An Education Reform Now volunteer and parent with a great op ed in the NY Post:

As the father of five children, no issue concerns me more right now than the quality of their education. That's why I'll attend tonight's Panel for Educational Policy meeting and support its members' voting to replace 25 long-struggling schools with better options.

Like every other parent, I want nothing more for my kids than for them to attend great schools that give them the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their dreams. (They have big ones.)

But when it came time to enroll them in our local schools in East New York, there just weren't any good options. Our zoned schools have low test scores and too much violence and generally are not well-regarded in the community.

Instead, I opted to send my three school-aged children far from home, to public schools in The Bronx that offered safer and more supportive environments that make up for the inconvenience. Now that they're in 3rd, 5th and 7th grades, the hour-long commute each way has become part of our routine — even if it still takes a toll on them, their extracurricular activities and homework time.

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