On April 9, 2025, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and UFT president Michael Mulgrew announced the hiring of 3,700 teachers amid alarming statistics of chronic absenteeism in schools. Public-school teacher Mike Dowd criticized the existing reforms, which allow students to skip class without penalty, distracting from the responsibility of attendance. This shift has not only inflated graduation rates but also failed to hold students accountable for their education. Dowd argues that these policies diminish the importance of class attendance and encourage a detrimental mindset among students, representing a profound cultural shift in educational expectations.
"If you don't care whether children come to class, you don't care if they learn at all - and that's what New York City's regular public-school system has come to."
"A third of students in Department of Education schools, more than 300,000, are chronically absent - and uncounted others miss much of the school day."
"It’s a grotesque 'culture shift,' Dowd warns, 'as attending class goes from being a widely understood responsibility to a mere lifestyle choice.'"
"These policies, he fumes, are teaching students 'that attending class is optional, undermining their education and future success.'"
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