Some parents warn of conservative culture wars in NYC’s education council elections

“PLACE, which stands for Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum Education, originally formed in 2019 to fight to preserve and expand selective admissions policies in the city’s public schools. Critics at the time said the group employed racially-charged language to oppose changes to admissions policies that would have allowed more Black and brown students to attend elite schools.

In response to the criticism, PLACE leaders said the group’s members aren’t united by a single political ideology, but instead by their support of rigorous academics – like pushing to preserve the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test.

“We look for candidates who support merit-based education rooted in strong academics, ones who want more access and opportunities to challenge students’ intellect and readiness, and won’t undermine it by lowering expectations,” said parent Yiatin Chu, co-founder and co-vice president of PLACE, a former member of CEC1, said in response to questions from Gothamist.”

Read the full article on the Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/some-parents-warn-of-conservative-culture-wars-in-nycs-education-council-elections