The Democratic candidate for mayor of New York, Eric Adams, and the president of the Dominican-American Association of School Supervisors and Administrators (Adasa), Robert Mercedes, denounced the lack of educational services and materials for students of ethnic minorities in New York .
The statements were released after a discussion between Adams and Mercedes, within the framework of the XXI Gala Dinner and Granting of Scholarships where more than 50 students received sponsorships to support their university studies, some, for the first time, under the responsibility of the Dominican consulate .
Recently, in the debate between the Democratic candidates for mayor, the candidate Adams declared that “the main crime of the city” is committed by the educational system against minority students.
He assured that 65% of New York students read and write well below the grade they are studying.
According to Adams, who was a former Brooklyn County presiding police officer, 35% of inmates on Rikers Island, the nation’s largest penal colony, have learning disabilities. and 80% did not finish high school.
Likewise, Adams said that he always had a learning disability, but the school never offered him the services he needed.
“It was at the university, where I was able to explain to myself why I had so many difficulties in school,” he said.
For his part, the president of Adasa, who also directs Middle School 390 in the Bronx, called for more diversity in the curriculum, with books written by Latinos and African Americans.
“Since Latino and African American students don’t identify with books, most end up in dropout statistics,” Robert Mercedes revealed.
Mercedes also said that culturally relevant educational materials for Hispanic and African American students are lacking.
For Mercedes it is “urgent” that the children have culturally relevant educational materials. “The future of this city depends on them and if we don’t educate them, the city has no future,” he said.
The ceremony was attended by several Dominican-New York personalities, such as Dr. Rafael Lantigua, and educators Renzo Martínez, Luz Liriano, Vanessa Macdonna and Edwin Quezada, who received special recognitions.
Similarly, during the ceremony held at the Terrace on the Park, in Queens, the new Adasa board of directors was sworn in and the New York educational chancellor, Meisha Porter, was honored as a guest of honor.
– .
