The chancellor is coming! The chancellor is coming! And just like that, the chancellor was here. Here in southeast Queens — well sort of. At P.S./I.S. 208 Queens — on the Glen Oaks campus located near the intersection of the Grand Central and Cross Island Parkways.
Billed as “A Town Hall Event” the chancellor’s January 15th evening visit was hosted by the District 29 Community Education Council President, Allen D. Williams, and the relatively new Community District 29 Superintendent, Dr. Robin Davson. Following welcomes by President Williams and Superintendent Davson, Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels gave a brief opening statement before turning to questions from the officer/members of District 29’s CEC.
“The best thing we can do to make any vulnerable child successful in this life is to make sure they are reading by 2nd grade or 3rd grade.”
Chancellor Kamar Samuels
By the time the town hall began, at 6:35 pm, the anticipation of hearing from the chancellor was palpable. Despite the event being livestreamed, the auditorium and an overflow room were packed. Those participating in the livestream could take advantage of the Bangla, Spanish, and Haitian Creole language feeds — an indication of just how diverse the student body at P.S./I.S. 208 is.
The Chancellor was not traveling alone. A number of his deputies were there to respond to some of the questions posed – including those about student transportation and special education needs.
Josephine Quinones posed the question: “What are the top two changes families should expect to see this school year under your leadership?” Included in the chancellor’s response was the statement: “I would say that first and foremost, your gonna have a chancellor that listens, and superintendents that listen.” The chancellor then went on to discuss the value of working collaboratively to solve problems.
CEC Treasurer Mejbah Ahmed asked: “What are your two specific plans to improve academic progress of New York City students that will be measurable at the end of one year? Chancellor Samuels included in his response: “The most important thing that we can do, is we have to make sure our kids literacy rates are improving and improving steadily. It is true today, it was true 100 years ago, it was true 400 years, the best thing we can do to make any vulnerable child successful in this life is to make sure they are reading by 2nd grade or 3rd grade.” If nothing else, the chancellor was cool, calm, and collected throughout the evening.
As anyone passionate about education in southeast Queens might expect, Lorraine Gittens-Bridges was present and accounted for. Lorraine was there to better understand the needs of local families and educators, so she knows what to advocate for in her educational advocacy travels. Lorraine currently serves as the Vice President of the Queens Community Parent Teacher Student Association, an organization she once served as the Founding President. The unique feature of the Queens Community Parent Teacher Student Association is that you don’t have to have a student in a New York City public school in order to be involved.