Manhattan Borough President
Virginia Fields’ Dedication
to Education
By Liza Young
With an anticipating crowd awaiting her, including prominent
members of City Council and of the community, Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields recently delivered
the State of the Borough Address,
revealing accomplishments, areas that
need attention, and her visions for the future.
The major theme woven through
her public address is the idea of inclusion: that every resident
of NY have access to quality health care, education, and
housing.
With
respect to education, President Fields from early in her
career has worked towards improving the educational system,
and continues to examine the area and set forth higher standards.
She expressed her vision of an educational system where the
emphasis is not bogged down by bureaucracy with heavy testing
of students to the point of not seeing the “needs and aspirations
of each child.” She rather envisions a system of “putting
children first.” For President Fields, this means:
extending after-school programs; increasing pre-school programs
and improving existing ones; attaining qualified teachers
while retaining current excellent ones; fostering arts and
vocational education; and seeing that schools reflect the
needs of the workplace through the partnering of businesses
and educational leaders in designing high school programs
so as to bridge the road from school to work.
Resonating
the poetry of Langston Hughes, she stated, “Let’s not defer
the dream of quality education in Public Schools.” All
evidence points towards President Fields fostering this dream.
At the end of her address, a woman from the audience approached
her, and with tears in her eyes, thanked her for her contributions
to education, particularly in the field of vocational education,
where she now sees a brighter future for her son.#
