Paula Rogovin

Parks for Kids NYC
New York, NY

Paula Rogovin, founding member of Parks for Kids NYC, taught in the New York City public elementary schools for 44 years until she retired in 2018. She began a movement with others in New York City in 2015 that resulted in the passage of legislation in April 2021 banning pesticides in city parks and playgrounds. She assembled scientists, policy makers, and activists as her students went down to City Hall to call for the end of harmful pesticide use and attracted the attention of City Council Member, Ben Kallos, and the local media. Ms. Rogovin is an active member of Parks for People NYC, which is working to move forward effective implementation of the law and community education on alternatives. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Bank Street College of Education. She co-founded Educators Against Racism and Apartheid, the Teaneck (NJ) Peace and Justice Vigil, the Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains, and the Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition (working to stop proposed fracked gas power plants). Ms. Rogovin has written several books, which she wrote to assist educators in developing social justice curriculum: Apartheid is Wrong, A Curriculum for Young People (United Nations Center Against Apartheid), and three Heinemann books: Classroom Interviews, a World of Learning; The Research Workshop, Bringing the World into Your Classroom; and Why Can’t You Behave, a Teachers’ Guide to Creative Classroom Management.