Transcript: Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carranza Celebrate Gains for NYC Students on State Exams

August 23, 2019

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, I just have to tell you, like, the most important speaker has already spoken. Thank you, Mikaela. That was amazing.

[Applause]

So, Maryelle, thank you. Boy, you spoke from the heart there. And isn't it wonderful when you hear from an educator who really loves what she does? Thank you.

[Applause]

But you just told us something Maryelle that’s so amazing, that when kids get that early start, it brings out all of their potential and you get to see what they're capable of. And I talked to Mikaela before we came out here, and I was so, so amazed when Mikaela was talking. And I said, Mikaela, you're very poised. How old are you? And she said she's eight. And I said, wow, that's really amazing. She says – well, I'm about to be nine. 

[Laughter]

So – but even for nine, that's really amazing, and it just says so much about what great educators do, but also says so much about what it means when a child gets to start as early as possible and when they can realize their full potential. So, that is what we are here to talk about today. As Maryelle said, I was here at P.S. 69 five years ago, almost to the day, and that day was a moment of extraordinary excitement and it was a moment where we were entering into really the great unknown. We were beginning the pathway to Pre-K for All and it was something that City had never done before. It was something that we all were trying to do on a scale that was far beyond anything ever attempted in this nation before. And honestly, we were filled with a lot of excitement, a lot of hope, but we did not know how it would go. And we were experiencing that joy of the first day of school, which is one of the greatest days in the year. But, at the same time, we knew that we were witnessing the beginning of something very, very big. And that first group of teachers were pioneers, leading the way, and that first group of students were going to show us what was possible, and all of that began here in September 2014. 

Now, I will be honest, we all had our doubts. We all knew we were trying to do something very big, very fast. We also heard a chorus of critics, and many literally said this could not be done, that it would not possibly go as far as we hoped, that we wouldn't reach as many kids, that it wouldn't be good enough, the quality wouldn't be there or we wouldn't be able to sustain it across such a big school system. Well, those critics were many, but here's what I say to them five years later – you obviously did not know the teachers of New York City and the parents in New York City and the kids in New York City who proved it could be done.

[Applause]

In the last five years, I have not met an educator or a parent or even a student who told me that this wasn't going to work. I only met people resolve to make it work. And the largest school system in the country is a tough place to try something new and we have come on a long journey in this school system – some very good things, some things that have to be done very, very differently. But what we learn in these five years was that our schools will capable of greater things than ever imagined, that our schools could go a lot farther than people realized and our principals, our teachers, all our educators, when given the tools, could do amazing things. 

Now, what we are able to say now with these test scores today, we're able to say in a way, more definitively than ever, that Pre-K for All is working. It's reaching deep into our communities. It's changing children's lives or achieving something that could not be done without that early start, but something bigger than that is now beginning to be clear, which is that for years and years – really, generations, even – educators have been trying to break through on one of the thorniest problems in our society, which is that achievement gap in which young people of color were not reaching the levels of their counterparts who came from the majority. And good people for years and years have tried so many strategies to break through, but these results today suggest something working in a way we haven't seen before – a change that's actually getting at the heart of that achievement gap; a change that when it plays out on a bigger level could be the beginning of creating real equality in education. And I think folks gathered around me would agree – when you create equality and education, you create equality in our whole society?

Audience: Yes.

[Applause]

Mayor: Today, for the first time, we are seeing real results, tangible results that show there is a way to finally close that achievement gap. And I’ve got to tell you, we could talk about that idea in terms of fairness and justice and we can talk about it in terms of our whole city, our whole nation, but I also want to talk about it in terms of the lives of families, real people and what that has meant. That achievement gap has meant that generation upon generation, good kids, kids with a lot of potential untapped, kids with good minds that never got the opportunity to show all they could do year after year after year, wasted potential, and families that knew that they could do so much more for their child if only they could afford it. And the fact – and think of how frustrating this has been for people – they knew there was something better for their child, but they just didn't have the money to pay for it. And somehow something as basic as education really got divvied up according to who had money and who didn’t, because that's the history of early childhood education before Pre-K for All. If you had money, you could find that great early start for your child. If you didn't, there was a real good chance your child would miss that opportunity. And I've talked to parents who now look back with real agony at the idea their child could have gotten so much more. And I talk to a lot of parents who are now filled with a lot of hope, that they know their child will get that strong early start. 

So, for the first time, we see this universal right starting to play out, and these scores today tell us something very important, but I want to emphasize they only tell us how this begins, because this is just the beginning. The test scores that we're talking about today do not even reflect pre-K at its fullest, because 2014 was a year we took a huge step forward – we got to 53,000 kids in pre-K, but it wasn't until the next year that we were able to make it a universal right. These test scores tell us there's something to be very hopeful about, but they don't reflect how much better pre-K instruction is today than even five years ago, because our kids are benefiting more and more from educators who've gotten so much more training year by year. We figured out how to make it better all the time. And another very powerful fact, we're only seeing the beginning of what's possible because we're only talking about pre-K, but, in just a few weeks, there'll be 20,000 kids in this city in 3-K, getting a whole other year of that early strong start – and that's going to be a universal right someday soon in this city. And I can only imagine what it's going to mean when every child gets that excellent education when they're three and when they're four. That's when I predict great changes and an even more extraordinary effort to close this achievement gap. 

So, something's happening here, we see the beginning of a real breakthrough, and we have a lot more to do to see it through. I'm going to just say a few words in Spanish and then turn it over to the Chancellor, who's going to tell you about these results and what we see in them. The challenges we still face, for sure, but also the progress we see and the lessons we take from it. But I'd like to take a moment before I do that to say thank you to many people at the Department Education who worked so hard, who really care about closing that achievement gap, who really care about making our schools the best they can be. And I hope for all of you, you feel this is a day that really shows that it was all worth it, how hard you worked. And I want to start with someone who was just one of the great architects of our pre-K effort, our Deputy Chancellor for Early Childhood Education and Student Enrollment, Josh Wallack, congratulations to you.

[Applause]

Thank you to our Chief Academic Officer, Linda Chen; Deputy Chancellor of School Planning and Development, Karen Goldmark; the Executive Superintendent for the Bronx DOE Meisha Ross Porter; and the Superintendent for District 8, Erika Tobia. 

[Applause]

And just a few words before I turn to the Chancellor – 

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

And that is a good way to turn this to Richard to say, this city is leading the way and he's going to help you see in these results some really positive things that we're learning and the way forward. So, my pleasure to introduce our Chancellor, Richard Carranza –

[Applause]

Chancellor Richard Carranza: So, thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I want to thank everyone who's here today for coming out today to P.S. 69 Journey Prep. I remember I came to P.S. 69 the first week on the job. I was impressed then and I'm impressed now. So, I want to welcome you here. And Mr. Mayor, I also, with your permission, want to say to Mikaela – where are you? Mikaela, you’re hired. Okay? Hired –

[Laughter]

Bring me a teaching credential and you're hired.

Mayor: Richard, is that legal?

[Laughter]

Chancellor Carranza: We’ll talk to mom and dad, but I think so. I also want to, before I say anything else, recognize some other folks that are really critical to our mission. I want to thank you, Mr. Mayor for introducing so many of our team, but I also want to thank our Executive Director of our Borough Support Center, Nancy Saffer here.

[Applause]

I also want to thank our Deputy Chancellor for Community Empowerment, Partnerships and Communication, Hydra Mendoza. Thank you, Hydra.

[Applause]

Someone else who's sitting up front is our Executive Director for Research and Policy support, Michelle Paladino.

[Applause]

And Michelle will have all the answers when it comes to the data, because she's been living with them for the last 72 hours. 

[Laughter]

And then, I just can't help but recognize once again one of the many heroes, one of those 80,000 heroes we have in New York City – and we call them teachers, but I call them my colleagues. So, I want to thank Maryelle Mirvil. Thank you for your words today too.

[Applause]

So, we are excited to be here. And if you heard the tone in the Mayor's remarks, you could sense the excitement to understand that five years ago when this audacious idea that every four year old in New York City, not the mid-level city in America, not one of the smaller cities in America, the largest city in America, every four year old would by birthright have the ability to go to a high quality pre-K experience. And we were going to do that in the short, short span of 48 months in New York City. People were right. I remember being somewhere else on the other coast thinking, wow, if they can make this happen – and you made it happen. So, to your leadership, Mr. Mayor, congratulations.

[Applause]

But I also want to be on the record and make this very, very clear, while we're celebrating some trends that we're seeing, this is a barometer. This is in a sense a preview of coming attractions. I want to be very, very clear and for all of our professional journalists that are here, I hope that you will take note of the fact that test scores are but one of many, many measures that we look at to gauge the health of a school and the health of a school environment. So, as you write your stories and your report on your stories, don't just focus on the test scores, look at the community, look at the growth, look at what children are learning, look at what teachers are doing, look at how that community has grown. Don't just report the test scores, because it's one of many, but it is an exciting day nonetheless, because we can compare our results this year, year over year, and say that our students improved in both English language arts and math. We made particularly strong improvements in mathematics and we improved in every community school district, which is 8,893 more students scoring proficient on their math exams as compared to last year.

[Applause]

Our students in New York City continue to outperform their peers across the State on English language art assessments and they continue to close the gap with their peers across the State in mathematics. We are within shooting range of the State averages in mathematics, so we're making up ground. Any educator will tell you that, as I've told you, that tests are just but one of multiple measures we look at, and one test score is not the be-all, it's not the end-all, but it gives us information to look at where we're going. So, let's take a broader look at the picture in New York City schools, and that picture, my friends, is strong. We are also seeing record-high graduation rates, record-high college enrollment rates and record-low dropout rates. And to all of our teachers, our students, our parents, we are very proud of you. Know that this is something to celebrate and it's your hard work that makes it possible. And I also want to be – I want to hone in on our third grade scores, as our Mayor has spoken. You see, when I first sat down with Mayor de Blasio about 18 months ago and decided to come to New York City to become Chancellor, one of the big reasons was the City's investment in early childhood education. You see, the research is clear – there is no question that high-quality early education is a game-changer, particularly for historically disadvantaged students in historically disadvantaged communities. And now, for the first time, we are beginning to see the promising signs that a free, full-day, high-quality pre-K for all in our third grade, those test scores are being reflected in that high-quality pre-K. We know pre-K is working from the high-quality ratings of our pre-K programs, from the positive feedback from parents and teachers. The fact that a year in pre-K can save a family – think about this – $10,000 a year in childcare costs, and, at the same time, they're receiving high-quality educational experiences. We know our pre-K students go to kindergarten with academic and social skills, but, more importantly, a true love of learning. Yet today's results offer another promising sign, that our third graders are making greater gains on English language arts and math than their New York State peers, and that's a big deal. Students who went through Pre-K for All are outperforming students who didn’t. Let me repeat that, of the students that had the Pre-K for All experience versus students that didn't in that initial cohort, students that had the experience are outperforming, as measured by the third grade assessments, students who didn’t. And we're seeing promising narrowing of the opportunity gap among black and Hispanic students who attended full-day Pre-K. That also is a game-changer. 

As someone who's been an educator in five states and five different systems, I will tell you that the opportunity gap is persistent and it plagues us in our education work. Yet in New York City, we're starting to see the signs of narrowing that opportunity gap. And I want to be clear again, no student or programs should be judged on a single test score, and much of the research around our early education suggests that pre-K has even greater payoffs as students go to middle school, to high school, into college and beyond. So, this is truly a preview of coming attractions. In fact, professor James Heckman recently released a study suggesting that free, full-day, high-quality early education has a positive impact on school on children of parents who attended pre-K. And I also want assume back out just a bit – Pre-K for All is the foundation. It gives our students the skills and tools they need to hit the ground running in kindergarten, and then those same students are benefiting from our universal literacy approach. And now, that's reaching every one of our schools. 

As we head into this new school year, the 2019-2020 school year, we are strengthening instruction across our schools and building on these accomplishments. We are prioritizing improving instruction in advancing learning with our instructional leadership framework – the ILF – and principals from across New York City will be assessing their current curriculum and student outcomes and developing plans to meet the needs of every one of their students. This isn't the bells and whistles. It isn’t the big announcement of a new initiative. It's the hard work of educators using pedagogy and curriculum to inspire children to help them master a set of knowledge. 

So, we will continue on this path to build on our Equity and Excellence for All agenda that we've put in place and to turbocharge our push to deliver education that every New York City public school student deserves. Again, I want to thank P.S. 69 Journey Prep for opening your doors to us in the final weeks of summer, and congratulations to our students, our teachers, and our families. I'm excited for this school year and for the new heights our students will reach. And before I share a few very brief words in Spanish, I also want to recognize another one of our Deputy Chancellors who is here with us, LaShawn Robinson from School Safety and School Climate. Thank you for being here. 

[Chancellor Carranza speaks in Spanish]

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor: So we will take questions first on these test scores. The Chancellor, of course, will join me in answering questions, and Michelle Paladino who is the director of Research and Policy for DOE.

Yes?

Question: I wanted to ask what your reaction is to the stance from United Teachers who put out a statement –

Mayor: Say again, the stance from what?

Question: [Inaudible] the United Teachers –

Mayor: Oh [inaudible]

Question: They say the tests are too long, the questions are developmentally inappropriate and [inaudible]. So what’s your reaction to that?

Mayor: I’ll start and then let the people who know more about testing and academics speak to you but, look I think the fact is when we deal with the tests that we have, they tell us something. And I am someone who believes that it was important to get away from an overreliance on high stakes testing. I think we made real progress in this State and this city. I think we have to keep working at it. I thoroughly believe in multiple measure. But even if there is some difference over the specific test it still tells you something apples to apples, looking at how New York City has done against the rest of the state, looking at how New York City did this year against last year. So fair concerns worthy of consideration, but that does not take away from the fact that we see some real progress here.

Want to add?

Chancellor Carranza: Yes, so I would just say, just keep in mind that the assessments in New York State went from three days to two days and that was directly the result of what – I give credit to the Commissioner for listening to the parent communities. We also know that teachers have been involved in developing these tests, so there have been teacher voice in the test as well. And I echo what Mayor de Blasio has said about a culture of testing. We are not supportive of a culture of testing. Yet, at the same time as the Mayor who has responsibility for the public education system in New York City, he has to have a way of understanding whether or not students have mastered the standards that the State of New York says students must master every year. The only way to assess that is to gauge whether or not they have mastered those standards. So I am incredible excited that those test windows have shortened. I’m really excited that teacher voice has been in the development of those assessments. And as we work with the State of New York we are going to continue to push to make sure that they are developmentally appropriate, that they are not too long. And I am going to ask everyone to keep in mind, use these results to give us an indicator of where we need to go, have students master standards but do not use these test scores to judge a school versus another school That’s using a screwdriver to hammer in a nail. It’s not the right tool, don’t do it.

Mayor: Very visual Richard.

[Applause]

Question: [Inaudible] and not to concentrate just only on numbers, but for a second just to do that – the jump last year was much greater than the jump we are seeing this year. It was up by I think six percent and five percent [inaudible]. They changed the test I think, so can you do, apples to apples yet? Are we seeing a trend, is this period long enough, really I guess just two year, to see a trend?

Mayor: So I am going to start – you and I often, I’ve known you a long time, we often ask the same questions, so the kind of questions you are asking I am often asking these folks in the days leading up to these things. So I am going to start but let greater experts jump in. First of all, a couple of years ago they changed the test. So from last year’s results to the year before, there was a question about comparability, we still thought there were some evident progress but there still were some questions about comparability. This year we have you know the same format that last year, this exact time what we reported versus now, same format, apples to apples. So that’s the first point.

The second point is we are able to say something about Pre-K because it’s the first time we have had it for a majority of our kids and they are literally able to analyze what happened with the kids who had Pre-K versus what happened to the kids who didn’t in that same test, that same day when all those kids are taking the test, we saw a really meaningful difference between the kids who had Pre-K and the kids who didn’t. And that point about the achievement gap Dave, the fact that we saw the amount of movement, in terms of our young people of color, that’s striking knowing that again Pre-K hadn’t even gotten to universal, was just beginning, we thought it was high quality in the beginning but we know it’s higher quality now. And again, really thinking about the powerful impact that 3-K will make. I mean this is the beginning of something I think, very, very big. So yes, I do think this one tells us something more clearly in some ways then what we were able to say a year ago. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, I mentioned this to Carranza last August at the Charter School for Excellence in Parkchester. That school was performing two grades above the local public schools. I also asked Chancellor Carranza why are Bronx public schools lower performing then the rest of public schools in the City? His answer was the Mayor and I know that Bronx public schools aren’t performing the way they should be. I’m new here, give me a chance, I’ll get back to you. It’s been one year, he hasn’t –

Mayor: Well he’s gotten back to the people of the Bronx, maybe you and he didn’t speak.

[Laughter]

Question: [Inaudible] public schools still underperforming and what is the district –

Mayor: Look, I think we – we unveiled the Bronx plan that was literally called the Bronx Plan. I think that speaks for itself, about the ways we were going to insure the very best educators and the educators needed in schools in the Bronx that often had not been there in the past because educators choose for a variety of reasons not to be there in the schools that needed them the most. We have changed the dynamics, working with the union, to get the kind of educators we need, where we need them, when we need them, in the subjects we need them. I think that is going to have a huge impact. But I also think that overcoming the challenges of the Bronx has faced, which has everything to do with economic inequality, and racial inequality and a whole lot of other things in our society, overcoming them – no one said it was going to happen instantly but it is starting to happen. And things like Pre-K, those investments, disproportionally helped schools in the Bronx. And I think we are going to see year after year, particularly as the early childhood piece comes into play more, a disproportionally positive impact in the Bronx.

Chancellor Carranza: Yes, I want to thank you for being here for our anniversary. It’s good to see you again, one year.

[Laughter]

Where have you been? Look, if you look at the data you are going to see in this year’s desegregated data that the schools in the Bronx, in terms of growth out grew most of the other boroughs in New York City and when you look at the instructional leadership that is happening in the Bronx, the investments not only with the Bronx Plan, but the instruction of leadership framework, when you are looking at the data disaggregation and how principals and teachers and communities are actually looking at students and then giving them the growth opportunities that they need, it’s no wonder that we are seeing that kind of accelerated growth. Just get ready, the Bronx is on fire and we can tell you this year they are already starting to grow.

[Applause]

Mayor: Now we are clapping, but I want to help Richard because he didn’t grow up here. Once upon time when you said the Bronx was on fire, it was not a good thing –

[Laughter]

So, you are a new comer so you are allowed – it’s actually a statement of progress that we can say it and clap for it. That shows we turned a page. Jill.

Question: Mayor can you tell us a little bit more about how you tracked the 3-K, the first cohort of 3-K For All, that looks [inaudible] data beyond what the State typically puts out or [inaudible]

Mayor: Sure.

Question: [inaudible] tell me a little about how that is tracked and what kinds [inaudible]?

Mayor: What kinds of?

Question: [Inaudible]

Mayor: Michelle why don’t you come on in now? Michelle Paladino.

Director Michelle Paladino, Research and Policy, Department of Education: So, we started with looking at the students in the first expansion cohort in 2014, ’15, and then essentially followed them through third grade. And when we compared the students who were in universal pre-K to the students weren’t, they performed higher. So for example, in EAL, they were 2.8 percentage points higher and in Math, 1.1 percentage points higher, which is exciting. But what’s particularly exciting is when we break it down into the subgroups, our black Pre-K for All students were 7.2 percentage points higher in EAL and 6.2 percentage points higher in math, 6.5 excuse me, compared to white students within pre-K. So they were outpacing and that’s the sort of allusion that people were making to, to the closing of the achievement gap that we are seeing.

Mayor: Do you have the Latino numbers?

Director Paladino: Oh, yes. So, first Hispanic Pre-K students, it was 7.2 percentage points higher in ELA and 6.2 percentage higher in math, for Pre-K versus not.

Question: Will these numbers be available somewhere?

Director Paladino: Sure, yes.

Question: We don’t have any of the third graders [inaudible] to the City’s Pre-K?

Mayor: Yes, so Michelle I think that would be really helpful, because we had this conversation yesterday, so I will give you the layman’s introduction and then pass to Michelle. So, 53,000 kids in the 2014-15 school year got pre-K, got full day pre-K. But remember in this very transient world we live in, a certain number of them, their family’s left town, or they went to another different kind of school or whatever, new kids came in, by the time of the third grade tests. So it’s not like 53,000 started and then 53,000 were taking the third grade tests. So take it from there, how you were able to parse out different –

Director Paladino: Yes, that’s right. So of our grade three test takers, 43 percent were in Universal pre-K. The other students were – those numbers don’t include charters for example. So some students moved into charter schools, some students moved into private schools, some students left the city. And then we say a little bit of attrition every year because as the Mayor said it is a fairly fluid system.

Question: So, 43 percent of third grade test takers, were any [inaudible]?

Director Paladino: Yes.

Question: Is it fair to attribute – I’m sure it had something with closing the achievement gap but 57 percent didn’t go to UPK, so is it fair to attribute it all to pre-K?

Director: Well, that’s why we look specifically at the pre-K versus not pre-K students. I wasn’t just talking about the grade three gap closing which happened but specifically comparing the pre-K versus not and then looking with in certain subgroups so that we could be a little bit more confident about those comparisons.

Mayor: Okay. Other questions on these test scores? Anything else on the test scores? Yes, please.

Question: Did you control for anything that would create like a [inaudible] between those who enrolled in pre-k versus those who didn’t? You can imagine who are enrolling their kids in Universal pre-K may [inaudible].

Mayor: I’m going to have Michelle come over and speak as an expert. I want to make one layman’s point – the scale here is important. When you’re talking about 53,000 kids to begin with – and, again, even if some move on, etcetera, it still ends up being close to half of the kids who took the third grade test this last year. That’s a whole lot of kids. So again, we – that’s part of what gives us confidence that we’re seeing something meaningful here and that we saw this much in the very first year. And just, I want everyone to hear this because we all believe this thoroughly – we expect great things ahead. This is like – we’re ready right now to do predictions. This first year would have been the time when you see the least because each year it did get stronger because more and more kids got exposed to it and then the amplifying effect of 3-K. So, this is the year that we probably were expecting to be the least impressed by and it’s still pretty amazing numbers particularly when you look at the achievement gap in kids of color. We think you’re going to see more in the years ahead. But to that point about how you control for other factors.

Director Paladino: So, we technically didn’t do a control as you were alluding to. But that’s why it’s important to within the subgroups which essentially acts as a bit of a control because you’re looking at students who are similar to each other on demographic characteristics. So, we still saw the gains. It also mirrors other studies that have been done at the national level that do include those controls [inaudible] –

Question: [Inaudible]

Director Paladino: So, 28,000 is the overlap population that we’re talking about for this year.

Question: Universal [inaudible] –

Director Paladino: Universal Pre-K, yes, because they might have been in pre-K, too, right. Universal Pre-K and grade three test takers.

Mayor: Okay, let me see if there are any other – yeah, please.

Question: [Inaudible] metrics are you [inaudible]?

Chancellor Carranza: So, obviously, at the secondary level, tests aren’t the only thing – that was the question. But obviously at the secondary level we’re looking at graduation rates, we’re looking at college going rates, we’re looking at the number of students that are taking and passing the regents exams, but we’re also doing school quality reviews where we go in and we walk campuses with principals – we have a rubric. We’re looking at social-emotional indicators in schools. So, in addition to increasing academic rates as measured by these assessments we’re also seeing a decrease in suspension rates. We’re seeing a decrease in expulsion rates. We’re seeing a decrease in violent incidents. We’re seeing safer campuses. That also counts towards what we’re seeing. We also monitor attendance rates. So, we’re seeing that particularly for some of our most fragile communities – students in temporary housing, students in foster care – there are positive trends in terms of those students and their attendance rates as well.

Those are just some of the many different kinds of things that we look at. We also have an eye towards growth. So, are students growing, are students not growing? I’ll give you one example that the Mayor and I just discussed very recently. When I first arrived in New York City, there was a middle school in Harlem that was scheduled to be closed and we said, ‘No, we’re not convinced yet.” They had zero growth in their math accountability scores over the years. We went in, brought in the right leader, made sure that they had credential certified teachers, brought the community in. I’m here to tell you that that school has now had significant double digit growth over the last two years – significant growth. They are getting better and better.

So, growth also counts for something. And they don’t screen their students, they don’t cherry-pick their students. They take kids that come to them from the neighborhood. Those are really positive things that I would encourage our parents to take a look at because all of that goes into determining what we see a school on a positive trajectory.

Mayor: I want Mariel to come up because I think in addition – Richard did a fine a job laying out a whole host of things that we measure how we’re doing by but when it comes to early childhood I want you to hear a teacher’s perspective. The difference when a child has gotten full-day early childhood education versus how – when those that haven’t – how they behave, how they work in a group, how they deal with the instructions of a teacher. Tell them what you see.

Maryelle Mirvil: So, the changes that I would say with kids have had pre-K are they are more assertive, more independent, more easily adaptable to different situations, more inquisitive, easy to take directions from, and just take more ownership of their own learning.

Mayor: Nicely done – and with no practice whatsoever.

[Applause]

Mayor: We were actually testing you to see how you do – spontaneously. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, just curious what your thoughts are on the performance by charter schools which continue to do better than traditional [inaudible] flattened out [inaudible] curious what are your thoughts.

Mayor: Well, I’ll say my views but I want Michele to go over the facts because we actually saw this year in some areas traditional public schools outpaced charters, in other areas charters outpaced traditional public schools. But I we’re seeing, I think, an important evolution here. As the traditional public schools are getting stronger, we’re seeing something start to change and it’s a really important fact and everyone should be proud of that fact. But the question always when it comes to charters is sort of a tale of two charter schools. There are charter schools that to their great credit are really – are consistent with the mission of tradition public schools and they take all children including special-ED kids, English-language learners, kids who don’t test well [inaudible] and they work with all children equally. And then there are other charter schools that we know have unfortunately a history of being exclusionary towards kids who do not do so well in school in general or in test-taking specifically.

There are charters that focus on charters disproportionately which we believe is just plain the wrong way to educate kids and there are others that teach much more as we do in the whole school system, try and teach kids on a more fundamental level. So, it does not surprise me that some of that difference is because of those charters that play the game a different way, in a way I don’t think they should, honestly. But what I’m also struck by is I think things are changing rapidly and I think you see the traditional schools coming up quickly. If you want to just say what the exact facts were? Just the numerical facts –

Director Paladino: Sure. So, charter schools stayed flat in English – completely flat at 57.3 percent. And in Math, they went up 3.6 percent – so, slightly outpaced us in Math and slightly under-pace in ELA.

Mayor: Like comparison to the two –

Director Paladino: So, charter schools flat for English – we went up 0.7 – district schools went up 0.7. Charter schools went up 3.6 in Math and we went up 2.9.

Question: [Inaudible]

Director Paladino: So, about ten points higher – yes.

Mayor: Okay, anything else on these test scores and today’s information? Anything else? Going once, going twice. I’m going to turn to everyone here and say we’re going to take questions on other topics. If you want to hang out, you are very welcome to –

[Laughter]

If you want to escape, this is your chance to escape. It’s up to you. Alright, thank you everyone.

[Applause]

[...]

Mayor: Are we good back there? Okay, other questions – yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, your administration – you and the Chancellor put a lot of investment into implicit bias training. You referenced it this week in regards to the NYPD. It sounds like maybe 100,000 municipal [inaudible] police department, all the teachers. I was wondering if you could talk in a personal way about how you have dealt with implicit bias in your own life in your own and how you [inaudible].

Mayor: It’s a great question and I would say that it has taken from my point of view a lot of conversations with a lot of people, a lot of experience, a lot of opportunities to be educated to understand because every one of us has biases. It’s normal, it’s human, it’s part of every society – and understanding what they are, how they sometimes affect our judgment, to me it has been often from coworkers who when I talk to about different issues, sometimes supervisors, people in my life, obviously my family. And it’s been very healthy to understand that it’s something we all have and something all need to work on.

So, that’s – I guess, my own experience has been encouraging to me that that training does something for people that’s very healthy.

Question: [Inaudible] rather unspecific –

Mayor: Yeah, because it was very broad over a lifetime.

Chancellor Carranza: So, I can give you a personal and a professional. So, personally, I went to a school in Tucson, Arizona where probably 96 percent of the student body looked like me. We were all Mexican, Mexican-American kids. Some were recent immigrants and others had been born in the United States but we had a very deep connection to Mexico. So, when I went to the University of Arizona and I sat in classes that did not look like me, when I sat in classes with people from a European heritage, people that had blond hair that had been to private schools my implicit bias was that they were smarter than me, they were better prepared than me to succeed in college, and there was sort of an implicit inferiority complex that I brought with me. I can’t possibly speak up in class, I can’t possible have read everything they’ve read. And for me it was coming to terms with the fact that while I may not have had that kind of a private school education that I would think and that I could write, and that I was being pushed maybe not in the same ways, and that I could compete.

So, the fact that I graduated from college, for me we coming to terms with that implicit bias that I had from some of my classmates who never were trying to have any bias on me. It was my own personal journey. But then when I a teacher back in the same high school that I graduated from with 96 percent of the students that look like me, and I still remember his name – his name was Tony – and Tony came from a very difficult background …

where both of his parents were incarcerated, where his cousins were gang involved, where there was intergenerational, not only poverty, but you know incarceration. And Tony was a tough, loud mouth, sometimes obscene kid, who didn’t want to learn about world history. And I really wanted him to love world history as much as I loved world history, but I couldn’t teach him about the Reformation when he didn’t want to care to learn about the Reformation. And instead, coming to terms with my implicit bias, like, don’t you get it, what path you are on? And instead of throwing him out of class and fighting with him every day and saying sit down, shut up, and listen. Instead, developing a relationship with Tony, trying to – I wasn’t raised the way Tony was, but when I got to know who Tony was and what he was, his leadership qualities that were perhaps not common, and not accepted. But when I got to know who tony was and Tony got to know who I was and I was able to overcome my implicit bias as to this is just another punk, and he’s a leader. And I treated him like a leader, he became a leader. And Tony now is a teacher in the third largest school system in America, teaching other kids. That’s a professional example, very specific overcoming implicit bias. And that’s what we want for all of our students and all of our teachers, to be able to recognize it, check it and then rise above it.

Mayor: Amen, well done, beautiful. Yes?

Question: [Inaudible] Carranza, there’s a great book called, Ladies and Gentleman The Bronx is Burning, about the history –

[Laughter]

Mayor: I want the record to show that the audience of Bronxites cheered for him because they understood his newer meaning.

[Laughter]

We’ve cleansed it from the past. Go ahead.

Question: So onto a very important topic, Di Fara Pizzeria.

Mayor: Yes.

Question: Full disclosure, I am a big fan of the pizzeria. So, Mr. Mayor you waded into the closure of the pizzeria earlier this week, saying that you would do anything to help them reopen. Some people were wondering what kind of message that sent to other tax [inaudible] and if it was genuine given what Governor Cuomo mentioned which is that you had no legal authority to intervene, given that it was a state tax?

Mayor: Yes, I’ve spoken about Di Fara pizza for years and years so I can’t think of anything more genuine. I’m first of all, very proud of my heritage, the people who brought you pizza, you’re welcome. And I think Di Fara is unquestionably the finest pizza in New York City and that’s saying a whole lot. And I have spent a lot of time there. I think very, very highly of Domenico and what he has achieved over many, many years. And no, I think it would be a tragedy for this city for it to be lost. So I spoke from the heart that I would do anything I possibly could do help them stay open. And we were going to immediately try and figure out what kind of payment plan, what kind of approach would work them and thankfully they were able to resolve that and they are back open today and I think everyone should go there and buy some pizza.

Question: [Inaudible]

Mayor: I’ll be back to you.

Question: Now that [inaudible] presidential campaign, now that Hickenlooper and Inslee have dropped out, are you considering ending your campaign –

Mayor: I’ve been really clear –

Question: If not, then anything you can do to turn your campaign around that they didn’t?

Mayor: Look, I’ve been very clear about the fact that I am going all over the country, talking about things that I think matter a lot. And that the message gets a very strong response wherever I go. I am talking about putting working people first and that the Democratic party has to be the party of working people again. And you know, when I was up in New Hampshire over this last weekend, folks really responded to the message. Now I know I have to get the message out on a much bigger level and there’s a lot of ways that I have to do it and in the last few weeks some of the important TV opportunities I’ve had, obviously this coming Sunday night at seven, everyone tune into to CNN, because that’ll be the first time that I’ll have a televised town hall meeting that pretty much every other candidate had, this will be my first chance. So I want to keep getting that message out there and I think people here, it’s will make an impact. Go ahead.

Question: Back to the pizza.

Mayor: Back to the pizza.

[Laughter]

Question: Pizza is political. You know, the Governor saying that he wouldn’t pick a best and this question of intervening on one business’s behalf when a lot of other businesses would say, help me?

Mayor: Well, I think there is two different issues here – the best versus helping a business. So let me offer my thoughts on both. Again, I have said, go back and look at the video from the Italian reception we had, the Italian Heritage Reception, I think it was last year where I brazenly said Di Fara Pizzeria is the best pizzeria in New York City. I’ve said it many, many times. I think it is a treasure. I think it is something very, very special. In a city known for pizza, this to me is the finest pizzeria. There’s a lot of other great ones but I feel this very personally, very strongly. And if it had closed down, I think it would have been a great lost to New York City. So, I was going to speak up and do anything I could to help them period. The question of helping businesses – I have folks, small business folks come up to me and I have going way back. Josh remembers when I was in the City Council, he was on my staff. I’ve been working with small businesses that had issues that they needed help with for the longest time. It still happens all the time now. And I want to help any small business that needs help and I don’t want to see any small business go out of business and lose jobs, especially a mom and pop business. They have been there since the early 1960’s if I remember. They mean a lot to the community. So I would help any business. But I also want to be honest about when something a business that means something to the whole city and Di Fara certainly does.

Question: One of the reasons they owed taxes is because the City’s own Department of Health shut it down in May for health violations. It’s been checked out numerous times. Small businesses have expressed concerns [inaudible] harsh Health Department critics. [Inaudible] taxes, I mean [inaudible] where do you think the City in [inaudible] would you advocate for the City to lessen some of these health [inaudible]

Mayor: No, no because years ago when I was Public Advocate I thought the Health Department was really in the wrong place was being very, very punitive and so were a lot of other departments and we did a study back then of what I think was a pattern of perfuming, very picky kind of things, obscure kind of things. And in fact when I became Mayor, I ordered departments to review their practices and try and figure out what was really about health and safety, not about small arcane rules. Where could we give warnings and then if the warning were addressed, not give a fine versus where we really had to give a fine. And if you look at the facts on the Health Department’s score cards and what’s happened, there’s been a market change where more and more restaurants are doing better and better and getting fewer and fewer fines. But I still believe our health department is the finest health department in the country. And when you know, with a new approach, a more communicative approach, they still say no, you got a problem, I take that very, very seriously. So, look, I want Di Fara to learn that lesson. It doesn't take away from how great they are, but I want them learn that lesson and get it right, and I think they will. But sometimes, you, you know, you just have to speak from the heart. Like, this is a business we should not lose in this city, period. That's what I feel.

Yeah?

Question: [Inaudible] chef from the restaurant in Grand Central who went missing?

Mayor: I don't know. I only know what you know. I don't have any further information about that. I'm concerned like everyone else, it sounds very troubling, but I don't have any more detail.

Question: [Inaudible]

Mayor: Louder, please. 

Question: Do you think it’s right that none of the other officers in the Eric Garner case will be disciplined [inaudible] report?

Mayor: So, first, I want to say and amplify what Commissioner O'Neill said, you know, the disciplinary process is now concluded and we need to turn the page and put this chapter behind us and now get back to the work of keeping the city safe and bringing police and community together – that’s the central thing I want to say. The investigations were done, the whole larger issue that we've talked about a lot in the last few weeks about the interplay of everything NYPD does with the DA, with the Department of Justice that unquestionably complicated matters in all these cases of these individual officers. I think there's a legitimate question going forward about the statute of limitations. I think the statute of limitations should be re-evaluated in general in the State of New York on many, many fronts, not just on police-community issues, but in general, because, we now – we're in the age of a cell phones, we’re in the age of DNA evidence, we just saw with the Child Victims Act, you know, re-evaluating how people come forward with crimes from the past or cases from the past. So, I think there's a bigger issue there that needs to be addressed, but under the laws we were dealing with in these last years, this is concluded. 

Yeah?

Question: So, folks who live and work around Tompkinsville Park on Staten Island across the street from where Eric Garner died say that they’re concerned about the safety of hundreds and – hundreds of women and children are expected to move there, you know, with the shelter that your administration decided to open, which is across the street from that [inaudible]. Given the history of drugs and crime that is in that area, do you personally think that the area where you're planning to build the shelter is safe and ready for a family homeless shelter? And what does your administration plan to do to ensure the safety of those women and children?

Mayor: Look, I understand the question, but I’ll have to tell you from the beginning, there’s always more work to be done in Staten Island, all over the five boroughs, but we are the safest big city in America. We continue to get safer. And if there's a problem in an area, it is our job, it is the NYPD’s job, it’s the City of New York’s job to address it. I do not accept any idea of saying something is not safe and that somehow that's static, it’s just going to stay that way. No – if there's more we have to do in that area, we're going to. You know, we're trying to address the physical reality of the park itself, which was part of the problem, and we're making very big changes in the park. But our police leadership in Staten Island know that's an area where we have more work to do and we will. But the choice of location for the shelter – and I went over this with our team in a lot of detail – this was the place far and away that was the best location for a shelter. Now, we have to work to make sure it works for everyone.

Question: Do you agree with the NYPD’s decision to give [inaudible] 20 days of vacation instead of facing a disciplinary trial. Do you think that that’s fair, given that the day before you said that she was going to [inaudible] trial [inaudible]?

Mayor: No, again, the officer has the ability to proactively plead guilty to something, that’s a legal right. This is a due process system – it’s trials and due process like in our court system, in general. So, that was a choice she made, she has that right? There was a substantial penalty, but again, this is – that’s the last piece of this disciplinary process. We now got to get back to work trying to improve everything we do in policing and in the relationship between police and community. That's where my focus is. 

Yeah?

Question: So, are you satisfied with the outcome in all of this? Particularly, [inaudible]?

Mayor: I don’t think anyone can be happy about a tragedy. I think we'd all like to go back in time and somehow stop all this from happening, but we can't. The most important element was the due process and the public trial for Officer Pantaleo after there had not been a trial from the other jurisdictions that might have given one, there wasn’t, and five years passed. Finally, there was a trial, and, again, it was clearly a fair and objective process. That was – that’s what matters. That's what says to people in this city that there is a functioning justice process. But again, I am not going to dwell on something that is now concluded. I want to look at how we do better, going forward

Question: Mr. Mayor, there were [inaudible] shootings yesterday overnight and [inaudible] is coming up. Are you going to be in town to be monitoring that? And – if shootings are up, do you have any sense of why that’s happening? What is the Police Department doing about it? 

Mayor: The Police Department is constantly, Gloria, making adjustments – that’s what the CompStat strategy's all about. And, again, I understand the question, and I'm sure it's asked in good faith, but I want to be kind of obvious in my answer. The NYPD I've been watching from the vantage point of being Mayor for six years now – they constantly make adjustments, they move officers around, they change strategies, consistently achieving results. Yes, there are a small number of – a greater number of shootings this year compared to the last, but I also remind you that the last few years had been the all-time record lows for shootings, for homicides, and that a number of other category of crimes are going down overall compared to previous years. So, no, I am absolutely satisfied that they're making the right adjustments, and they continue to. I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing. When I have specific things I am going to travel for, I constantly stay in touch with a variety of officials here. When I'm here, I'm here. But the most important thing is the strategy continues to develop and grow all the time. 

Yes?

Question: So, the City for years have been releasing the [inaudible]. Do you think that’s the City’s error [inaudible] police?

Mayor: I was horrified. It was the first I heard about it, and I say to my team many times, I do not like to hear about things for the first time in the news media. That means someone wasn't doing their job. This is a horrible policy. We've immediately instructed that at end. That's just absolutely – it's wrong. We're changing it. It's not acceptable.

Question: I want to ask you a little about the town halls. [Inaudible] how you're preparing for the town hall? What are you expectations about how the town hall will boost your campaign [inaudible]?

Mayor: Well, look, I think town halls are an area that – I really, really – I actually enjoy them. I find them an extraordinary opportunity to hear people and connect with people. I think I've done about 65, if you include the ones Richard and I have done together, about 65 now in this city. And I was up in New Hampshire this morning doing a town hall up there that's going to be televised in the coming days with WMUR, and one of the people who was producer for it, you know, we were talking and I said, I actually really enjoy town halls. And she said, you know, wow, that's interesting given that New York people obviously have strong views. And I said, they do. And I said, typically my town halls are two hours, sometimes two and a half hours, sometimes more. So – and this one and the one on CNN or like an hour. So, I'm used to a whole lot of engagement with people. I think it's an environment that I thrive in. I think it will help because it's an opportunity for people to see me not in 30 seconds and one minute snippets, but actually speak more fully about who I am, what I'm about, what I'm trying to achieve, what I've achieved for this city. So, I think it'll be helpful, but it's one piece of many pieces. I think those other media appearances that, as I said, in the last couple of weeks were very helpful, but campaigns are a whole lot of things that build up over time. This is special because it's the first time something of this quality and sort of scope will be happening.

Question: [Inaudible] more donors? Or –

Mayor: My view is, if we see the message getting through, which is not a classic numerical metrical benchmark. If the message is getting through, if there's more and more opportunities to spread the message, then anything can happen because we're in the age of social media. I'm not sure I would've given you the same answer 20 years ago, but today where people go from 100 percent unknown to widely known in the course of days. We have to understand social media has changed this entirely. So, you know, an example – I went on the Hannity and I didn't know how people would react, and people reacted very, very strongly – that, in many ways, very positively. So, you don't know how many more of those kinds of things are going to happen that start to change dynamics. So, for now, I'm just going to keep getting my message out. That's the way I look at it. 

Who has not gone? You have not gone –

Question: Back to Pantaleo – was there ever an offer made or an agreement to have him resign [inaudible] judge’s recommendation – 

Mayor: I can only speak to – my piece in this process was very limited, hearing from the Police Commissioner what his decision was. And I've said obviously for weeks and weeks and weeks that the law is the law and I honored his decision. Again, I don't know if other people talk to anybody about anything. I know that when he came to me, that was the decision he had made, what you saw in the end, the termination. 

Who has not gone? Anyone who's not gone. Okay, Gloria?

Question: You were where this morning? Doing what town hall?

Mayor: New Hampshire, WMUR, but they’re not going to play it for quite a while apparently. 

Question: And is that, like, a local –

Mayor: It’s the TV station in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Question: Mr. Mayor, you’ve been touting the paid time off on the campaign trial. Speaker Johnson said about a week ago that, it’s a great goal, but there’s a lot of work to be done [inaudible] go through. He’s also been talking about divestment [inaudible]. I wonder if you worry about trying to get those policies done in the City while you’re also out of the City campaigning? And then, what kind of work have you done on paid time off? What do you plan on doing in those campaigns?

Mayor: So, no, I don't worry, and I'll tell you why. This is one of the parts of being an executive. My colleague will recognize this immediately. When you're in charge of a huge, huge operation, you set plans in motion, make sure everyone's on the same page, understands there's a work plan, there's a timeline, and off we go. A CEO who does not have good enough people in place to implement plans or has to worry, you know, every day whether the plans are being implemented, there's something fundamentally wrong in that picture. I know on the divestment that all the stakeholders who were necessary to move it forward were there the very first day publicly pledging themselves and agreeing to all the actions needed to put the thing in motion, and that has continued to pace. I'm very comfortable, especially in comparison with the rest of the world, Julia. And this is important – a lot of wonderful cities around the world, a lot of cities that consider themselves progressive, but we're one of the few that took such a definitive action and with all the right stakeholders agreeing upfront. But we also said at the time, there's an unwinding period. There's a series of steps, but they're happening and they undoubtedly are going to follow through. On the paid time off, the folks that I've talked to – stakeholders in this city, community activists, labor, Council members – again, I don't have any doubt in my mind this thing is moving in the right direction. I've spoken to Speaker Johnson, he and I share a concern – we want to make sure that we are fair to smaller businesses, in particular. The proposal we put forward is based on previous models like paid sick leave, but there's going to be a discussion. This was literally one of the questions on the first day when we announced it of is there going to be a discussion in the Council about how to address that issue. Yes. But he and I talked in the last couple of weeks and I think it's going to be passed this year and we're taking the actions to get it passed this year. So, I’m very comfortable that things are moving to pace.

Question: [Inaudible] dollar figure and you just said all stakeholders were in agreement, but actually FDNY and NYPD pensions, which make up about $1.3 billion of the $5 billion haven't opted out yet. So, what's going on there?

Mayor: Yeah, look, I believe based on everything that we've done that this is what's going to happen in the end. The biggest stakeholders have, the Comptroller has, the Mayor has – yeah, there's still some work to be done on some of the others, no doubt. But I think, again, when you look at how things actually move on a big scale, and when you look at the fact that there's so many other places that haven't even gotten to first base, I'm comfortable that we're going to see it through and we're going to get to all $5 billion. 

Anybody else? Last call? Yes?

Question: Just two final questions – one about a plan to get homeless people off a subway and get them into temporary housing. I know there’s been a push for that [inaudible] expand on that?

Mayor: Well, there's been a lot different pieces, especially the HOME-STAT initiative, which now I think is about 2,200 folks who are homeless, both street and subway – and I want to say the number for the subway is about 600 who are in the subway – have now been brought in, have been off the street. That's the big piece of it. But now this new initiative around summons, it's a really interesting and promising possibility. We just started it. We saw a lot of homeless people, taking it up, meaning we piloted it and said, you can avoid a summons by coming in, getting services, getting help. A lot of people said, yes, we're going city-wide immediately with it. It was so successful so quickly that we're going to now make it a much bigger thing. And I think when you combine those approaches, it's going to be adding up more and more. For a long time in the City we did not have a super focused, sort of, concentrated effort to getting people in and keeping them in. The more we're doing, the more we see it works. 

Question: And this is my final question for both you and the Chancellor. What do you say to students that come from immigrant families as they're going back to school in two weeks after the ICE raids? What's happening [inaudible] Sunset Park, Harlem. What's your message to those students and the parents of those students who may be worried about picking them up from school and taking them to school?

Mayor: I say that we want to keep these families safe, we want keep these children safe, and we will. We do not let ICE into public school property and, you know, any child, any family that's afraid can talk to people in their schools and know that they're going to be respected on that we're going to help in every way. And folks still have to go about their lives, even though I understand the fear – folks need to go about their lives and children need to get, you know, their education and we're going to support them in every way we can.

Chancellor Carranza: Yeah. I want to echo what Mayor de Blasio has said. Our schools are safe havens. Everyone that is in a school is there to protect, but to educate, to nurture our students. So, for all of our families, we don't check for immigration status. We don’t – all that matters is that you're breathing in and out in the City of New York. You have a right to come to one of our schools and we're going to take care of you. And we don't let ICE into our schools. 

[Chancellor Carranza speaks in Spanish]

Mayor: Okay, last call. Yeah?

Question: [Inaudible] donations to qualify for the next Democratic debate. 

Mayor: So, we’ve got a lot more to do is the truth. And, again, the, September debate and the October debate have the same exact qualifying standards. Just like June, July, they were cumulative. So, if a candidate – there was one candidate who didn't get into June but was able to get into July. I’m going to keep going to put together those donations. We’ve got a lot more to do, but, again, I argue that things can happen so quickly nowadays, a single moment can change everything. And I believe that as the message gets out, more and more people are going to buy into it. 

Question: [Inaudible] halfway there?

Mayor: No, we're not halfway there. I'm not going get into details, but we have more to do for sure. Okay, last call – I’ve got two, and that's it. Gloria? 

Question: How much time are you spending these days trying to make sure that you get there?

Mayor: I don't know how to give you an exact time amount, but it's a part of what I do. I do a lot of different things. I obviously I've spoken to a whole range of audiences on the ground in states, media appearances, you know, everything that it takes to put together a campaign.

Question: If you don’t meet these goals, would you be open to a Vice Presidency from another candidate?

Mayor: That’s very kind of you to offer.

[Laughter]

Mayor: Again, I believe as the chief executive of the nation's largest city, and I'm proud to say with a great team, we've been able to make some really big changes here. I'm running cause I think I have something to offer that a lot of other candidates don't have, who are really great people but have not had to lead something this big, this challenging. And I have ideas and a message that's different from any of the candidates and I want to get that out and I'm going to keep doing that. And the people will judge and then the future will take care of itself. 

Question: [Inaudible] no. 

Mayor: Thank you. 

[Laughter]

Mayor: Thanks, everyone.