The New York City Department of Education (DOE) agreed last week to launch a pilot program that will enable six New York City nonpublic schools to receive Title I remedial education services for the 2008-2009 school year through third-party contractors rather than directly through the DOE. It is anticipated that the program, if successful, will be expanded for school year 2009-2010.

The development reflects a breakthrough in nearly two years of negotiations among non-public school groups — including Agudath Israel of America — the Mayor’s office and the DOE to make the federally funded Title I program more accommodating of non-public schools. Administered under the No Child Left Behind Act, Title I provides remedial instruction in reading and writing, math and English as a Second Language (ESL), as well as clinical and guidance services, and is the single largest federal education program. 
“Despite the fact that the Title I law ensures ‘equitable participation’ for nonpublic schools, the reality is that in New York City only 30 or so yeshivos — and only 30% of eligible students in those yeshivos – currently receive Title I services,” says Agudath Israel of America director of education affairs Mrs. Deborah Zachai. 

Among the reasons for the low participation, the Agudah representative observes, is the fact that Title I services are provided directly by the Department of Education through unionized teachers whose schedules are generally not compatible with the typical yeshiva school day. “For close to two years our office – joined in recent months by other yeshiva representatives — has been pushing for changes in the program that would make it more flexible and better able to accommodate scheduling and other specific needs of our yeshivos. 

“We are gratified that those efforts have finally borne fruit.”

Agudath Israel executive vice president for government and public affairs Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel who serves as vice chairman of the Committee of Nonpublic School Officials of the City of New York – the entity that dealt directly with the DOE in resolving the third-party vendor issue – credits the several Jewish and non-Jewish school groups that helped make the pilot program a reality.

“It is a great credit to Dr. Catherine Hickey, Secretary for Education of the New York Archdiocese and chairman of the Committee of Nonpublic School Officials of the City of New York, as well as to the representatives of the other non-Jewish school groups, that they recognized the inequity of the Title I program as regards the yeshivos and joined us in this effort.”
Other Jewish groups that were involved in the effort include the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York, United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and the Sephardic Community Federation.
In a memo sent last week to New York City yeshiva principals and administrators, Mrs. Zachai credited the new director of the Bureau of Nonpublic School Reimbursable Services, Ms. Caren Zayde Moncher, for spearheading and facilitating the critical breakthrough within the DOE. 
“Without Ms. Moncher’s commitment and concern for all of New York City’s schoolchildren, this major breakthrough could not have happened,” Mrs. Zachai avers.
The memo also announced that Ms. Moncher will discuss the Title I pilot program, as well as additional positive changes in the DOE’s administration of the Title I program and other federally funded education programs, at a DOE-sponsored meeting to be held later this month at Agudath Israel’s Brookdale Senior Citizen’s Center in Brooklyn. 

“It is our hope,” says Mrs. Zachai, “that as a result of these new developments, New York City yeshivos will enjoy a significant increase in the level of service in the various programs administered under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.”