🛝 NYC's Empty Seat Crisis, Latino Families Want Bilingual Ed, Algebra Access Remains Unequal

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: New York City is spending millions on child care seats that sit empty while families struggle to find spots. Meanwhile, polls show Latino families want bilingual education but don't trust schools to deliver it well. And despite decades of debate, access to 8th grade algebra still breaks along racial and economic lines.

Have a Bold Idea to Transform Learning?

We’d like to invite you to join the next 4.0 Essentials Fellowship - a hands-on experience to test your idea, get $500 to pilot it, and connect with education innovators.

👉 Apply now! 

or if you know someone great for this - nominate a potential changemaker!

💎 Data Gem

A survey of more than 825 U.S. colleges and universities found newly enrolled foreign students are down 17% in fall 2025, even though total international enrollment is down only about 1%.

Universal Child Care Must First Solve the Empty Seat Problem

New York City has roughly 136,000 free child care seats for kids ages 4 and under. Last year, more than 27,000 of them sat empty - about 1 in every 5 seats.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani just announced a $6 billion plan for universal child care for children 2 and under. 

But he'll need to solve the empty seat problem before building new capacity.

The issue? 

Current contracts don't allow providers to convert seats. A Brooklyn center visited by Mamdani has two large classrooms that have sat empty for five years. The facility switched from serving infants and toddlers to exclusively offering city-funded pre-K and 3-K programs, but can't enroll enough 3- and 4-year-olds to fill the space.

Providers know there's demand for infant and toddler care in their neighborhoods, but they can't convert the unused pre-K seats to serve younger children, even though they still have the licensing.

City Council members are urging the Education Department to rebid contracts with more flexibility when they expire next year. 

Providers also want the ability to convert part-day seats into full-day, year-round care.

The empty seat crisis points to a mismatch between funded capacity and actual demand. Solutions that help providers understand neighborhood-level needs and optimize seat allocation could address billions in wasteful spending while better serving families.

Latino Families Want Bilingual Education But Question School Readiness

New polling from The Century Foundation found Latino families in California rate their interest in bilingual education at 7.9 out of 10, and dual-language immersion programs at 7.8 out of 10.

"We can go ahead and put to bed the notion that there is widespread majority support for English-only education amongst Latino communities in California," said Conor Williams, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation.

But there's a complication. 

While Latino families place high value on bilingualism, 60% said the most effective way to help their child become bilingual was at home through family language use - not at school.

The reason? 

Most families surveyed have concerns about how schools deliver bilingual programs. They worry schools may teach language too formally or approach bilingualism incorrectly. Others expressed misconceptions, like believing bilingual programs might hinder English-language acquisition (research shows the opposite).

The disconnect: high demand, low confidence in execution.

It will take significant investment to meet that demand. 

The polling data suggests opportunities for curriculum developers, teacher training platforms, and family engagement tools that can help schools deliver bilingual education in ways that build family trust and address common misconceptions.

Only 58% of Schools Offer 8th Grade Algebra

A new NWEA study of 162,000 8th graders across 22 states found that just 58% of schools offer algebra by 8th grade.Access is much lower in rural areas, high-poverty schools, and schools with more than 75% Black or Latino students.

But availability isn't the only problem. 

Even when schools offer the course, enrollment gaps persist.

More than half of Asian students enroll in 8th grade algebra when it's available, compared with 22% of Latino students and 17% of Black students. Among high-achieving students, 84% of Asian students and 68% of White and Latino students were enrolled, compared to only 60% of Black students.

NWEA identified the culprit: placement practices. 

Most schools use a mix of standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, and parent requests to make decisions. This approach introduces bias.

The recommended solution? 

Universal screening and automatic enrollment of high-achieving students into advanced math pathways. Several states including Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington have made progress using this method.

The research matters because students who take early algebra are more likely to succeed in advanced high school math, pursue STEM majors, and earn more over their lifetimes.

The NWEA report points to demand for tools that can help schools implement fairer placement systems - automated screening platforms, bias-detection algorithms for placement decisions, and data systems that flag when qualified students are systematically excluded from advanced courses.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

• CTE expansion strategies  -  Colorado K-8 principal rapidly expanded career and technical education offerings by getting existing staff licensed in new areas and rolling out exploratory courses

• Cellphone policies evolve  -  At least 32 states and D.C. now require districts to restrict student phone use, but effective policies go beyond bans to teach healthy digital habits

• Special education turnover varies  -  SPARC Center analysis of seven states reveals special education teacher attrition patterns differ dramatically by state and school context, requiring targeted retention strategies

• Chronic absenteeism persists  -  Study shows 1 in 4 children in San Antonio, Texas chronically absent, with districts losing an estimated $60 per student for each day missed

📚 Weekend Reads

Monthly roundup of resources you might like:

• Academic Recovery Still Elusive — Data showing students need 4.8 additional months in reading and 4.3 months in math to reach pre-pandemic levels.

• Current Term Enrollment Estimates — Spring 2025 undergraduate enrollment up 3.5% to 15.3 million students, with community colleges leading the resurgence at 5.4% growth

• Educator Pay Rankings 2024-25 — State-by-state analysis showing average teacher salary reached $74,177, yet inflation has teachers earning 5% less than a decade ago

• Public Confidence in Schools — Record-low public approval with only 13% giving schools an A or B grade, and 59% of parents preferring private school options with public funds

To stay up-to-date on all things education innovation, visit us at playgroundpost.com.