Thank you for visiting my website!

My name is Whitney Toussaint, and I am running for a seat on Community Education Council 30. I have been on the council since July 2021, was elected President by my fellow council members on August 2022, and was elected Co-President in August 2024. As Co- President, I’ve strived to ensure that our council continues to include more voices from our community, including the most marginalized.

I decided to serve on the Community Education Council because public schools are vital to our communities and serve as the cornerstone of education for many children. Furthermore, as an IEP Parent, I have truly learned how important being a vocal advocate is to ensure that children get the support they need to be successful at school. Also, with the help of our Superintendent, I was able to have virtual meetings with Principals in our district so that I could be a strong advocate for them and the needs of their school communities.

As a Council Member and Co-President, I’ve learned so much and tried my best to navigate the DOE to ensure that our district is heard and we receive the support we need. I am still learning more each day. In this role, you must ensure you work for all of the schools in our district, not just the one your child attends. I’ve called into Panel for Education Policy meetings to advocate for more funding for school budgets and made them aware of the needs of our district, especially as we continue to serve one of the largest asylum-seeking student populations in the city.

Although some people would like to say that CECs have no power, I’ve utilized my position to speak to the leaders at the DOE for more resources for our district and successfully used our Town Hall to get the Chancellor's team to visit Louis Armstrong Middle School and get started on much-needed Cafeteria improvements there. I also worked closely with elected officials to ensure that much-needed schools in Court Square and Hunters Point would not continuously be delayed and would be built to serve our district.

I want to continue working for more equity and ensure District 30 families are empowered to make positive changes. I want to continue to uplift our diverse community, advocate for our non-English speaking families, ensure our Special Education Students are well supported, and elevate best practices about anti-racism work. In closing, I would like to use the knowledge I have gained in this role to build on the momentum that I think we are achieving with making change, and I hope that I am re-elected to do just that.

Please feel free to explore the rest of the pages on my website, and thank you for your consideration.