Res 0204-2018

By Council Members Eugene, Dinowitz, Louis and Rose Whereas, The New York City public school system is the largest in the United States, serving more than 1 million students in over 1800 schools; and Whereas, To keep our City's massive school system running and to educate our children and provide a suitable environment for learning requires the efforts of more than 100,000 pedagogical and non-pedagogical staff; and Whereas, This staff includes more than 75,000 teachers, more than 6,000 educational administrators, more than 15,000 classroom paraprofessionals, along with thousands of others such as school secretaries, attendance teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, custodians, school aides and other support staff; and Whereas, The efforts of these teachers, educational administrators and education support staff often receive scant recognition; and Whereas, There are some national recognition days for school staff, but they are scattered at different times throughout the year; and Whereas, According to the National Education Association (NEA), "National Teacher Appreciation Day" is observed on the Tuesday of the first full week in May, which is Teacher Appreciation Week; and Whereas, Additionally, American Education Week is in November and "National Education Support Professionals Day" falls on the Wednesday of American Education Week, according to NEA; and Whereas, Further, October has been jointly designated as "National Principals Month" by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the American Federation of School Administrators; and Whereas, However, none of these national recognition days for school staff receives adequate attention in New York City; and Whereas, A joint recognition day for all school staff in New York City public schools would help bring greater attention and support for their efforts serving City residents; and Whereas, May 4, 1796 was the date of birth of Horace Mann, an American education reformer dedicated to promoting universal public education; and Whereas, It is especially appropriate to recognize the efforts of public school staff on the birthday of such an ardent supporter of public schools as Horace Mann; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York declares May 4th New York City Teachers, Educational Administrators and Education Support Staff Recognition Day in order to recognize and highlight the important work they do to keep our city's schools running and to educate our children and provide a suitable environment for learning. LS# 10632/ Res 1729-2017 LS# 732 JA 1/2/18