*It has been found that out of the 4800 students who were admitted to 2019-2020 term, only 190 were African Americans. It has not just been this term though. Statistics have found that the specialized high schools in New York City are experiencing a decline in Black students in recent years. These studies have actually been confirmed by the Department of Education in New York City!

Digging Further Into These Statistics

The statistics release by the Department of Education found that only 7 of the 895 students that were enrolled in Stuyvesant High School in Brooklyn were Black. The very same was the case in Technical High School in Brooklyn, as only 95 of the cumulative 1825 students were Black. Lastly, the most devastating numbers were found in the Technical High School in Staten Island. It had only 1 Black student in its total of 304 students.

The Mayor on These Shocking Statistics in NYC’s Specialized High Schools

Mayor Bill de Blasio went onto say these shocking statistics proved that a dramatic reform was necessary in order to open schooling opportunities for the Black community. This is because the admission tests of these specialized schools had really grueling exams that tested the students’ skills of English and Math.

What the Mayor Proposes

De Blasio said that one strategy of facing this problem would be disregard entrance exams and not picking only the top performers with help increase the dwindling rates of admission of Black students. These plans have naturally met a great level of opposition for the alumni groups of these specialized high schools.

The NYC mayor had also received a lot of pushback from Asian groups as they believed that removing admission tests will impact them the most. This is because of the fact that Asian students made up a massive 60% off the cumulative students in specialized high schools. Some studies have found that allowing the mayor’s plan in legislation will cut their population in half.

A Better Question

While the debate of Black students in specialized schools continued, Alexandria Ocasio – Cortez, a Democrat from New York, ask a better question. She intervened in the ongoing discussion by asking why the public schools in New York aren’t the same caliber as specialized schools such as the Tech-calibers School in Brooklyn.

Well, if the state focused on this question more, then none of the cultural groups in NYC will be deprived off a specialized education!

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!