Senate Resolution No. 5315

BY: Senator PARKER

COMMENDING NYU Metro Center upon the occasion of
celebrating its 40th Anniversary from May 17-20,
2018

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
commend those institutions of true purpose and high achievement whose
exemplary programs and accomplishments clearly demonstrate an enduring
pursuit of excellence in the education of the youth of the Empire State;
and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend NYU Metro Center upon the occasion of its 40th Anniversary to be
feted with a Born After Brown Celebration from May 17-20, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 1890 as the first School of Pedagogy at an
American University, NYU Steinhardt exemplifies the University's
commitment to public service and seeks to advance knowledge, creativity,
and innovation at the crossroads of culture, education, and human
development; and

WHEREAS, Metro Center's leadership reflects that commitment to
public service and the dream of an equitable education system; and

WHEREAS, For four decades, NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on
Equity and the Transformation of Schools, commonly known as Metro
Center, has promoted equity and opportunity in education through engaged
science work: applied research, program evaluation, policy analysis,
community engagement, and professional assistance to educational,
governmental, and community agencies serving vulnerable populations; and

WHEREAS, NYU Metro Center engages staff and personnel from more than
700 school districts across New York State, impacting thousands of
people including 15,204 in parenting and community engagement, 12,442
through curriculum alignment, 71,920 through instructional strategies,
13,160 through comprehensive implementation and assessment, 10,814
through teacher development, 11,484 through programs designed to promote
understanding and implementation of standards and academic content, and
over 20,000 through conferences, workshops, and special events; and

WHEREAS, Born of the dream of achieving equity in public education,
the NYU Metro Center was founded in 1978, by Dr. LaMar P. Miller with a
Teacher Corps grant from the United States Department of Education; Dr.
Miller's vision was to examine and find solutions for the problems
facing the country's public schools, especially as they affect
low-income and minority children; and

WHEREAS, In 2004, Dr. Pedro Noguera was named Metro Center's second
Executive Director; in this capacity, he oversaw numerous funding and
programmatic expansions, including a landmark Gates Foundation study on
Black and Latino males in single-sex schools, as well as both an Asian
and Spanish Bilingual Technical Assistance Center; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure, Dr. Pedro Noguera grew the Center
and advanced its mission and work, forging NYU Metro Center into one of
the nation's leading organizations committed to educational equity and
school transformation; and

WHEREAS, Since 2015, Dr. David E. Kirkland has served as the
Executive Director of NYU Metro Center; in this role, he has expanded
NYU Metro Center's strategic partnerships and piloted a resource center
for school diversity with funding from the New York City Council; and

WHEREAS, Today, NYU Metro Center is nationally and internationally
renowned for its work on educational equity and school improvement; the
Center brings together scholars, educators, and innovators from diverse
backgrounds to collaborate on a range of projects to strengthen and
improve access, opportunity, and educational quality across varied
settings, but particularly in striving communities; and

WHEREAS, NYU Metro Center also boasts a broad and bold research
agenda that touch topics ranging from girls and juvenile justice to the
education, language, and literacy of men and boys of color; research
activities include topics on the impacts of poverty on student learning,
multilingual education, school climate and discipline,
disproportionality, gender identity and gender presentation, restorative
justice, PBIS, RTI, culturally relevant education, "over-the-counter"
students, SIFE/SLIFE, abilities and special education, as well as
diversity and integration; and

WHEREAS, Since its inception, NYU Metro Center has been dedicated to
the pursuit of academic excellence and social justice for all children;
for 40 years, NYU Metro Center has been a partner and resource for
schools and school districts throughout the United States and beyond;
and

WHEREAS, NYU Metro Center's professional development programs
prepare teachers, school leaders and staff, and parents to improve
school culture and climate, reduce referrals to special education, and
better support the unique needs of students, such as emergent bilingual
students, students across a range of abilities, LGBTQIA children and
youth, and students from vulnerable backgrounds; its research
initiatives inform the policy and intervention communities on how
educational reforms will impact the most vulnerable populations in and
beyond our school systems; and

WHEREAS, NYU Metro Center has continually demonstrated an impressive
dedication, an unparalleled devotion and an unremitting enthusiasm for
the quality of educational programs and opportunities offered for the
benefit of its faculty and students as well as for the entire community;
and

WHEREAS, NYU Metro Center is proudly aware of its distinguished
past, eager to fulfill its present commitment to parents, students and
the community, and planning with vision and purpose for the ebb and
swell of growth and change it will encounter in the years to come; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend NYU Metro Center upon the occasion of celebrating its 40th
Anniversary from May 17-20, 2018; and be it further


RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Dr. David E. Kirkland, Executive Director, NYU Metro
Center.