Danyela Souza Egorov

Why I am running for CEC

March 2, 2021

There are many reasons that make me passionate about running for this position. First, I am a parent. I have one son at PS77 and another one who will start kindergarten in 2 years. I am deeply invested in making sure the D2 public schools are excellent and serve all our students.

Second, I know the power of education to transform lives. I am from Brazil and education has been my passport for a better life than the one my parents and grandparents had. I had access to great educational programs and that had a huge impact in my life. I have also seen how the wrong schools were damaging to friends and family members. I have worked with many NYC families who are not being served by their district school and had to look for other options.

Third, I have 10 years of experience in education policy and the projects that I worked on make me believe that we can greatly improve our district schools. There is new research on how students learn, particularly how they learn to read and the importance of a rich curriculum to build knowledge at an early age. We need to ensure that our schools are informed about this research body and implementing these proven methods which will greatly benefit our most vulnerable students. I have worked creating public schools, supporting school leadership, and helping parents advocate for more options for their children’s education - I will bring this experience into my future role at CEC.

Along with many parents, I have watched in dismay the D2 CEC meetings. When members of the CEC behave in an unprofessional manner, they disrespect our children and us. When members focus on their personal agendas, they not only waste our time but public resources that should be used to benefit our children. If we listen to what families want and support educators, I know our schools can do so much better than they are doing now.

If I have the honor to serve on the CEC, here are my priorities:

• Ensure the CEC does its job - CEC members must fulfill its legal responsibility to review the district’s educational programs and assess their effect on student achievement

• Focus attention and resources on the schools that are serving the most vulnerable students in our district - 54% of our students are economically disadvantaged - how to support these students and their families should be the primary focus of the CEC

• Bring the science of reading to our classrooms - ensure that all our schools have access to the latest science on how students learn to read and all kids have access to a rich curriculum

• Expand accelerated learning and programs that families actually want to enroll their kids - let's work to make the G&T programs more diverse and more accessible while making sure that advanced learners are challenged and can continue enrolling in our public schools

• Reestablish civility and decorum to the CEC - let’s be adults and respectfully disagree about policies while we work towards solutions