ICOPE - Independent Commission on Public Education of NYC

A Human Rights Based Vision of Public Education
An Alternative to Mayoral Control

The Independent Commission on Public Education (iCOPE) believes the system transformation based on Human Rights principles, not merely a change in governance, is needed to create schools that meet the needs of every child and place greater power in the hands of parents, students, educators and school communities.

Over the past nine years, iCOPE, together with hundreds of parents, students, educators and community members, has been developing An Emerging Vision of a Human Rights Based System of Public Education for NYC. This emerging vision has come about through four sources:

tribunals, conferences and focus groups with parents, students, educators, community activists,

dialogue with our partner organizations,

review of background documents about education, human rights and innovative educational practices in the US and abroad, and

the results of a student survey created and conducted by Youth Researchers for a New Education system (YRNES).

Based on the evidence gathered, iCOPE concludes that the New York City public education system, both under the current system of mayoral control and under previous regimes, has failed to meet human rights standards. Further, the causes of these persistent failures are systemic and can only be addressed through a structured collaborative planning process authorized by the State legislature which brings all stakeholders together to build on common ground and design a new system of public education for the 21st century.

TAKE ACTION TODAY & BE A PART OF THE DISCUSSION!

[download iCOPE brochure] | [download iCOPE's plan]

NYC YOUTH CALL FOR RESPECT, EQUITY AND VOICE IN THEIR EDUCATION

Led by an impassioned charge; "The current New York City school system isn't working," a diverse group of current and former public high school students took to the streets (and computers) of this city with a common goal: to be instruments of change in the NYC public school system. Named the Youth Researchers for a New Educational System (YRNES) the group designed a participatory action research project that has resulted in a scathing, yet decidedly hopeful analysis of the public school system, published as "The YRNES Report."

The researchers, aged 17-21, conducted a city-wide survey of more than 500 youth, and their findings call attention to issues of mayoral control, school decision making and community participation, maldistributed resources and educational opportunities, and the need to recalibrate the purposes of schooling.

Unlike most education-reform white papers, The YRNES Report provides youth perspectives on the barriers to learning, including a compelling graphic "Problem Tree" that maps the everyday symptoms and structural roots of a flawed school system.