My name is Mark Gonsalves. My wife and I have two sons, Justin, who is 6 and attends public school, and Josh, who is 9 and attends an 853 publicly funded non-public, non-profit school.
When Josh was about 2 years old, we noticed some changes in him. We had him tested and it was determined that Josh was on the autism spectrum. We worked with the NYC DOE and they were able to place him in a 4410, a publicly funded non-profit special education preschool.
At Josh’s previous preschool for children without a disability, the staff just didn’t know how to reach him. We would find him sitting by himself staring out the window when we would arrive to pick him up. At his 4410 school, the staff understood Josh and he began to make progress. He started talking more, moving better, and interacting with others. The teachers, OT, PT, and speech therapists were all terrific at the school. They were in touch with what he needed.
During Josh’s first year, his head teacher and social worker both left. During his last year, the student teacher became the head teacher and one of the other specialists left. The experience of the 4410 school was so valuable for Josh, but the turnover hurt him, and his progress stalled.
Teacher turnover in 4410 preschools is at 26%. With the NYC DOE adding seats for three- and four-year-olds, the DOE has been poaching teachers from the 4410 schools and offering significantly better pay and benefits, resulting in an acute shortage of certified teachers in 4410 schools.
When it was time for kindergarten, we took Josh for additional testing to see what was appropriate for him. He was placed in an 853 publicly funded non-profit special education school with 8 kids in his class along with one teacher, two assistant teachers and a tremendous support staff. Children attending 853 schools are placed there after a determination has been made by the Committee on Special Education that the local public schools are unable to serve them.
Last June, Josh lost the teacher who had made the biggest difference in his life. Josh was in third grade last year but he was reading at a kindergarten level. This teacher found that working 1:1 with Josh helped tremendously, and Josh was reading at a first-grade level at the time she left to go to a public school. Josh quickly regressed when she left. After months of regression or stagnation, Josh has again been improving his reading and is now reading at a mid-first grade level. The change was that the new teacher realized that the 1:1 reading work was necessary for Josh to be able to learn. Many of the teachers and assistant teachers at Josh’s school have left. In fact, teacher turnover in 853 schools generally has reached 31%.
Josh has made tremendous gains, but it’s clear that he has a long road ahead as he is reading and doing math at a mid first-grade level even though he’s in fourth grade chronologically. What I can tell you is that the teachers, counselors, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists are all AMAZING. They care so much for Josh and the kids and they go well above and beyond what you would expect because of their commitment to them.
The big problem is that while teachers at both 853 and 4410 schools deal with some of the more challenging students, they are paid between $20k and $40k less than their public school counterparts. They have fewer benefits. And they work 12 months instead of the 10 months public school teachers work. It has now become extremely difficult to recruit and retain qualified staff.
It is telling that since 2012, state funding for school districts is up 42%. For 853 schools it’s up only 22%, and for 4410 schools, it’s up only 8%. We are facing a crisis for our kids most in need.
This two-tier system for publicly funded students in non-public schools has led to a situation where they are being discriminated against by the city and state of New York where the experienced teachers are being snatched up by the public schools, leaving only younger, less experienced teachers for the kids with the most complex learning needs in New York City. I ask each of the legislators and staff to please rectify this funding issue so our kids in 853 and 4410 schools can get the same quality education that our public schools students receive. Our kids’ hopes and dreams and their ability to integrate and be productive members in society is dependent on your providing the appropriate funding.
