ICE PAC (ICE Parent Action/Education Advocacy Committee)

Middle school families: This is the last newsletter before spring break, which means it is the last newsletter before the state English Language Arts test, which takes place the day after the students return. Although the school must administer the test, your child does not have to take it. If you plan to refuse the ELA on behalf of your child, please do so as soon as possible so that administration can plan how many teachers are needed for proctoring, how many testing rooms are needed, etc. If you weren't able to hand in a letter at conferences, you can use these online links in English and Spanish to indicate that you want to opt out.  

If you are still on the fence, please read this letter from the principal of the Brooklyn New School. While BNS is an elementary school, there are several similarities with ICE that she mentions, among them that neither school does test prep and that both schools instead use performance-based assessments. The pressure on schools from the NYC Department of Education and the State Education department to have students sit for the state tests is tremendous; a voice like the one in this letter is exceedingly rare. You might also read this op ed from an upstate parent and educator, summarizing what opt out has achieved to date and why there is still more to be done. 

If you have further questions, check out this or email ICE PAC chair Kemala.