In the last days of the legislative session, I became very concerned about the so-called "Alternative Assessment" Bill, which would have allowed certain schools to use alternative assessments to replace three of the five Regents exams needed to meet state high school graduation requirements. I adamantly opposed this legislation, and am pleased to report that it did not become law.

This legislation perpetuates the notion that some children need a lower standard of measurement in order to succeed. The moment we accept this proposal is the moment at which we decide that our children are inherently inferior to other children. It’s the moment we accept the notion that our children can’t do what other children can: can’t learn, can’t achieve, can’t succeed.

I refuse to accept such a philosophy. Children of color who are currently lagging behind their counterparts are fully capable of achieving the same standards. They need to be challenged and nurtured. They need better schools, better teachers, better resources. What they don’t need is an "alternative assessment." They have had "alternative assessments" all their lives, and they haven’t worked. Too many children have already slipped through the system without enough education to succeed in college or the world. Allowing them to graduate without meeting rigorous standards is truly a disservice to them and to our communities.

Furthermore, as a legislative body, it is not our job to create assessments for city school children. That is clearly within the purview of the Board of Regents. For us to legislate such a thing would be both insulting and counter-productive, and would lead us down a slippery slope towards increased legislative involvement in the Regents’ domain.

Our children deserve the very best. We cannot encourage or abide a two-tier system which creates a lower expectation of success.

This Fall, Assemblywoman Clark spent the season visiting several schools throughout her district as part of the National State Legislature’s "Back to School" Program. The program is an opportunity for students to meet elected officials face-to-face, engaging them in a question and answer session to learn more about the legislative process. The Assemblywoman is a strong believer in the concept that making young people aware of the legislative process now will foster both active community involvement and good citizenry in the future. "Year after year, I continue to be pleased with the response and interest of the students," Clark said. "The curiosity and eagerness they display is particularly encouraging. My message to the students is always: even though you are not old enough to vote, you can still have a voice in the legislative process. The young people enjoy getting direct answers to some of their most pressing questions, and popular misconceptions."

On one such visit at Renaissance Intermediate School 192, Member Clark had the opportunity to stay the whole day as students, parents and staff celebrated their participation in the Reality Check Youth Action Partners Program sponsored by New York State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control and Prevention. The Program engages young people in exposing the manipulative and deceptive marketing practices of the tobacco industry. Led by Principal Harriet Diaz, I.S. 192 is the first school in the borough of Queens to sign a Tobacco Free Advertising Arrangement Resolution and Smoke Free Movies Resolution. The school celebrated Principal Diaz for her leadership in signing both agreements, which commits the school to no longer accepting any forms of media, be it in print or film, that advertise tobacco use.

On Double Duty (below): The Assemblywoman answers a young man’s question as his schoolmates look on at the Merrick Academy while visiting for the "Back to School" Program and acting as "Principal for a Day."

A Welcome Reality Check: Member Clark (far left) greets Principal Diaz (fifth from left), Reality Check Youth Action Partners, faculty and staff as they celebrate Principal Diaz’s Resolution signing. (Photo Courtesy of Juliet Kaye)

In order to provide desperately needed funding for extracurricular athletics in the city’s public schools, I introduced legislation which would provide for a 3% assessment on admission tickets for professional sporting events held in New York City.

Unfortunately, lack of adequate funding has dramatically affected the quality and quantity of extracurricular athletic activities offered through New York City’s public schools. Uniforms and equipment are old and worn. Safety padding is often patched together, providing inadequate protection. Facilities are outdated and insufficient. Seasons are short and fewer games are played. Start-up costs are often prohibitive. These deficiencies have a tremendous impact on the ability of the City’s public schools to operate effective extracurricular athletic programs. As a result, students miss out on the valuable benefits of participation in the short run, and are not competitive for college athletic scholarships in the long run.

Being involved in a school athletic team or a related activity is an invaluable part of many children’s developmental experience. The value goes beyond athletic training, and includes camaraderie, socialization and holistic development which are vital to a child’s confidence and growth. Athletics provide a sense of belonging and team spirit. Children benefit from the involvement and oversight of additional adults in their lives including coaches, team doctors, and interested parents. Furthermore, extracurricular athletics provide a means for much-needed exercise in an era where the dangers of childhood obesity are of increasing concern.

This legislation seeks to remedy this situation by providing an additional funding source for New York City public school athletic teams and their supporting entities such as marching bands, cheerleaders, and booster clubs. By requiring that every vendor holding a professional sporting event in New York City remit an assessment of 3% of the purchase price of each admission ticket into the general fund for distribution to the NYC Board of Education for the purpose of providing increased funds to implement and maintain public high school athletics, the public schools will be able to more adequately operate these valuable activities. I am working hard to make this proposal a reality, and am hopeful that the bill can be quickly adopted into law when the Legislature reconvenes.

Along with a bevy of notables, my four children are distinguished graduates of Andrew Jackson High School. To the probable chagrin of a few school officials, my involvement did not graduate with my children. In the preceding thirty years, the only other institution that might rival what is now Campus Magnet’s claim on my time and interests is the institution of marriage. About eleven years ago, one of my protracted Andrew Jackson struggles resulted in this large high school being broken up into four smaller high schools occupying the same physical location. My thoughts then were that the school was failing because it had become too large, and too impersonal.

At the time, this revolutionary change was largely "pooh-poohed" by the educational establishment. Now, that very same establishment is touting its new "Revolutionary Small-High-School Initiative" as the greatest educational innovation since chalk boards and chalk. At the Andrew Jackson Campus Schools, we are starving for Department of Education recognition or at least a little pioneering acknowledgement. At any rate, to the Department of Education, "Welcome Aboard!"

In the last newsletter’s "Questionaire Results," many of you said that Education, regardless of parental/guardian status, was of high priority. As stated, I was pleased by this response and now offer an opportunity to my constituency to take an active part in the process of educational development. The Andrew Jackson Campus Magnet High Schools Steering Committee is currently accepting interested and dedicated individuals to become members. The committee acts as a growth, development and supporting arm of the institution. Meetings are held every third Thursday of the month at 3pm. For more information, please feel free to call my office at (718) 479-2333.

Historically, for-profit enterprises have not been allowed to use words such as "school," "university," or "museum" in their names so that individuals would not be confused about the nature of these organizations. However, on numerous occasions in the past few years, profit-making groups have begun using such names, often deceiving the public into believing they were charitable or educational causes.

Concerned about this trend, I introduced legislation aimed at making it illegal for an entity to deceive the public by organizing itself as a for-profit venture using words that are commonly understood to express a cultural or educational mission. This bill was recently signed into law, and takes effect January 1, 2006.

Cultural institutions face great challenges in raising funds to support their educational purposes because they are reliant on the generosity of the public. To allow profit-making enterprises to exploit the goodwill created by this State’s bona fide cultural institutions by hijacking the very words that have helped create, and now reflect, that goodwill, is unfair to the cultural institutions forced to compete for public dollars with those enterprises.

Technical Skills Training Center Expands

After a very successful inaugural year operating its computer lab, Community Care Development, Inc. plans to expand its Technical Skills Training Center. Qualified applicants are being sought for free GED, English As A Second Language (ESL) and A-plus Certification classes. Applicants must be 21 years of age or older, and for A-plus classes, must have at least a GED/High School Diploma. Applications are available at Community Care Development, Inc., 97-11 Springfield Blvd, Queens Village, NY, (718) 465-5062.

Instructor Jacob Brickman proudly looks on as Computer Class participant Willis Crossland is congratulated at the graduation by Assemblywoman Clark.

The Queens Hospital Center Auxiliary, Inc. was recently greeted with some exciting news from Assemblywoman Clark on the occasion of their luncheon. Member Clark announced that she had requested a grant of one million dollars from the State Legislature to be used for the purchase of a PET Scanner to help improve the level of breast cancer services to the community. "This is a needed service and tool to make sure that our community has equal access to the most up to date technology for accurate breast cancer detection. Queens Hospital Center has provided wonderful services to the constituents of my community, and this is a way to insure that those services continue to be of high caliber."

The PET (Positron Emmission Tomography) Scan (also referred to as PET imaging) is a diagnostic examination done by a series of images taken from the emissions of small particles administered to the patient. The scan is often used to detect several other diseases, but in recent years has become a helpful tool in helping medical professionals increase their accuracy in diagnosis of breast cancers. PET Scans have also been acknowledged as a useful means of reducing the biopsies of benign lesions and of monitoring the effects of ongoing cancer therapy.

Sunday, October 30, 2005 was a special day for Southern Queens. After the natural disaster that hit the Gulf Coast this Summer, Assemblywoman Clark led the first public fundraising effort on behalf of the elected officials and clergy of the community. The Hurricane Katrina Gospel Benefit Concert to benefit the New Yorkers Organized to Assist Hurricane Families (NOAH-F) relief fund took place in the Auditorium of the Andrew Jackson Campus Magnet High Schools. The event featured seven choirs and small ensembles and three soloists from throughout the district: Cambria Heights Community Church, St. Matthews A.M.E. Church, Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church, Sacred Heart R.C. Church, Hollis Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Missionary Church, Deverne Williams Ensemble, Winter, Gail Archer and Evangelist Elizabeth Heggs. Rev. Robert R. Lowe of Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church served as the Master of Ceremony and Rev. Dorothy Carrington-Benjamin, Pastor of Hollis Presbyterian Church, led the program in prayer. All the performers were outstanding and represented the community with great enthusiasm and commitment to the greater cause.

In the following week, the Assemblywoman announced that the concert had raised a total of eleven thousand-two hundred and sixty dollars ($11,260), significantly surpassing the ten thousand dollar goal. The total includes a special gift of one thousand dollars from St. Albans Congregational Church, UCC where Rev. Henry T. Simmons is the Senior Pastor. "This is great," said Assemblywoman Clark. "This is a testament to the commitment of the Southern Queens community to helping those who have been devastated by the destruction of the Gulf Coast. These are the types of results that make me proud." The NOAH-F fund was organized during the summer months by the elected officials and clergy from the Southern Queens community. Donations are being accepted on an ongoing basis. For more information, contact the Assemblywoman’s District Office at (718) 479-2333.