Readers sound off on boosting state education, dismantling USAID and family preference

Two ways to bring New York students up to speed

Manhattan: The latest results from the Nation’s Report Card marque 1 happening painfully clear: New York is spending much connected acquisition than immoderate different state, yet our students are falling further behind. Right now, lone one-third of New York City’s fourth-graders are proficient successful math, and 28% tin work astatine people level. The numbers are conscionable arsenic alarming for eighth-graders, with 23% proficient successful mathematics and 29% proficient successful reading. Despite record-high acquisition spending, New York students are performing beneath the nationalist average. The numbers don’t prevarication — our strategy is failing and our students are paying the price.

More wealth isn’t the answer; smarter investments are. Students request real, research-backed interventions that accelerate post-pandemic learning recovery. Here are 2 clear-eyed solutions: put successful high-impact tutoring (HIT), an evidence-based strategy that delivers existent world gains, and grow schoolhouse choice, giving families much options and ensuring that each kid has entree to a high-quality education.

We’re advocating for some policies this legislative league with partners successful the nationalist charter schoolhouse assemblage and collaborating with Assembly Member Brian Cunningham to motorboat a statewide tutoring aviator program. While HIT and schoolhouse prime won’t lick New York’s speechmaking and mathematics crises, they are some captious tools to assistance students drawback up and get backmost connected track.

New York’s acquisition strategy is broken. How overmuch longer volition we support paying for failure? It’s clip to halt the discarded and put successful what works. Jacquelyn Martell, enforcement director, Education Reform Now New York

Better mode to pay

Manhattan: I americium penning to dependable my beardown enactment for physicians and wellness attraction providers. Congressional measure H.R. 879 volition hole the doc interest docket debacle that is creating an impediment to diligent care. Rising costs marque it much important than ever to make a sustainable outgo level for providers. As laminitis and CEO of the largest carnal therapy institution successful the New York metro area, keeping our patients retired of the ER is some astute and outgo effective. Please enactment this much-needed doc interest docket hole to support entree unfastened to our patients. Dan Rootenberg

Nice to hear

Brooklyn: It was a pleasance to crook to 1010 WINS connected the vigor yesterday greeting and perceive Paul Murnane’s voice. He and Wayne Cabot are precise overmuch missed, arsenic good arsenic WCBS Newsradio 880. L. Veneroni

Impermanent offense

Manhattan: Kobayashi Issa, the haiku master, discovered that the mean was destructive of the connection due to the fact that the lukewarm urine “makes a precise consecutive hole.” The nonfiction “3 swastika bigots onslaught astatine Wash. Sq. Pk., St. John’s U.” (Feb. 4) reports that “the NYPD’s hatred crimes task force” was seeking assistance successful identifying the 2 “hatemongers” who were suspected of drafting swastikas connected the snowfall adjacent St. John’s University. Ownership of snowfall depends upon what authorities the snowfall falls in. In New York, it appears that snowfall is communal property. If ownership of snowfall is simply a murky question, tin determination beryllium a graffiti misdemeanor? As to a hatred crime, the symbolism of drafting an violative representation connected an impermanent aboveground suggests the opposite. Graffiti connected snowfall positive midwinter’s warming prima rays equals melted messages. Michele P. Brown

Raw and early

Manhattan: I devour sushi for meal astatine 7 a.m. outside! Eva Tortora

Masochism for migrants

Bronx: If you instrumentality pleasance and delight successful watching immigrants being arrested and deported erstwhile their lone transgression was crossing the borderline to execute a amended beingness for their families, I warrant that you would person been yelling, “Crucify him.” Search your souls, for you are godless. John Cirolia

NGO debased blow

Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: To Voicer Michael P. Devine: Yes, the entity is falling. Nongovernmental organizations tin beryllium forced retired of concern erstwhile the Trump medication cuts their government-sponsored backing due to the fact that galore NGOs trust heavy connected grants and contracts from agencies similar the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to concern their operations and programs. A abrupt simplification successful backing tin jeopardize their quality to continue. The frost established by the Trump medication has led to a fig of acquisition and wellness programs worldwide, peculiarly successful Latin America and Ukraine, halting operations. By removing elder officials from USAID, it looks similar Trump wants to dismantle this agency. The entity is falling for researchers who enactment to forestall kid deaths by creating much effectual vaccines. Research partners were told to halt working. This abrupt halt could enactment aesculapian advancement backmost by years. The entity is falling for humanitarian assistance projects successful Ukraine that depended connected this funding. Nancy Reinhardt

Lifeline cut

Ridgefield, Conn.: President Trump and his spouse Elon Musk person axed USAID. Of course, they did truthful due to the fact that Trump said the Biden medication committed fraud and helium has the evidence. He promised to springiness america a study aboriginal on. Mr. President, volition we spot your grounds wrong 2 weeks? Millions of needy chap quality beings astir the satellite request to cognize wherefore they are going to beryllium forgotten by the United States. Michael Pickering

Call it what it is

Manhattan: “Scare Away Voting Efforts” is simply a much honorable acronym than the 1 being utilized (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) to beforehand a measurement meant to obstruct voting. It would necessitate in-person registration, eliminating those who can’t get to a registration determination easy oregon astatine all. Real IDs would not beryllium capable for registration. Rather than making it easier to ballot — 1 of our astir basal rights — the promoters of the measure usage an acronym designed to mislead, making it look similar the authorities supports voters alternatively than disenfranchising them. Voting should beryllium easy. However, fixed the predetermination lies that person mounted successful caller years, this authorities is nary surprise. Scare Away Voting Efforts tells the truth. It broadcasts the dangers successful the projected legislation. It says to telephone oregon constitute your senators and representatives and archer them to ballot nary connected authorities that volition marque it harder to vote. Alida Camp

Exercise power

Manhattan: I’ve been reaching retired to some New York senators and I’ve been immensely disappointed with the lackadaisical attack they’ve taken portion the Trump/Musk medication breaks national law. Democracies dice successful daylight if you fto them. We’re experiencing astir regular challenges to the regularisation of law. But our senators bash not look up to the challenge. What volition it instrumentality for them to aftermath up and basal up for the voters who elected them? The U.S. Senate is not a status center. Stand up oregon resign! Jim Behrle

Grassroots action

Brooklyn: To Voicer Claudette Mobley: I agree, our ideology is astatine its highest hazard successful its full history. We simply can’t enactment up with this. Change.org has conscionable started a petition to Congress to region the president and vice president for galore reasons. Congress volition not judge it today, but possibly successful the 2026 midterm elections we tin plaything the bulk backmost to sanity. There is besides Indivisible. Brought unneurotic by a applicable usher to defy the Trump agenda, Indivisible is simply a question of thousands of radical leaders and much than a cardinal members taking regular, iterative and progressively analyzable actions to defy the GOP’s agenda, elite section champions and combat for progressive policies. Sign the petition and find your section Indivisible radical oregon commencement one. Greg Ahl

Focused connected the family

Queens Village: Taken close retired of the JD Vance Project 2025 playbook, a woman’s close to her ain manner volition beryllium determined by the authorities if she is not joined oregon has nary kids, and wherever she lives by zip code! The authorities volition clasp backmost national wealth for improving the subway strategy lone due to the fact that determination are nary children surviving there?! What? One has thing to bash with the other. Did I work this right? Oh yes, the abominable Trump medication is discriminating successful the astir vile mode successful its discretion, reminiscent of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Your Sunday front-page quality on with the nonfiction connected pages 10-11 (” ‘Breed and butter’ transit plan: Fed wealth volition spell to nabes with astir families,” Feb. 2) speaks for itself. A idiosyncratic who joined 3 times, had a kid retired of wedlock and continues to prevarication is inactive OK according to his ain religion. The Republicans proceed to beryllium hypocritical successful everything they accidental oregon do. Joan Silaco