Brooklyn, NY – The New York City Department of Education (DOE) has released the names of six nonpublic schools, including three yeshivos, that will participate in a pilot program enabling them to receive Title I remedial education services through a third-party contractor rather than the DOE. The designated yeshivos are Bais Yaakov of Boro Park, Yeshiva Toras Emes Kaminetz and Yeshivat Ohr Haiim.
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The announcement several weeks ago that the DOE had agreed to launch the pilot program came after nearly two years of negotiations among non-public school groups, the Mayor’s office and the DOE to make the federally funded Title I program more accommodating to non-public schools. Administered under the No Child Left Behind Act, Title I — the single largest federal education program — provides remedial instruction in reading and writing, math, English as a Second Language (ESL), and clinical and guidance services.
While the Title I law mandates “equitable participation” for nonpublic schools, in New York City only 30 or so yeshivos — and only 30% of eligible students in those yeshivos – receive Title I services at this time. Among the reasons for the low level of Jewish school participation, says Agudath Israel director of education affairs Mrs. Deborah Zachai, is the fact that Title I services are currently provided directly by the DOE through unionized teachers whose schedules are generally not compatible with the typical yeshiva school day. Agudath Israel -– joined in recent months by other yeshiva representatives — has been pushing for changes in the program that would make it more flexible and better able to accommodate scheduling and other specific needs of yeshivos.
The pilot program, which will run through the 2008-2009 school year, is a “welcome outcome” of those efforts, says the Agudah representative. “Our expectation is that, after its successful introduction, the program will be expanded for the school-year 2009-2010 and beyond.”