Image: nyappleseed.org
Drawing upon 25 years of experience, Sharyn O’Halloran is a professor of political economics at Columbia University. She is also an author whose work has earned her awards and grants from the National Science Foundation, Hoover Institution, and Russell Sage Foundation. Sharyn O’Halloran’s educational pursuits extend to the nonprofit sector, as she is a supporter of New York Appleseed, an organization that advocates for more diverse schools and communities throughout the state.
This past September, Appleseed representatives stood with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials as they announced the approval of a plan to encourage and facilitate an increase in diversity at 11 middle schools in Brooklyn’s Community School District 15. Prior to the approval of the community-driven plan, District 15 was a choice school district, which meant none of its schools served a specific geographical area; 10 of the 11 schools utilized a screened admissions method that favored privileged students.
However, the new desegregation plan includes a proposal to remove academic-based screening from each of those middle schools and a measure to set aside 52 percent of enrollment to children from low-income families, as well as those learning to speak English. De Blasio also announced the City was putting aside an additional $2 million to launch similar desegregation programs in other districts.
