Jumaane Williams and the Challenges of the Public School System

In a story on NPR for the New York Times’s Schoolbook, they follow Council Member Jumaane Williams as he visits a summer camp in the area to talk to students, where he discusses his disability:

Some of you may see me shaking a little bit. I have Tourette’s syndrome… I have involuntary movements and vocal sounds. Most people, I don’t know who still watches The Simpsons, but Bart said he had it. If you watch South Park, Cartman said he had it cause he was cursing all the time.

And I have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. I usually like to mention that because there’s usually someone here that is dealing with things that other people may not.

They don’t mention the exact camp in the story, but Williams tweeted about meeting campers at the Flatbush YMCAa couple of weeks ago, so maybe that’s the one. UPDATE: Media relations director Stefan Ringel let us know that Williams had been visiting PS 269’s Beacon program.

They note that “only about 30% of students with disabilities graduate on time with real diplomas from the New York City public schools,” and Williams talks about fighting to stay in school after being diagnosed, and to stay out of special needs classes. Wherever he goes to speak with kids now, he stresses how much easier life can be if you have an education, calling the public school system a “jewel that needs to be polished.”