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It also describes why she believes high-quality education from Specialized High Schools and related opportunity programs, including the Discovery Program, can improve educational outcomes despite unequal access to intensive test preparation.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/declaration-of-lauren-r-mahoney-supporting-access-to-specialized-high-schools-via-discovery-program/274485/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/declaration-of-lauren-r-mahoney-supporting-access-to-specialized-high-schools-via-discovery-program/274485.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Ezra","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",17,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Who is Lauren R. Mahoney and what is her role in this declaration?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Lauren R. Mahoney provides a sworn declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746. She states she is over 18, fully competent to make the declaration, and explains her children’s educational and SHSAT experiences.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How did Mahoney describe her children’s preparation for the SHSAT?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Her son and daughter enrolled in an afterschool SHSAT preparatory program in seventh grade and continued until the October 2018 exam. She explains the program ran longer than the school day and required additional time and forgoing an elective course.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What argument does the declaration make about specialized test preparation and access to opportunities?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The declaration argues that students should not be disadvantaged solely because they have access to more intensive test prep services. It highlights the Discovery Program as providing opportunities for students without the same educational access and contends that Specialized High Schools would offer better educational benefits.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},274485,1789477917,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":107,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},1099514068035,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Case 1:18-cv-11657-ER Document 87-6 Filed 05/03/19 Page 1 of 7  \nExhibit 5  \nCase 1:18-cv-11657-ER Document 87-6 Filed 05/03/19 Page 2 of 7  \nUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK  \nCHRISTA MCAULIFFE  \nINTERMEDIATE SCHOOL PTO, INC., et al.,  \nPlaintiffs,  \nv.  \nBILL DE BLASIO, in his official capacity as mayor of New York, et al.,  \nDefendants,  \nand  \nTEENS TAKE CHARGE, et al.,  \nDefendantIntervenors.  \nCase No. 1:18-cv-11657  \nDECLARATION OF LAUREN R. MAHONEY  \nLauren R. Mahoney, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declares the following:  \n1. My name is Lauren Rebekah Mahoney, I am over 18 years of age, and I am fully competent to make this declaration.  \n2. I was born on Long Island, New York, and now live in the Bronx, New York. I have lived in the Bronx for 10 years.  \n3. My son and daughter, N.E.F. and N.D.F. respectively, are eighth-grade students at St. HOPE Academy (St. HOPE). They both recently took the SHSAT.  \nN.E.F. and N.D.F. are both eligible for free lunch at St. HOPE.  \n4. While at St. HOPE, N.D.F. has maintained a grade point average 3.0. or higher. She currently has a 4 in Math, which is the highest possible mark for a course.  \nCase 1:18-cv-11657-ER Document 87-6 Filed 05/03/19 Page 3 of 7  \n5. N.E.F. has also been academically successful at St. HOPE and enjoys Math and  \nU.S. History.  \n[6. N.E.F. is](6. N.E.F. is) extremely athletic – he is on St. HOPE’s football team, takes afterschool fencing lessons with one of his teachers, and plays basketball recreationally.  \n[7. N.D.F. is](7. N.D.F. is) artistically inclined and enjoys drawing as well as dancing; she is hoping to [one day become a choreographer. N.D.F. is](one day become a choreographer. N.D.F. is) also plays on the girls’basketball team.  \n8. N.E.F. and N.D.F. are both involved in the Green Team at St. Hope, a school program that teaches students about waste reduction, recycling, and composting.  \n9. I have known about New York’s Specialized High Schools and the SHSAT for quite some time – specifically, since I took the test myself. I was reintroduced to the Specialized High Schools and the SHSAT when teachers invited my children tojoin an afterschool SHSAT preparatory program (the “prep program”) .  \n10. In preparation for the SHSAT exam, N.E.F. and N.D.F. enrolled in the prep program in the seventh grade and remained in the program up until the date of the October 2018 SHSAT exam. While school for most students ended at 4 PM each day, the prep program ended at 5 PM; thus, in addition to extra homework, prep program students such as N.E.F. and N.D.F. attended school for an additional hour each day. N.E.F. and N.D.F. were willing to take the  \nCase 1:18-cv-11657-ER Document 87-6 Filed 05/03/19 Page 4 of 7  \ntwo-hour course and forgo an elective course, because they wanted to get into good schools receive a stellar education.  \n11. N.E.F. thought that the SHSAT exam was extremely challenging. He had a fever the day of the test but still took the exam – he was determined to get into a Specialized High School. He felt that the testing environment was much different than his classroom setting, where he knew all of the students. He was unable to answer a few of the questions towards the end of the exam because he ran out of time. N.E.F. felt that the questions were more difficult than those reviewed in the prep program. Also, N.E.F. believed that if he had been better prepared, his score would have been much higher – because he would have been able to develop better skills for resolving questions and would have been able to work on timing.  \n12. Similarly, N.D.F. felt that the SHSAT was harder and longer than the state Regents tests, and that the prep program offered at St. HOPE provided preparation, but that the preparation was not extensive and did not make her. feel prepared for the SHSAT.  \n13. Students should not be better prepared than others to take the SHSAT just because they have access to more intensive test prep services or ","cbCaivmjHHolF1dL","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivmjHHolF1dL","pdf",298296,"English","# Declaration of Lauren R. Mahoney\n## Background and family details\n## Children’s academic performance and activities\n## SHSAT preparation and test experience\n## Argument for equal preparation opportunities\n## Educational goals and outcomes","[{\"question\":\"Who is Lauren R. Mahoney and what is her role in this declaration?\",\"answer\":\"Lauren R. Mahoney provides a sworn declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746. She states she is over 18, fully competent to make the declaration, and explains her children’s educational and SHSAT experiences.\"},{\"question\":\"How did Mahoney describe her children’s preparation for the SHSAT?\",\"answer\":\"Her son and daughter enrolled in an afterschool SHSAT preparatory program in seventh grade and continued until the October 2018 exam. She explains the program ran longer than the school day and required additional time and forgoing an elective course.\"},{\"question\":\"What argument does the declaration make about specialized test preparation and access to opportunities?\",\"answer\":\"The declaration argues that students should not be disadvantaged solely because they have access to more intensive test prep services. It highlights the Discovery Program as providing opportunities for students without the same educational access and contends that Specialized High Schools would offer better educational benefits.\"}]","Declaration of Lauren R. Mahoney - Supporting Access to Specialized High Schools via Discovery Program | PDF",18]