Leonie spoke with Tom Sheppard, father of six and the first member of the NYC school board called the Panel for Educational Policy to be elected directly by parents, rather than appointed by the Mayor or Borough Presidents. We discussed his family’s own experience with remote learning, Chancellor Carranza’s resignation, his view of the new NYC Chancellor Meisha Porter, what it’s like to be the only truly independent member of the PEP, issues with Mayoral control and how he’d like the Panel to exercise more authority over policy, and their unprecedented vote to reject the DOE’s proposed extension of the Pearson contract for the gifted exam for four-year-old children.
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