queens, who was recently profiled in the New York Daily News.
Mr. Glaubach has been crafting wooden relief sculptures of New York City
streetscapes and landmarks for over sixty years. The artist is famous for his
replicas of baseball stadiums, including one of Ebbets Field, which Mr. Weprin
displays in his district office.
Mr. Glaubach, who works in the basement of his home, has created forty sculptures
of Yankee and Shea Stadiums. He says that now that the stadiums are being replaced,
more people want his replicas, though he notes that a sculpture can never fully capture
the sights, sounds, and scents of a ballpark. Harry Glaubach sells his work at the
Greenwich Village Art Fair and similar venues.
Left to right: Assemblymember Mark S. Weprin, Friends of Cunningham Park Founding Chair
Martha Taylor, Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski, Councilmember James F. Gennaro,
Councilmember David I. Weprin, Friends of Cunningham Park President Marc A. Haken, Senator Frank Padavan
FRIENDS OF
CUNNINGHAM PARK
Friends of Cunningham Park (FOCP) is a not-for-profit organization that advocates on behalf
of Cunningham Park, sponsors events in the park, and raises money for park improvements
and equipment. Assemblymember Weprin, a longtime supporter of FOCP, was on hand for a
dedication ceremony at which the group celebrated the addition of several maintenance vehicles
to the park’s fleet.
Left to right: Councilmember Robert Jackson, Pine Court owner Dragon Deng,
Assemblymember-elect Grace Meng, Assemblymember Mark S. Weprin
NEW RESTAURANT IN
LITTLE NECK
Assemblymember Weprin participated in a ceremony to celebrate the opening of Pine
Court Chinese Bistro, located at 249-32 Horace Harding Expressway, Little Neck, New
York 11362. The restaurant is around the corner from the district office of Assemblymember
Weprin, who is Chair of the Assembly Small Business Committee.
