English learner’s parent seat on education council still empty

The election results are in for the 32 Community Education Councils (CECs) across the city. Seven candidates have been elected to the District 10 CEC, which encompasses public schools in the northwest Bronx.

There will be a runoff for an eighth spot. Nine parents are supposed to be on each council, with a seat reserved for one parent of a child receiving special education services (often referred to by their Individual Education Programs, or IEPs) and another parent whose child is an English Language Learner (ELL).

Parents’ association presidents, secretaries and treasurers from the schools in the district cast their votes for the council candidates. The borough president appoints two voting members and the district’s superintendent appoints a high school student to a non-voting position. 

This year, the Department of Education (DOE) sponsored a sweeping awareness campaign that called on parents to run for their local CECs. More than 1,200 parents ran for 325 positions — over 500 more than last year. In District 10, 29 people ran for spots this year. 

“It was a significant increase for our district,” said Marvin Shelton, who was reelected as president of the local CEC last week.

But even with this year’s uptick in applicants, District 10 still lacks an ELL parent. CECs have been required to include both special needs and ELL parents since 2010. Mr. Shelton, who has served on this council since 2004, said no one has ever held the ELL seat in District 10. This year, no one ran for the slot.

“They have to do a better job in terms of getting ELL parents involved,” Mr. Shelton said of the DOE.

The CEC president said the fact the council’s materials are in English could deter ELL parents from applying, explaining that they themselves likely speak English as a second language.

Mr. Shelton’s oldest child graduates from the Bronx High School of Science this month; his younger one will start middle school at the David. A. Stein Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy (RKA, M.S./H.S. 141) in the fall.

The other local CEC members are Kent Bowman (with a child at P.S. 207 in Kingsbridge), Francis A. Cutrone (P.S. 86 in Kingsbridge Heights), incumbent Rubnelia Agostini (P.S. 205 near the New York Botanical Garden), Emma Green Allotta (P.S. 246 in Kingsbridge), Ricardo Concepcion (P.S./M.S. 279 off the Grand Concourse), and IEP parent Milagros Rodriguez (P.S./M.S. 20 in Bedford Park).