Is a future darling of the progressive movement about to move from the principal鈥檚 office to Capitol Hill? Jamaal Bowman hopes so.
The veteran principal of a New York City public school recently left the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School to run full-time against Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., in the Democratic primary. Bowman is running to Engel鈥檚 left in an attempt to unseat the veteran Democrat, who was first elected to Congress in 1988.
He鈥檚 publicly embraced the idea that , D-N.Y., who scored a huge upset by unseating former Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowley in the 2018 Democratic primary and has become one of the most prominent progressive politicians in the country. He thinks American public schools and the disadvantaged students in them He has a plan for a 鈥淣ew Deal for Education.鈥� And he has some blunt thoughts about federal lawmakers鈥� shortcomings when they think about public schools.
We spoke with him by phone about those and other issues on Wednesday.
On how his career as a principal prepared him to serve in Congress, and whether he鈥檚 been inspired by the #RedForEd movement:
Asked how his work has made him a good fit for federal office, Bowman said that his career in schools, indeed any career in education, is characterized by service to others. He also highlighted his work as a teacher and guidance counselor in New York City before founding the Cornerstone school, which Bowman said focuses on project-based learning and collaborative approaches, in 2009.
What led him to start the school, he stressed, is the 鈥渋nequity and oppression鈥� he witnessed in Gotham schools. And that demonstrates his ability, Bowman said, not just to identify something 鈥渄eplorable鈥� but to try to change it. The motivation for his decision to start the school also drives how the school teaches its students and what it tries to prepare them to do, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a school rooted in a curriculum and a philosophy that believes that students have the power of transformative change within them,鈥� Bowman said.
More generally, Bowman said, 鈥淓veryone who works in education is a leader to some extent.鈥� And he said he鈥檚 been inspired by teachers spurred to run by the #RedForEd movement who have not just won election but have shown their willingness to 鈥渇ight for benefits, [fight] for increased funding for their students.鈥�
A list of the organizations that employ or are otherwise formally affiliated with the biggest donors to Bowman鈥檚 campaign , based on information compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. (Note that the organizations themselves did not donate.) They include the New York City Department of Education, Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee, and , a group funded by a co-founder of Facebook.
On standardized testing, the opt-out movement, and just how much his school cares about exams:
Bowman鈥檚 stances on educational issues have previously drawn attention in New York City, and not always in admiration. Twice in 2015, the New York Post Bowman for , and specifically for his comments that such tests fit on a continuum of harm to the black community that included slavery, Jim Crow, and crack cocaine. They also dinged him for criticizing tests even though his school advertised its performance on them and attention to them during the school year.
When asked about the Post鈥檚 reporting on his stance, Bowman dismissed it and said the growth in test scores cited by the paper came as a result of his school鈥檚 work, but was not the focus of it.
鈥淛ust because my school does well on standardized tests does not mean I can鈥檛 be critical of the tests,鈥� Bowman argued, adding that when he prioritizes what he students spend time on, 鈥淲e need to prepare them for a political system that is rigged, and corrupt, and racist, and classist, so they can challenge that system and change that system.鈥�
The showed that at Cornerstone, 37 percent of students met the standard on state English exams, roughly the same as other schools in the district (a subdivision of New York City schools) but below the citywide average of 47 percent. In math, 25 percent of students met the standard, compared to 30 percent in the district and 41 percent in the city. And the school got a rating of 鈥渇air鈥� on the measure of student growth at the school for both state English and math tests.
Bowman also said he鈥檚 been a strong supporter of the opt-out movement, in which parents declined to let their children take those state exams. A national movement, opt-out has been relatively strong in New York state, although Bowman stressed that he鈥檚 barred from explicitly telling students that they should not take the exams. According to compiled for the 2017-18 school year, 2.3 percent of students at Cornerstone鈥檚 middle school declined to take the state English test, while 8.3 percent did the same for the math test; citywide, 4.4 percent of students opted out of at least one of the exams.
On whether he鈥檚 trying to follow in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez鈥檚 footsteps, and what he鈥檇 do differently from her:
Bowman鈥檚 campaign highlighted recent comments made on News12, a New York TV channel, that he could be the 鈥渘ext AOC.鈥� In our interview, he said he has to win his race first in order to truly emulate her. But he didn鈥檛 shy away from the comparison, and said she had inspired him in a way he didn鈥檛 think it be possible for a politician to do. In fact, he didn鈥檛 offer up any response to our question of whether he disagreed with her in any way.
鈥淪he has broken through the glass ceiling of how we engage with and think about politics in this nation. She is brilliant. She is fearless. She speaks truth to power. She鈥檚 brought in diverse people, younger people,鈥� Bowman said of Ocasio-Cortez. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see a space for me to talk about the things I really believe in until AOC and 鈥楾he Squad鈥� started having these conversations.鈥� (鈥淭he Squad鈥� refers to first-term Democratic members of Congress who are outspoken progressives, including Ocaso-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.)
We also asked him where he thinks his Democratic opponent Engel has done a good job representing his district in Congress. Bowman acknowledged that Engel has represented 鈥渃ertain constituents鈥� well, but that the veteran Democrat has ignored issues like affordable housing for too long at the expense of many disadvantaged residents of color in the district.
Engel, for his part, has , and Title I aid specifically, for the Bronx and Westchester County schools in his district. He鈥檚 also highlighted his support for Head Start.
On what he would say to a New York City parent who wants to enroll his or her child in a charter school:
Bowman has made it clear that he doesn鈥檛 like charter schools. Like other candidates for federal office, he wants to halt the use of federal money for the expansion of charters. But what about a parent in the Bronx or Brooklyn who isn鈥檛 thrilled with the local public school and wants the same option to go to a charter school that thousands of other Big Apple families have?
First and foremost, Bowman said, he would say the decision is ultimately theirs to make. But he went on to launch a broad attack on charter schools, calling them part of a 鈥減ropaganda machine鈥� that weakens unions to the benefit of private interests. And he called the supposed academic supremacy of charter schools a 鈥渕yth.鈥�
Ideally, Bowman said, he would be able to convince parents that their interest in education should be redirected towards lobbying local and state officials to better support the traditional public schools that already exist in the community, rather than charter schools.
鈥淭o that parent, I would say, well, what if your school were fully funded? What if the teachers in that school and the leaders in that school had the resources to fully meet the needs of your child?鈥� Bowman said.
Like two Democratic presidential candidates鈥擲ens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts鈥攈e wants to ban for-profit operators from managing charter schools. Many Democrats take a similar line, although it鈥檚 hard to see the federal government mandating such a policy for states, which set their own charter laws and regulations. He also wants a ban on virtual charter schools.
On his 鈥淣ew Deal for Education鈥� and how he thinks it differs from plans from Sanders and Warren:
It鈥檚 easy to spot similarities between what Bowman鈥檚 plan calls for in K-12 and what other presidential candidates want. Bowman wants to quadruple annual Title I funding, like Warren (Bowman cites a figure of $14 billion for annual Title I aid, but the actual figure is roughly $16 billion), and a $60,000 minimum salary for teachers, like Sanders. Other parts stand out, like his pledge to incentivize schools to cap class sizes at 20 students, and pushing states to enter into a federally backed pilot to create new assessments.
So we asked him how his education platform and philosophy stands out from others.
Bowman singled out his desire for more progressive pedagogy to be taught in schools. He said that educational philosophies such as Reggio Emilia and need to be incorporated more broadly into the public K-12 system. (One estimate is that .) He envisions a system that fosters collaboration and not 鈥渞ugged individualism鈥� and competition in schools that he says has typically disadvantaged students of color. Bowman also wants schools to prepare students for the 鈥渘ew industries that will come into alignment with the Green New Deal.鈥� (That鈥檚 a reference to a proposal in Congress from Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., that focuses on climate change and economic inequality through a new economic blueprint.)
And the former principal also wants schools to do a better job 鈥渞eckoning with history鈥� and highlighting how the nation, he says, was built on 鈥淣ative American genocide, disenfranchisement of women, and slavery.鈥�
鈥淚 did not learn about my history and culture at school,鈥� Bowman said.
These sorts of teaching strategies and decisions about curriculum are typically addressed at the state and local level.
On misperceptions federal officials have about schools
Bowman gave a long, pained laugh when we asked him about this issue, then said, 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand children. They don鈥檛 understand the miracles that teachers and school leaders make every day in dire circumstances.鈥�
More specifically, he said that policymakers often don鈥檛 understand how their decisions can create long-lasting and negative ripple effects in communities like his. Not surprisingly, he singled out the No Child Left Behind Act and its requirements for standardized testing as a particularly excruciating example of how detached powerful officials are from schools; Bowman criticized NCLB for being 鈥渁 catchphrase and a traumatic policy.鈥�
We asked him what he told Cornerstone middle school when he left to run for Congress full time. He said his message was simple: 鈥淚 love you. And I will always love you.鈥�
Photo courtesy of Jamaal Bowman鈥檚 congressional campaign