All New York City middle schools will be required to use city-approved curriculums for reading and math by fall 2027, Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos announced Monday.

As the mandates are phased in, 102 middle schools across eight districts will be required this September to use a city-approved reading program selected by their superintendent, building on a in elementary schools.

And in math, officials are continuing a planned , adding 84 schools in six local districts this fall. Just over 100 middle schools are already part of the math curriculum requirement. (There are 529 middle schools across the city鈥檚 32 local districts.)

Adams鈥� education agenda has been defined by curriculum mandates to improve reading and math proficiency. Monday鈥檚 announcement indicates Adams is following through on plans to deepen those efforts. Proponents of the curriculum overhaul contend that it can take years for the changes to bear fruit, likely leaving it up to Adams鈥� successor to see the effort through as the mayor faces an .

Adams and his first chancellor, David Banks, argued that schools have had too much leeway to pick their own curriculums, leading to uneven academic results. Under half of students in grades 3-8 are proficient in reading while about 53% are proficient in math, .

鈥淲e can鈥檛 continue to do the same things that we have been always doing and expecting to get better results,鈥� Adams said during a press conference at Brooklyn鈥檚 Dock Street School for STEAM Studies.

The reading and math curriculum mandates, known respectively as NYC Reads and NYC Solves, are meant to guarantee that schools are using high-quality programs. Principals have traditionally been allowed to cobble together their own approaches. Many about how children learn to read. Additionally, using one curriculum in each district makes it easier to scale up teacher training and may be less disruptive for students who switch schools.

The mandates have won mixed reactions from parents and educators. Some have raised concerns about the specific curriculums city officials chose and others said the city鈥檚 . All of the city鈥檚 elementary schools are now required to use one of three reading programs, and nearly all high schools have .

Teachers union chief Michael Mulgrew, a key supporter of the literacy mandate and , did not appear at Monday鈥檚 press conference. Alison Gendar, a union spokesperson, criticized the decision to expand the math mandate to middle schools.

鈥淭he DOE rollout of the new math curriculum in the high schools was dreadful,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚t makes no sense for the DOE to expand the math curriculum to middle schools when its work in high schools is unfinished.鈥�

The principals union has been more concerned about curriculum mandates, and a spokesperson did not say whether the union supports the addition of middle schools. Both unions have .

The city has not yet seen clear-cut gains from the new curriculums. State reading scores dropped last school year, with , though officials pointed to other assessment data that they said is more encouraging.

Aviles-Ramos said some test score drops are expected as teachers learn how to use the new programs. 鈥淲e are truly listening to what鈥檚 happening on the ground so we can address any issues,鈥� she said. She also predicted gains in student proficiency.

鈥淚鈥檓 super confident as we embark on sthat we are going to see improvements,鈥� Aviles-Ramos said. City officials have inor students at the cusp of passing the reading tests.

Educators at schools covered by the expanded reading and math curriculum mandates will begin to receive training this spring in addition to 12 days of 鈥渏ob-embedded coaching鈥� this fall.

All but one of the districts in the first wave of the middle school reading curriculum mandate will use a program called , including Manhattan Districts 1 and 3; Districts 7, 9, 11, and 12 in the Bronx; and District 13 in Brooklyn. District 19 in Brooklyn will use a curriculum called .

In three of those districts 鈥� 3, 9, and 12 鈥� the superintendents chose to mandate different reading programs in their middle and elementary schools. Education Department officials said superintendents made choices about which program to mandate based in part on how many schools were already using them. They did not immediately say how many middle schools are already using the curriculums mandated by their superintendent.

Notably, none of the superintendents in the initial wave chose the middle school version of Into Reading, the . That program has who contend that it is not culturally responsive, is too reliant on text excerpts rather than full books, and is not focused enough on building students鈥� content knowledge. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the company behind the program, has previously disputed those claims.

A different set of districts are mandating middle school math programs for the first time. Four districts 鈥� District 8 in the Bronx, District 17 in Brooklyn, District 25 in Queens, and Staten Island鈥檚 District 31 鈥� will all use a curriculum called Amplify Desmos. District 5 in Manhattan will use i-Ready Mathematics, and District 6 selected Illustrative Mathematics.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

New York City is giving schools extra funding to hire 3,700 teachers and 100 assistant principals to comply with a major class size reduction mandate, officials announced Wednesday.

The new educators will be distributed across 750 schools that . About 800 schools submitted applications that were reviewed by the Education Department and unions representing teachers and school administrators.

The move is the most significant effort yet to meet aggressive new class size rules required by a . Most classrooms must be capped at 20 to 25 students depending on the grade level, down from 30 to 34 under current rules.

About 46% of public school classrooms fall within the new state caps, a number that is required to rise to 60% by September.

City officials said they are confident that the new wave of teacher hiring will allow schools to hit that threshold by the deadline. But they did not immediately say how much the additional educators would cost, where the funding is coming from, or which schools would benefit.

Mayor Eric Adams, flanked by the leaders of the principal and teacher unions at Wednesday鈥檚 announcement, said smaller classes will give students more opportunity for individual attention, boost learning, and help students regulate their emotions.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no intellectual conversation we need to have,鈥� the mayor said. 鈥淚t works, and it has to be done.鈥�

That represents an about-face for Adams, whose administration previously expressed deep reservations about the state class size law, arguing that it amounts to an unfunded mandate that would require billions in additional spending on teacher hiring and school construction. Additionally, experts and the have raised concerns that the city鈥檚 highest-poverty schools , as they already tend to have smaller class sizes.

Multiple school principals said they were grateful for the extra money. Staff salaries typically come out of individual school budgets, which are allocated based on how many students enroll and whether they have additional needs, such as a disability, are behind grade level, or come from a low-income family. Money for the new staff comes directly from the Education Department, circumventing the usual funding formula.

Principals fear a cutthroat teacher hiring season

Evan Schwartz, principal of Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the Bronx, recently learned his school will receive extra funding to hire two additional teachers. The news came a day before the school planned to participate in a hiring fair, allowing administrators to recruit four teachers instead of two.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good they鈥檙e getting this out as quickly as possible,鈥� Schwartz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to hire a teacher at the end of the summer.鈥�

Schwartz estimated that at least 90% of his school鈥檚 classes will fall under the new caps thanks to the additional two teachers. He also proposed paying staff to teach an extra class on top of their regular schedules, though the Education Department has yet to approve funding requests for such measures.

Other principals said they were glad to have the extra staff but worried about finding qualified educators. City officials estimate that they will have to , up from roughly 5,000 in a typical year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a battle,鈥� said one high school principal whose request for additional teachers was approved and spoke on condition of anonymity. 鈥淚 still don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 this core of great candidates out there who haven鈥檛 been hired yet.鈥�

Studies have found that students in smaller class sizes and that children from low-income families may benefit the most. But some of those benefits when schools are forced to hire new staff.

Experts have warned of other tradeoffs associated with the .

Since affluent schools are more likely to have crowded classrooms, they will likely need more teachers, and a significant chunk of those educators may come from higher-poverty campuses. That could exacerbate existing challenges with turnover, .

Questions remain on meeting full mandate by 2028

City officials have also yet to reveal plans to comply with the class size law beyond this September, when 60% of classrooms are required to meet the new caps. All classrooms must meet the new limits by September 2028.

In some cases, officials said schools won funding to convert other space into classrooms. But hundreds of school buildings don鈥檛 have the space to comply with the new caps, and officials may be forced to issue exemptions from the law.

The city , a move favored by some class size advocates but which also faces resistance from parents vying for coveted school seats. (Some principals requested enrollment caps as part of their class size proposals but were denied.)

Another idea is to ramp up school construction to create new buildings for overcrowded schools, but those efforts are costly and typically take years. Plus, the School Construction Authority predicts that school enrollment is going to .

Some advocates praised the new funding but criticized the city for not yet revealing a broader plan to reach full compliance.

鈥淭he [Education Department] has refused to take positive steps to ensure that they will have more space in the future,鈥� said Leonie Haimson, the executive director of Class Size Matters. 鈥淭his means it is extremely unlikely that the city will meet the requirement of 80% -100% of classes achieving the caps in the last two years of the phase-in, as required by law.鈥�

This was originally published by . Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

Some migrant families will get a reprieve from a widely criticized policy that evicted them from New York City shelters every 60 days, often disrupting their children鈥檚 schooling.

Migrants living in city shelters , sometimes necessitating moves far from their initial shelter placements. But officials announced Monday that families with children in grades K-6 will only be required to move once 鈥� after their first 60 days in a city shelter.

After that, families will be able to stay in the same shelter, though they will still have to reapply, a City Hall spokesperson said.

The decision to tweak the 60-day policy comes as the influx of migrants has slowed, leading the city to close some emergency shelters. City officials argued that tweaking the 60-day policy would save money on school buses required to ferry students from new shelter placements to their original schools, though they did not provide specific estimates.

鈥淭he new policies we鈥檙e implementing today will build on our successes, save taxpayers millions, and help even more migrants take their next steps towards fulfilling their American Dream,鈥� Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

City officials also vowed to set up a centralized mail center for migrants to help them keep track of essential paperwork even as their addresses may change.

Advocates have long criticized city officials for forcing migrants to bounce from shelter to shelter, disruptions that are especially difficult for families. Although students in temporary housing have a legal right to stay in their initial school, families often face a difficult dilemma: enroll at a campus closer to their new shelter, potentially upending their child鈥檚 education, or brave longer commutes on public transit or the city鈥檚 notoriously unreliable yellow bus system.

It鈥檚 unclear how many families will be affected by the tweak to the 60-day policy. Nearly 14,000 migrant families have been given 60-day notices through Nov. 10, according to figures from Comptroller Brad Lander鈥檚 office. About 42% of them are still in the shelter system. City officials did not say how many families in the shelter system have children in grades K-6.

Multiple advocacy groups applauded the change to the 60-day policy while arguing it does not go far enough.

鈥淎llowing certain families to stay in their same shelter placement is a step in the right direction, but the city should end the 60-day limit for families and youth altogether,鈥� said Jennifer Pringle, director of the Learners in Temporary Housing Project at Advocates for Children.

The new policy will continue to create unnecessary disruptions for families who will still be required to move after their first two months in a city shelter, Pringle said. Most students living in shelters , and she believes getting rid of the 60-day rule could help boost attendance.

Christine Quinn, the CEO of a supportive housing provider for families called WIN, also urged the city to do away with the 60-day policy. The approach leaves 鈥渃ountless families in a perpetual state of limbo, creating unnecessary instability while inflicting lasting trauma,鈥� she said in a statement.

鈥淲e urge the City to go further and end these cruel and senseless shelter stay limits and administrative transfers once and for all,鈥� Quinn said.

The City Council鈥檚 immigration committee is on the 60-day policy on Tuesday.

This was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

While urban school districts like Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston have moved away from various forms of mayor-dominant governance, New York is a notable exception. Not only does the mayor appoint the schools chancellor and a majority of central school board members, he (mayors, so far, have all been male) controls the Department of Education budget and negotiates all union contracts. Through the chancellor, the mayor also appoints all 38 local district superintendents and approximately 1,700 principals.

Through the years, Democratic and Republican mayors, affirmed by bipartisan support in Albany, have supported this hegemonic model. But none have championed City Hall control like Adams. Former Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio appointed trusted lieutenants with broad discretion to lead the schools, leaving policy and operations largely in their hands. There was obviously robust communication between City Hall and DOE headquarters in the old Tweed Courthouse, but under chancellors like Joel Klein and Carmen Fari帽a, policy ideas flowed as much from Tweed as to it.

Adams changed that. In appointing Banks 鈥� a longtime political partner 鈥� to the chancellorship, Adams promoted a strong Science of Reading curriculum and a signature dyslexia screening program. Banks, whose only experience was in high school teaching and administration, was a strong figurehead for this movement but not its instigator. A ballyhooed 鈥淧athways鈥� career-preparation initiative was lifted from the Bloomberg playbook and, until her recent departure, was run by an ex-Bloomberg Philanthropies executive. New programs in special education and recent organizational restructuring appear to have arisen from within the DOE. But now, amid a into Adams’s campaign contributions, Banks has announced he will step down at the end of the year.

With the appointment of Aviles-Ramos, which Adams announced just hours before he was indicted on Sept. 25, the mayor鈥檚 dominance in educational policy is even more pronounced. Instead of the usual promises of change, Aviles-Ramos鈥� initial comments were not only effusive in gratitude to Adams and Banks, but committed to 鈥渟tability鈥� and 鈥渃ontinuing the work that began under [Banks鈥檚] tenure.” While this reassurance is important under the circumstances of an administration under broad legal attack, it is also unusual. Generally, new school superintendents arrive with the glow of change and new possibilities, promising a new agenda rather than continuity. It鈥檚 in their leadership blood and an astute political move to not be associated with shortcomings of a predecessor, even within the context of pre-existing appointive authority of a school board or mayor.

But the promise of continuity is a double-edged sword for parents and students attending New York鈥檚 public schools. Confidence is a major issue. Investigations are swirling around the administration, including reported suggestions of against Banks 鈥� whose home was raided and electronic devices seized by federal officials. Banks has denied any wrongdoing.

Having served as Banks鈥檚 chief of staff, Aviles-Ramos is justifiably seen as part of a tainted leadership. 鈥淲hat did she know and when did she know it?鈥� is a fair question. At a moment when parents are reluctant to force the issue of student attendance (chronic absenteeism rates hover ), feeling that the schools are mired in corruption is hardly an incentive to send your kids to school. Parents will be seeking a leader, not a puppet, and it remains to be seen if Aviles-Ramos can deliver on that desire.

On the other hand, it鈥檚 refreshing to have an incoming chancellor with a deep knowledge of the school system. Aviles-Ramos, a Spanish-speaking Latina, has been a New York City public school student, teacher, principal, acting superintendent and senior executive, mostly in the Bronx. She ran the system鈥檚 response to the recent influx of migrant students. New York is the nation鈥檚 largest school district, with almost 1 million students, and more than twice the size of Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest. By promoting a native New Yorker from within, instead of following the common strategy of bringing in a distinguished outsider, and providing her with a three-month on-ramp, Adams gives the new chancellor credibility on the promise of stability. Parents and teachers may rejoice in knowing that the reading and math curricula established under Banks will continue. While they may not all love the substance of these reforms, nothing drives those who inhabit actual classrooms crazier than sudden policy shifts driven by those at the top.

Even more than is usually the case, the new chancellor’s success will depend a lot on matters outside her control. But her ascent is a test of a different national paradigm for an urban superintendent: promoting centralization over decentralization, continuity over change, insider over outsider. And, in this hour of crisis, Eric Adams has sought to bring a novel spirit to American urban education: calm. Perhaps Melissa Aviles-Ramos is the woman to do that job.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at

Less than three years after taking the helm of New York City鈥檚 school system, Chancellor David Banks is planning to retire at the end of the year amid widening probes of City Hall.

Banks鈥� stunning Tuesday announcement comes nearly three weeks after federal agents visited his home the day before school started and seized his phones as part of a broader investigation into members of Mayor Eric Adams鈥� inner circle. Investigators also confiscated phones from Banks鈥� partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and his two brothers, Phil Banks, deputy mayor for public safety, and Terence Banks, a consultant and former MTA staffer.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

Investigators are who sought contracts with the city.

The announcement from the 62-year-old schools chief concludes a that stretched from being a school safety agent to helping launch a network of public schools geared toward young men of color. Tapped by Adams, who said he never seriously considered other candidates to helm the nation鈥檚 largest school district, Banks promised sweeping change to a system he described as

In his time in office, Banks focused more narrowly on two goals: instruction and .

鈥淥n behalf of all New Yorkers, we thank Chancellor Banks for his service, and wish him well in his retirement at the end of the calendar year,鈥� Adams said in a statement Tuesday.

In a Tuesday letter informing Adams of his plan to retire, Banks said he would do 鈥渆verything possible to ensure a smooth transition.鈥�

鈥淪erving as Chancellor has been a profound honor and a deeply fulfilling experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am confident that NYC Public Schools will continue to grow, innovate and excel under the next Chancellor.鈥�

Banks did not acknowledge the federal investigations in his letter, and he said his intent to retire by Dec. 31 predated the start of the school year.

The announcement comes on the heels of a series of resignations of high-profile figures in the Adams administration, including , who stepped down earlier this month, and , who plans to resign at the end of the year.

As members of his administration have left City Hall, Adams has faced pressure from some to step down. Critics were quick to use the school chancellor鈥檚 announcement as .

Banks鈥� tenure has been filled with a host of challenges: prioritizing what programs to save amid fiscal pressures of , figuring out how to , and responding to the ways in which are remaking the learning experience.

For much of last school year, the Israel-Hamas war has between students, teachers, and , thrusting Banks into the spotlight when he testified before Congress in May, .

鈥淭his is a chancellor 鈥� who is authentic, who lives his life with integrity,鈥� Banks said during a Sept. 13 press conference in response to questions about the federal investigations. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only way that I know how to be.鈥�

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools

Of the roughly migrants who have arrived in New York City since March 2022, about a are school aged children. Late spring tallies estimate at least have enrolled in the city鈥檚 public school system.

But experts serving them say the approach to housing and by extension school placement 鈥� which includes new families 鈥� is 鈥渉aphazard鈥� at best, threatening the safety and stability of children. 

鈥淲e deal with trauma all the time. We work in homelessness, but what we are experiencing is a whole other level,鈥� said Henry Love, vice president of policy and strategy for Women in Need, the largest family shelter provider in New York City and the nation.

WIN is operating several migrant-specific shelters throughout the city, predominantly converted hotels. 

Love, who holds a doctorate in developmental psychology, explained migrant children are experiencing compounding traumas: violence or instability in their home countries, death and uncertainty during the journey to the U.S., and housing instability in the city. They are still in survival mode, and many are experiencing PTSD while attempting to find normalcy in schools. 

鈥淲e’re not putting the resources into these kids for them to be able to grow and develop in the best way possible,鈥� said Love. 鈥溾�� We’ve been in this for two years, we’re going to continue to be in emergency mode. At some point, we have to think about what’s happening for these kids long term.鈥�

In conversation with 蜜桃影视, Love discusses what migrant youth are experiencing in the city today and the failures of the systems serving them, while cautioning against the creation of a separate housing system for migrants. 

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

Thinking about this particular population of newcomers, what鈥檚 top of mind for you right now? 

The kids. I feel like that’s been the issue from the onset of this. I’m a former educator, I used to teach elementary school. Just knowing what these kids have gone through, and how young so many of them are, and how critical this age is in their development 鈥� the majority of the young people that we have who are asylum seekers are under the age of 6 or 7. 

My barber, who’s from Venezuela, came with his son. He’s 56, telling me the story: Seeing a baby get his head smashed in and dying. Seeing dead bodies on the way up through . All this stuff. What does that do to a six year old? 

This is what I’ve heard from every single parent that I have talked to about what they’ve gone through to get their kids and their families here. There鈥檚 base level trauma of what caused them to leave wherever in the first place. And then there’s the trauma on the journey. And then there’s a trauma at the border. And then there’s the trauma being shipped to New York. And then there’s the trauma of being homeless here. 

On top of that, now for no reason besides to harass people, [New York City] is gonna do the 60 day eviction rule? There’s no words for just how cruel that is. What does this mean, for a population that specifically needs to be stabilized more than any other population, and we’re doing one of the things that is the most destabilizing?

How have you seen eviction orders play out?

I feel like it’s purposely complicated.

Basically, for the purpose of this conversation, we’ll say there’s two systems. Agencies that fall under the jurisdiction of the city are having shelters open up underneath them, like Housing Preservation and Development, Emergency Management.

Then there’s the Health and Hospitals system 鈥� unique because it鈥檚 a quasi-gov agency. Because of that, the right to shelter doesn鈥檛 apply the same way to them as they do to the rest of the city agencies. [The 60-day rule is under effect for families with children staying in .] That’s also why we think that the Mayor is trying to get people into these places. 

Most families are in facilities that don’t have a 60 day order, but what we are experiencing is horrible. What the city has been doing is sending all of the families out of Department of Homeless Services tier two shelters, which is mostly what we run and specialize in, and into migrant facilities. They are mostly hotels. 

It鈥檚 short notice. We’ve had buses just pull up like 鈥済et on鈥� and we’re like, what? What’s happening? 

Same day eviction sort of thing? 

It’s a same-day eviction. We were like, 鈥渨e need notification. What 鈥� you want 30-40 families?鈥� We push back on that. 

There was also another incident where we got notified within 24 hours. We communicated to the families at this particular [Brooklyn] site. When we first opened this shelter in that space a few years ago, there was so much pushback from community members against the opening of a homeless shelter. Eventually what happened was like some of the community members did a petition and they allowed us to open it. After that, there was a much better relationship with the school. 

All that to say that when we had an influx of folks coming into our sites, particularly asylum seekers, all of them went to this one elementary school. Their PTA has just loved all these families. When they heard about this [move] notification, they were like, what the hell? They organized a protest 鈥� It鈥檚 been beautiful to witness. 

There’s limited things that we can do. We can’t tell them no, we can鈥檛 stop them. We say, we can’t force you all to get on the buses, but eventually DHS police will come. And that’ll be really ugly. I don’t have words to describe sitting down with the PTA moms who were asylum seekers 鈥� they’re begging me to not transfer them. 

One of the women took her phone out and had this really heartbreaking story from her 11 year old who was at school and was texting her, 鈥淢ommy, I鈥檓 afraid to come home, the police could be there.鈥� That is what these folks are experiencing during this. 

I’m seeing that transferring regularly 鈥� from our facilities to another which doesn’t have the 60 day rule. But forced transfers like that, that are all of a sudden, are very inhumane. I can鈥檛 even fathom what’s happening for those kids. And some of them are having to do this every 60 days. 

Thank you for sharing those stories. You mentioned this was happening pretty regularly, sometimes 30 to 40 families at once. How and when were you able to successfully push back? 

I guess [we were sometimes successful] in terms of delaying, but ultimately, the city’s argument is, 鈥榳e’re transferring to the migrant facilities because we’re gonna provide better services.鈥� We know that’s just not true. It’s unequivocally untrue. 

We opened up a migrant facility, took it over from the city. They had minimal services. They didn’t have anyone that spoke Spanish on staff. Once we put our staff in who spoke Spanish 鈥� we only hired people that did 鈥� there was a line out the door. 

They’re like, oh, 鈥榳e’re providing legal services.鈥� No, they’re not. 鈥極h, we’re providing food.鈥� I’ve never seen more disgusting food in my life, and I have seen prison foods and all kinds of stuff. 

Again, this is in the migrant facilities specifically? 

This is in the DHS migrant hotels where most of the families are, but there are still some families in the Health and Hospitals sites. Those are the big ones like Floyd Bennet Field [in southern Brooklyn]. Floyd Bennett is not a place where a child should ever be. It鈥檚 semi-congregate, it鈥檚 unsafe. 

We saw what happened when there was that bad storm a few months ago. Everybody at the last minute was forced to down the street. 

Are there loopholes you鈥檝e been seeing used to move families in other shelters? 

No, because of the court mandate [of the right to shelter]. But my concern based on how the city is moving is that they’re trying to create two separate and unequal systems. 

Every time they’re separate, they’re always unequal because they’re not resourced the same way. This is our history in this country. Their justification is that they’re providing specialized X Y and Z [in migrant shelters], which is the same thing they said for segregated schools in the South. 

I think that they will eventually try to ask the courts and the powers that be to apply the 60 day rule to DHS migrant facilities. They haven’t done that yet. 

It鈥檚 murky. This has always been my question to them, OK, so when does somebody become a New Yorker? Is it two years? A lot of these folks have timed out and are undocumented. Do all of our undocumented families have to go through this system too? Is it 10 years? When do they get to use the New Yorker system? 

What have you been hearing and seeing about their needs that you feel like is being ignored right now? 

The kids and the trauma 鈥� I feel like no one’s talking about the kids at a very basic level in all of this. This is arguably one of the biggest issues of the presidential election, and no one is talking about the fact that the majority of these folks are families with kids.

We deal with trauma all the time. We work in homelessness, but what we are experiencing is a whole other level. We’re not putting the resources into these kids for them to be able to grow and develop in the best way possible. 

Like I said, they’ve seen violence where they came from, which is often what made them leave 鈥� then they come here and it’s complete destabilization and chaos. The only rationale for the 60 day rule is to harass people, make them not want to come to New York.

Some I’m imagining are experiencing PTSD in your care as well. How are they finding support?

The moms to me was a highlight 鈥� how they’re helping families navigate all this, advocating. Yes, I feel some kind of way that I’m getting screamed at by this group of angry Park Slope moms. But at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing that these women are out here all day fighting for each other. 

We had a group of kids that went to Central Park and a couple of them freaked out. I’m like, why? 

鈥楤ecause it reminded them of the .鈥�

So for us as an organization, we’ve been thinking about trauma informed care. What does that look like for kids that have arguably been through some of the most intense trauma on earth?

How we think about our colors, how we’re interacting with folks, language access. Particularly in our migrant facility in the Bronx, we tried to be able to connect folks into the community. Part of the reason we took the shelter was because of where it was located 鈥� we knew we were gonna get lots of people who were gonna be Spanish speaking and this is a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. Just being intentional, because I think so much of what has happened in the past two years has been completely unintentional. 

It’s in emergency mode. But we’ve been in this for two years, we’re going to continue to be in emergency mode. At some point, we have to think about what’s happening for these kids long term. 

Most places haven’t really opened Pandora’s Box because they haven’t had the language access, particularly for mental health services. And if they did it all this stuff would come up. What’s happening is that it’s not, and honestly, in the first six months to year, people are still in shock. But now it’s coming out. It manifests in these really weird and interesting ways. 

We’re talking tens and tens of thousands of the kids that need very specialized support. They may not be able to express it in our language, they may not be getting the services that they need and, or their parents may not know or be familiar with how to navigate our systems. 

I get my haircut, and [my barber] is speaking to me in English the whole time. I was like, how long have you been here? Five months. I’m like, you’re fluent. How did you do that? 鈥業 want to learn English, I want to be here, I want to work.鈥� We have not given folks the resources they need to be able to do that. 

The wait time for work permits is also exorbitantly long. Can you share about the work that families have been able to find? 

Honestly, I haven’t heard very many people who are recent arrivals, who came after March 2022, who have work authorization and can legally work. 

People mostly are working out the books. Everybody’s working. And they have to, to survive. 

More so for the men is delivery, which has been interesting. There might be someone who has a Doordash account and he might rent his out to like two or three other people. It may look like he’s doing 12 or 20 hour shifts, but he’s actually doing like, maybe a five hour shift. If you go to any of the migrant facilities, there’s just tons and tons of scooters and motorbikes because that’s what they do. 

For the women, I鈥檝e heard a whole host of different things like cleaning. The folks who are vending on the streets and so forth 鈥� we’ve seen that skyrocket, because folks have very limited options. 

People find a way, working manual or dangerous jobs that are often . 

We’ve seen that. We do legal clinics and help them with asylum applications and there was one woman who didn’t show up because she was like, I will lose my job. My boss said I would lose my job. We’re like, well, you need to come here so you can legally work. They feel, but if I do, I might not have a job at all. They dangle [employment] over their heads. 

Often, they’ll say, oh, I’m gonna pay you next week. And then they don’t pay the next week. 

Everywhere you turn in New York, you see and feel this population. Recently a ; . 

It鈥檚 a cultural thing. People are here and they’re used to doing certain things maybe in Honduras or Sudan and they can’t do that here with their kids. 

Specifically in shelters, like not being able to leave your 17 year old child at home. You can’t leave anyone in the shelter alone under the age of 18. There’s a lot of these situations where it’s like, if I’m a mom and I’m struggling and I have my four year old that has to be with me and I can’t afford daycare, he’s gonna come with me and we’re gonna sell candy. [That cultural difference] is putting them in really precarious situations. 

And then Mayor Adams鈥檚 administration 鈥� were passing out flyers about, don’t have your kids street vending. As if that was going to make people stop. 

That鈥檚 a piece to this conversation, too, that I think people have not thought a lot about. [Families] may have been in a situation where they’ve never been under surveillance now they’re under hyper surveillance. Their movement restricted. 

For a lot of them, schools become the most stable place in their new lives. Our prior reporting showed some of the relationships jeopardized by the 60 day eviction rule and forced transfers. Can you talk a bit about whether you鈥檝e seen families successfully enroll and stay in a given school?

My barber was just showing pictures of his son at school, how he was so excited to go learn and have friends, be social and play. It allows them to escape. The one thing that [the city] could not do is to mess up the kids鈥� schooling. At least let the kids go to school. 

In your experience working with these various city agencies, what has concerned you the most?

They are still thinking the way they did about this in August of 2022. Advocates and everyone had warned them about all this years prior. People knew this was coming.

It鈥檚 not Governor Abbott – I mean he exacerbated it – but it wasn’t just him. This has been happening for a decade, but people have chosen not to pay attention to it. 

The thing that keeps me up at night is the election and Trump’s immigration plan. Now we have created these systems where basically we’re going to have tens of thousands of kids [like DHS migrant facilities]. Will immigration buses show up and detain people? What does a mass deportation look like? That’s the thing that worries me the most 鈥� what are they thinking, are they planning for this? 

The other thing is the way that Adams鈥檚 administration has gone about advocating for support from the federal government and the state has been deplorable. We need more resources, we need more support. But [their support] has been haphazard, and they are not thinking about this long term. People are in mass migration around the world that’s not about to stop any time soon. It’s just an utter disregard for reality. 

One last question 鈥� the youth that were in Central Park and were triggered when reminded of the journey here, what happened that day? How are they?

I don’t know what the rest of the story was. I heard about it because at our migrant facility, we created a program called LEAD, which is legal empowerment and assistance for displaced families. We provide legal support but also social emotional services. The director has tons of stories.

The asylum process is horrible. It’s the least trauma-informed thing ever 鈥� basically tell me about the most messed up thing that’s ever happened to you in detail. We had many people breaking down. We were very mindful of who it was happening to, making sure that they were followed up with a clinical social worker to get some support. How do we make sure they have someone with them that they feel can support them? How do we make sure that if they’re couples that we break them up [to talk] because there might be domestic violence? Making sure they have food, making sure they have childcare so the kids aren’t hearing some of the stuff that may have caused them to leave. 

This is all a work in progress and for us, we’re trying to learn what a longer term model looks like to support families that are going through this level of trauma. 

When I was talking to one mom, I was like, look, my hands are really tight. The best thing that you can do is tell your stories. People need to hear this. People need to see the pain, they need to see what you’re going through. 

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at

Federal agents seized phones from New York City schools Chancellor David Banks and his partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, early Wednesday at their Harlem home, the New York Times reported.

Federal agents also seized devices at the Queens home of Banks鈥� brother, Phil Banks, also a top aide to Mayor Eric Adams. Agents searched the home of a third Banks brother, Terence Banks, who retired from the MTA and now works as a consultant, according to the . THE CITY some of the moves made by federal agents.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

In a statement on Friday, Chancellor Banks confirmed he was cooperating with 鈥渁 federal inquiry.鈥�

鈥淵esterday was the first day of school for the 1.1 million students and staff of New York City Public Schools, and I remain focused on ensuring they have safe, academically rigorous, and joyful school year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am confirming that I am cooperating with a federal inquiry. At this time, I cannot comment any further on that matter.鈥�

None of the officials have been accused of a crime, according to the New York Times.

The news of federal agents鈥� arrival at the doorstep of the schools chancellor came Thursday, on , casting a cloud over the typically ebullient first-day-of-school mood.

As he left a visit from a Queens high school Thursday afternoon, Chancellor Banks , 鈥淭oday is the first day of school, it is all about the kids. If there鈥檚 any other comments that are made, it will be happening tomorrow.鈥�

Several Education Department staffers said news of the federal agents鈥� moves spread quickly in education circles Thursday. Multiple sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Education Department employees were shocked by both the news and timing, as the nation鈥檚 largest school system on Thursday.

Aaron Pallas, a Teachers College professor and longtime observer of the city鈥檚 Education Department, said the incident could impact Banks鈥� work leading the nation鈥檚 largest school system.

鈥淎nything that can distract them from staying focused on the task at hand could impede their effectiveness,鈥� he said.

Wednesday鈥檚 activity was the latest move in a swirl of law enforcement inquiries surrounding Adams, his administration, and his campaign. Federal officials are also . The New York Times that the federal campaign inquiry was separate from the matter that federal agents were looking into Wednesday.

Meanwhile, search warrants were also executed on NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and Tim Pearson, a top mayoral aide embroiled in , New York 1 .

鈥淚nvestigators have not indicated to us [that] the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation,鈥� Adams鈥� chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, told THE CITY in a statement. 鈥淎s a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.鈥�

As he left City Hall on Thursday, Adams also told reporters that he had 鈥渃onfidence in the team,鈥� according to THE CITY. 鈥淭he goal is to follow the law and that is what this administration always stood for and what we鈥檙e going to continue to stand for,鈥� he said.

Chancellor Banks is a core member of the unusually of the Adams administration. Banks and Adams have years, and their family and professional lives are intertwined. Adams鈥� girlfriend, , and his sister-in-law, , both work in the city Education Department.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Mayor Eric Adams poured cold water Tuesday on an imminent citywide school cellphone ban, citing a number of remaining obstacles and saying the city is 鈥渘ot there yet.鈥�

鈥淭here will be some action in the upcoming school year, but the extent of a full ban, we鈥檙e not there yet. We want to make sure we have parents on board,鈥� Adams said at a press briefing Tuesday in response to a question from Chalkbeat.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

鈥淭he previous administration attempted to do this, and they had to roll back,鈥� Adams added, referencing a previous cellphone ban instituted by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then overturned by his successor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go backwards after we make a determination.鈥�

Adams鈥� comments significantly dial back the message that schools Chancellor David Banks offered just months ago about the likelihood of a citywide school cellphone ban.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to hear, within the next two weeks, the big announcement, but I will tell you we are very much leaning towards banning cellphones,鈥� on June 26.

But with just over a week before the start of the new school year, city officials haven鈥檛 shared any updates, leaving many parents and school staffers craving details. Adams said the city is still ironing out a number of the .

鈥淥nce you use 鈥� the terminology that it is a full ban coming from the chancellor, there鈥檚 a lot of things that will kick into play, including [United Federation of Teachers],鈥� Adams said Tuesday. 鈥淲ho pays for the pouches? What mechanism is being used? So we鈥檝e been doing a lot of reviews.鈥�

Some educators and advocates have also about if and how the Education Department will offer schools guidance on discipline for students who don鈥檛 comply.

Several principals familiar with Education Department plans that education officials were floating a plan to have a ban take effect in February, though it鈥檚 unclear whether that timeline is still under consideration.

States and districts across the country have moved towards mandating cellphone bans amid rising concerns about their role in distracting students during class and harming kids鈥� mental health. New York governor Kathy Hochul is also and is currently soliciting input.

Los Angeles, the nation鈥檚 second largest school system, with a district-wide school cellphone ban.

Hundreds of New York City schools already have their own cellphone bans. Many use Yondr, a company that produces magnetized cloth pouches that can be locked and unlocked by schools for students to store cellphones during the school day. But such systems can be expensive, and one of the big open questions about a citywide cellphone ban is whether the city would provide extra funding to schools to help collect phones.

Many other city schools that historically have not fully banned phones are moving towards adopting their own cell phone-free policies, but enforcing those policies comes with significant logistical challenges and staffing needs.

Passing a systemwide school cell phone ban would also require changing the chancellor鈥檚 regulations, which would need approval from the Panel for Educational Policy, according to a source familiar with the deliberations.

Adams said the city is trying to learn from the approaches of city schools that have their own cellphone bans and are enforcing them effectively.

鈥淲e鈥檙e learning from those who are already doing it,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淲e do have schools in the city that are doing it on their own, and so we want to make sure we get it right.鈥�

Julian Shen-Berro contributed.

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.

This was originally published by . Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

In a move condemned by advocates and lawmakers as an attack on trans students who fear any change to could also increase bullying and violence, passed 8-3 Wednesday evening. 

鈥淲e know sports build self confidence and a sense of belonging, which is especially critical for this group of students. Rather than excluding our trans students we ought to be working together to wrap our arms around them. They need love, encouragement and support, not political attacks,鈥� said NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks Wednesday evening. 

After citing statistics that one in three trans youth are suicidal and one in three are survivors of abuse, Banks called the resolution 鈥渄espicable鈥� and, in an exasperated tone, posed a question: 鈥淲ould you just leave the kids alone?鈥� 

At a packed District 2 community education council meeting, ACLU civil rights lawyer and District 2 parent Chase Strangio pointed out the current gender guidelines align with state law. 鈥淪o this resolution does nothing but target trans young people,鈥� Santiago said. 

鈥淚 will not sit idly by and see the same misinformed efforts be pushed in my own school district. I will not let NYC, the birthplace and home of some of the most powerful trans people in history, be yet another testing ground for rhetoric that expels my community,鈥� said Strangio, who is trans.

The resolution urges that a reevaluation committee be formed to include female athletes, parents, coaches, medical professionals and evolutionary biology experts, and claims current guidelines 鈥減resent challenges鈥� particularly to girls. The resolution鈥檚 primary sponsor, Maud Maron, said the resolution is in essence asking to hear from all 鈥渋mpacted voices,鈥� according to . 

Given the Chancellor鈥檚 condemnation and that community education councils are advisory, it is unlikely DOE leaders will follow the council鈥檚 recommendation. 

In December, Banks also used the word 鈥渄espicable鈥� to describe comments made by Maron in a private chat, which included 鈥渢rans kids don鈥檛 exist.鈥� Parents and advocates have grown increasingly frustrated with the Chancellor鈥� broken promise to 鈥渢ake action,鈥� made more than three months ago. 

In the time since Banks made his pledge, Community Board 2 issued a resolution demanding the DOE acknowledge and require parent leaders adhere to respective guidelines on bullying and fostering a safe learning environment for all students, particularly LGBTQ students. The late February resolution also encouraged penalties for parents found in violation of Chancellor regulations, including verbal and written warnings and/or suspension of involvement.

Separately, several District 2 CEC members wrote in a February email to Banks that went unanswered that parents鈥� and students鈥� rights and protections 鈥渃ontinue to be unabashedly violated.鈥� 

In the district which includes hyper-liberal neighborhoods like Chelsea and Greenwich Village, the resolution and restricting LGBTQ student rights doesn鈥檛 hold broad public support, parents say. 

鈥淭here really wasn’t a debate in our community,鈥� said district 2 parent and CEC member Gavin Healy. 鈥淚t was very much like 鈥榳e don’t like this, we don’t want this.鈥欌��

Dozens of community members spoke out against the gender resolution with only one expressing support. All but two of 175 emails received by the council in advance of its vote were against its passage. 

At least 25 states, concentrated in the south and midwest, have introduced consistent with their gender identity. 

But the resolution鈥檚 introduction and passage in New York City is unsurprising, given parent leaders with conservative-leaning education desires endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum make up . The group, known as PLACE, was co-founded by Maron. 

鈥淚 think they really want something that they can take back to Moms for Liberty and use it as a PR stunt 鈥� look, even in Manhattan there’s this concern,鈥� said Healy. 鈥淚t has to do with that national, moral panic that they are fueling. It鈥檚 fodder.鈥�

Conservative parent voices have been rising in the city. Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights and is categorized as an extremist hate organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, opened its first chapter in NYC last year. Maron spoke on a the group held in January. 

This particular gender resolution is 鈥渓egally unenforceable and dangerous,鈥� said David Bloomfield, Brooklyn College education, law and public policy professor. A is currently underway in suburban Nassau County, New York, where a attempted to ban trans women and girls from public athletic facilities. 

Bloomfield said Maron was 鈥�…exercising her rights as an individual and as an elected official to state her policy preferences, which have been no secret. She’s following through essentially on what her voters asked for,鈥� adding in the past, chancellors such as Richard Carranza have

The gender resolution passed on the same night the council passed another seemingly at odds, one affirming support of LGBTQ students and families. Maron was the only council member to abstain from voting on the resolution in support of LGBTQ students. 

Since December, a petition to have Maron removed from the Stuyvesant High School leadership team has . It circulated after she was quoted in a NY Post article calling an anonymous student author a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred,鈥� calling for their name to be public for their op-ed in the student newspaper.

Many parents and students feel her actions constituted bullying and threaten free speech at the school.

鈥淭he mission is the kids. Getting through the classes. Keeping them safe 鈥� They just don’t need this added pressure,鈥� said one parent speaking on condition of anonymity. 鈥淸Maron] politicizes every situation she can and I feel like any statement she makes is for her own personal gain. It’s not for the school, it’s not for the students.鈥� 

Reem Khalifa, a junior at Stuyvesant, said recent events have been disheartening and made her 鈥渇earful for the people around me. Do they recognize and hold the same beliefs?鈥� 

Maron did not return a request for comment. 

鈥淭he DOE is trying to shield themselves from liability,鈥� said Healy, 鈥渆ven if that means leaving people in the community vulnerable.鈥� 

NYC has attempted to combat that inequity in a variety of ways. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio implemented initiatives ranging from , which cost the city almost , to universal pre-K, while current Mayor Eric Adams has called for and a mandatory .

Such initiatives are expensive and can take years to fully implement, not to mention properly evaluate. Their success rate is also spotty. Universal pre-K ended up than those in the middle class. The Renewal Schools were dubbed a , an African-American publication, which noted that 鈥渙nly a quarter of the 100 schools targeted by the program were reported to have seen any improvement at all.鈥�

There is, however, a cost-effective and immediate tweak that has proven effective in raising grades and test scores, as well as reducing suspensions for middle and high school students, especially those who are low-income: Starting the school day after 8:30 a.m. 

A study from :

We find robust evidence linking later start times to increased test scores for middle school students. A one-hour delay in middle school start times predicts math scores 8% of a standard deviation higher and reading scores 4% of a standard deviation higher. 鈥� These results are particularly large for economically disadvantaged students.

confirms these results for both middle and high school students: 

In the wealthier school, there wasn鈥檛 much change in missed school hours. But at the school with more low-income kids, the new start time boosted attendance. During the academic year, the school recorded an average of 13.6 absences and 4.3 tardies for the first period. Before the schedule change, those yearly numbers were 15.5 and 6.2. 鈥� Lower-income kids sometimes get worse grades than their wealthier peers 鈥� (T)here are many reasons why this might happen. Anything that helps reduce this achievement gap is a good thing. That includes better class attendance.

The average NYC public middle or high school starts between 8 and 8:20 a.m. A in 2018 shifted the start time to 8:30 at five schools. Seeing positive results in attendance and discipline, 14 more were added to the initiative in 2019.

Assemblyman Harvey Epstein has submitted a , co-sponsored by state Sen. Robert Jackson, to make 8:30 a.m. the earliest permitted school starting time. Any school that chose to begin earlier would risk losing state aid.

Still, the majority of NYC schools start before 8:30, and, in fact 鈥� due to the newly negotiated teachers contract 鈥� several have recently announced they鈥檒l be .

Notable exceptions include the Bard High School Early College schools, which are some of the highest-performing in the city. The Queens campus sets aside for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, while, at the Manhattan campus, that number is . Both schools .

At the other end of the admissions spectrum is Essex Academy, which accepts students at all academic levels, with 65% qualifying for free lunch, and has an . There, at 9:25 a.m..

Starting middle and high schools later would not only improve attendance and cut down on suspensions, leading to higher grades and test scores, but it is a fix that can be implemented with minimal cost. And here is the most important aspect: The worst thing that will happen with moving to a later school start time is鈥� nothing. No change for the better, but also no change for the worse.

At a price point of nearly zero, an equal amount of risk and no evidence of unforeseen consequences, what excuse does any school have for not giving a post-8:30 a.m. start time a try?

Prior to the Bill de Blasio administration (2014-2021), free pre-K in New York City was a patchwork of means-tested, half-day programs that served just under 20,000 4-year-olds. In his first year in office, Mayor de Blasio delivered on a campaign promise to create an expansive universal pre-K program. By the time of de Blasio鈥檚 exit, his administration had created an immensely popular program that served 90,000 children, transformed New York City鈥檚 early childhood education infrastructure and was on track to add another 30,000 seats for three-year-olds.

But in the fall of 2022, current Mayor Eric Adams announced a preliminary budget that reallocated $568 million away from universal pre-K and halted the expansion of 3K For All.听So, where did things go wrong? Senior Adams administration officials have argued that mismanagement under de Blasio has resulted in the uneven distribution of seats, including the 鈥渙pening tens of thousands of seats where there isn鈥檛 family need and failing to open seats where the need exists.鈥� Nathaniel Styer, press secretary for the New York City Department of Education, claims that a has resulted in a large number of open slots in low-income, immigrant neighborhoods of the city like Highbridge in the Bronx, and few open seats in wealthy communities.

For my graduate capstone thesis at the Department of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College, I sought to understand why some of New York City鈥檚 most economically vulnerable residents are not making use of what should be an economic lifeline: free child care. I conducted research interviews with participants in four key stakeholder groups: parents, child care providers, former staff within the Division of Early Childhood Education, and policy experts.听My research aimed to unpack the 鈥渄emand mismatch鈥� theory and answer two questions:

1. Is there an unmet need for universal pre-K in low-income communities that is not captured by the way the Adams administration measures demand?
2. Are there barriers to information, access and enrollment that may be contributing to underutilization?

Here are my findings.

Finding: Universal pre-K may not have enough flexibility to match the diverse needs and preferences of New York City families.听

Many parents need child care before or after the traditional school day, on nights and weekends, and over the summer. In fact, of children in the United States have at least one parent who works non-traditional hours. The vast majority of New York City鈥檚 universal pre-K programs, however, are offered on a school-day/school-year calendar (6 hours and 20 minutes per day; 180 days per year) and only some community-based providers offer extended day and year programs primarily for families who meet Child Care Development Block Grant or Head Start eligibility criteria. found just 15% of 4-year-olds enrolled in universal pre-K received full-day, year round care and in some low-income communities less than 10% of pre-K seats were full-day, year-round.

Interviews confirmed that so few options for extended care may contribute to low utilization rates in low-income communities.听Elliot Haspel, author and expert on child and family policy, explained that 鈥渇amily needs for child care do not exist on a school-year, school-day basis. Often disproportionately, we know that lower income parents and parents of color tend to be those who are working shift jobs, and a high proportion of them are working non-traditional hours鈥� So, the lack of flexibility can certainly be a barrier.鈥�

A former staffer within the Division of Early Childhood Education, who requested anonymity in order to speak with me candidly, told me not being able to offer early or after-school hours was one of the biggest hurdles reported by principals. They also described the lack of extended hours as a 鈥渕isalignment with what is being offered and what is needed in the community.鈥�

For some parents, inflexible operation times can leave universal pre-K entirely out of reach. One mother, whose daughter is enrolled in a community-based center in Red Hook, said start times for some pre-K centers conflicted with the ferry schedule. Choosing to send their child to one of those programs would mean she or her spouse would be late to work every day, and therefore they did not apply.听

Finding: There may be demand for home-based family child care, but that need is not reflected in the composition of universal pre-K.

Enrolling in universal pre-K programs at district schools or formal child care centers may work for some families, but other families prefer different options. A argues that due to a 鈥渓ack of multilingual staff, rigid schedules, and limited programming that is culturally and linguistically responsive, formal child care centers historically have not fully met the needs of immigrant communities, and particularly low-income immigrant communities.鈥�

Julie Kashen, senior fellow and director for Women鈥檚 Economic Justice at the Century Foundation, said 听that home-based family child care is an option , especially those who are looking for a cultural or linguistic match and/or who require extended or nontraditional hours of care. These program options, however, are not offered for pre-K and are very much awith typically only a few hundred family child care seats.

A former DOE staffer, who requested anonymity, expressed that home-based family child care providers 鈥渁re not technically excluded, but the way that the system is constructed ends up resulting in it being really difficult for them to be able to participate.鈥澨鼿e explained that New York City鈥檚 complex contracting process for its universal pre-K programs can shut family child care providers out, and thus, an arrangement that attracts low-income, immigrant communities remains out of reach.

Finding: Sustained outreach is necessary to engage low-income and immigrant communities, and scaling back the outreach initiatives could contribute to low utilization rates.听

The de Blasio administration focused heavily on outreach to reach families who may not typically have a high level of engagement with government agencies. There were borough- and neighborhood-specific outreach teams equipped with materials like palm cards and flyers available in all DOE languages, and there was on-the-ground support, including canvassing, days of action at shelters and events at libraries to bolster enrollment. Coordinated outreach and partnership with trusted community members has among 鈥渉ard to reach鈥� low-income and immigrant communities.

My interviews with former DOE staffers, however, revealed that the Division of Early Childhood Education under Adams has been plagued by understaffing and has significantly scaled back outreach initiatives. The Division of Early Childhood Education is across all divisions at City agencies. Members of the neighborhood and borough-specific teams have reportedly been and there is more focus on automated forms of outreach like , which are not nearly as effective in engaging low-income families, especially those who may have had previous negative experiences interacting with government agencies or who are undocumented.

After months of negotiation and just a few weeks after my capstone was published, the New York City Council voted to that restores universal pre-K funding and supports efforts to convert 1,800 3K seats from school-day/school-year seats to extended day/extended year seats. The final budget is a huge sigh of relief for early childhood education advocates who feared Adams鈥� proposed cuts, but the future of universal pre-K remains uncertain.

My research only begins to scratch the surface of this issue, but it does suggest that demand for universal pre-K is more complex than a simple measurement of seats vs. students. As the Adams administration continues to make staffing, strategic and budgeting decisions about universal pre-K, it should not assume that open seats means that there is no demand.

Instead of strategizing ways to reduce the size and scope of universal pre-K, it should invest in resources to help parents navigate the complicated enrollment process and ensure low-income communities can enroll in programs that fit their needs.

Working with organizations like to increase the number of licensed home-based family child care providers who participate in the program, reengaging the outreach teams and strengthening partnerships with on-the-ground trusted community organizations, and offering more extended day, full-year programming options could improve utilization rates in low-income communities.

At a December 2022 press conference, Mayor Adams stated 鈥淎 true universal program prioritizes and serves every child, every day, in partnership with families and reflects the needs of the community.鈥� It is up to the Adams administration to continue the legacy of universal pre-K and ensure that it is truly universal.

Union President Michael Mulgrew, Mayor Eric Adams and other city officials took turns thanking and congratulating each other on the 鈥渉istoric鈥� deal . 

鈥淎s I indicated over and over again and never let you forget, I’m probably one of the few modern-day mayors that was a member of a union,鈥� said Adams.

The union鈥檚 bargaining committee, executive board and delegate assembly each voted in turn to send the contract to the full membership for approval. This process didn鈥檛 go smoothly, as the final agreement wasn鈥檛 ready for union representatives to read before their vote. Union leaders wanted a vote before summer vacation.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 buy a house based on a PowerPoint the realtor showed you, or a used car based on the PowerPoint your used car salesman showed you,鈥� . 鈥淲e need to know what鈥檚 in this contract before we vote on it.鈥�

The New York City teachers contract is , and the memorandum of agreement just negotiated is another by itself. Familiarity with all of its provisions 鈥� never mind understanding of them 鈥� falls to the union’s staff and its most committed activists. Most rank-and-file members will skip to the bottom line to decide whether to approve the contract. The amount of the raises would not surprise them, for better or worse, because the city and its unions practice pattern bargaining.

That is a process by which a contract reached with one union becomes the model for all others. When District Council 37, which represents 150,000 municipal workers, agreed to a five-year deal in February with annual raises of 3%, the pattern meant the UFT would not get much more than that.

There had been griping among some teachers because the initial raise doesn鈥檛 match the 2023 inflation rate. So the city added a couple of sweeteners in the form of bonuses.

The first has received a lot of press attention. At the end of the 2023-24 school year, every teacher will receive a $400 retention bonus for staying on the job. This will go up each year until reaching $1,035 by the end of 2027, and increase thereafter by the percentage of salary-schedule raises negotiated into subsequent contracts.

While all additional money is welcome, many teachers will already be making six-figure salaries during the term of the contract, so a few hundred dollars isn鈥檛 going to send them into paroxysms of delight. But the second, less publicized, bonus will have a significant effect.

Every UFT member will receive $3,000 immediately upon ratifying the contract.

Why pay union members a $3,000 bonus to accept a 20% raise?

This defies any sort of fiscal logic. The city is spending $350 million to induce union members to ratify a $6.4 billion contract they are in no position to reject. And New York鈥檚 is one the strictest anti-strike laws in the nation.

Adams did include a $3,000 ratification bonus for members of District Council 37, which represents 150,000 municipal workers, but that made a little more sense as an inducement because the contract was setting the pattern. When DC 37 members ratified it, it ensured that 3% raises would be the ceiling for all other municipal unions.

Perhaps the teachers union insisted on a ratification bonus because DC 37 got one and it could get no more in salary schedule raises. But it also made political sense for Adams, who will have largely achieved labor peace extending beyond the end of his first term, which runs through 2026.

The reason for the union鈥檚 haste to vote is harder to determine. Balloting will take place at school sites June 27, but the new contract doesn鈥檛 go into effect until September, so it could have conceivably waited until then.

The UFT internal opposition caucus , along with activists and , are urging 鈥渘o鈥� votes on their blogs. The city鈥檚 tabloid press isn鈥檛 too enamored of the agreement either. The editorial board called it 鈥渃ostly,鈥� while the cited an estimate by the Citizens Budget Commission that the city will have an $11 billion budget gap by the end of the contract. But resistance is futile. With no guarantee that sending negotiators back to the table would result in an appreciably improved deal, teachers will happily take their $3,000 and enjoy their summer.

Still, the contract does not address one highly contentious issue: retiree health care. No changes were made to current policy, but the move to place many union members into Medicare Advantage plans is still the subject of litigation. UFT headquarters may be the target of more labor unrest than the mayor鈥檚 office will in the coming years.

Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.

Mayor Eric Adams and the city鈥檚 second-largest union, the United Federation of Teachers, struck a tentative five-year agreement on Tuesday, one that significantly raises starting salaries for newly hired teachers and includes a major expansion of remote learning.

The deal, which must be approved by the union鈥檚 120,000 members, guarantees raises of 17.58% to 20.42% by 2026, including compounded wage increases and bonuses.

In addition to broadening an existing pilot on remote learning, high schools and combined middle-high schools will be able to offer virtual learning programs after school and on weekends. Students and teachers will have to volunteer to participate in the remote programs, according to a summary of the agreement.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

The UFT and the Adams administration also agreed to a yearly, perpetual retention bonus, which will top out at $1,000 by 2026, and an additional one-time $3,000 ratification bonus.

The starting salary for new teachers would be $72,349, including the bonuses, by the end of the proposed agreement 鈥� up from the current $61,070 floor, according to the UFT. The top salary for paraprofessionals would be $56,761.

The deal is retroactive to September 2021, when the most recent contract expired. It provides for 3% raises for the first three years and 3.25% bonus in the final two years, a pattern similar to that in February.

Adams announced the agreement from the City Hall rotunda Tuesday afternoon alongside UFT President Michael Mulgrew, Schools Chancellor David Banks and Office of Labor Relations Commissioner Renee Campion.

鈥淚鈥檓 proud to announce that the city of New York has reached a tentative five-plus year contract agreement with the United Federation of Teachers that provides substantial wage increases for the people who teach, support and safeguard our children and secures a fair deal for taxpayers as well,鈥� Adams said.

Virtual Expansion

The after-hours virtual learning expansion in the nation鈥檚 largest school district that allows students to log in, from their own school buildings, to take online courses taught by public school teachers in other parts of the city.

The program outlined in Tuesday鈥檚 tentative agreement would begin in the 2023-2024 school year, with 25% of high schools eligible to be selected. All high schools will be eligible to participate by 2027-28, according to the UFT鈥檚 summary of the agreement.

Students and teachers would not be required to participate in virtual learning. Rather, schools where students miss hours or days of school because of work would be able to offer virtual lessons outside of traditional school hours. Teachers would not take extra time in order to teach the after-hours virtual lessons: their time will be redistributed.

Adams said he was 鈥減roud鈥� of the proposed remote learning experiment, saying it 鈥渨ill create new opportunities for our students, including those who want the ability to take classes at non-traditional times like evenings and weekends, as well as those whom traditional in-person schedules don鈥檛 work for.鈥�

Mulgrew also noted the remote-learning pilot would also benefit students who fall behind on literacy.

In line with the contract covering DC37 municipal workers, some UFT members who do not work directly in schools would be eligible to work remotely up to two days a week under the deal, according to the teachers鈥� union.

Campion and Mulgrew said health care premiums and benefits, a key concern for many union members, remain unchanged.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not getting rid of our benefits,鈥� Mulgrew said in response to questions from THE CITY. 鈥淚 wish the rest of America would do what we鈥檙e doing here in New York City because health care is a crisis and it is destroying the pocketbooks of so many families.鈥�

Mulgrew also announced the tentative agreement will cut in half 鈥� from 15 to eight years 鈥� the length of time it takes most teachers to reach a salary of $100,000.

The union president also highlighted the retention bonus as a win for members.

鈥淎nd that goes on forever, in perpetuity,鈥� Mulgrew said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e saying to all of our titles and every member, whether you鈥檙e in the first year or your 25th year, New York City is saying that we appreciate you, and we recognize the challenges that you take on every day.鈥�

Additional reporting by Katie Honan

THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

Previously, kids in kindergarten through second grade took a standardized exam 鈥� a combination and the . Those who scored above the 97th percentile were eligible to apply to all five of the citywide accelerated schools. Those who scored above the 90th percentile could apply to their local district鈥檚 enriched programs. An algorithm first placed all 99th percentile students, then the 98th and so forth down the line. (Siblings received admissions priority and could jump the queue.) So many students qualified that, usually, about three-fourths of those who applied were left without a spot. 

For 2023, Mayor Eric Adams claimed that 鈥渢his administration is fully committed to listening to parents.鈥� Instead of a test, grades would be used for assessment. Students who earned all 4鈥檚 (鈥渆xceeds expectations鈥�) would be entered into a G&T lottery, with no differentiation between those who could apply for citywide accelerated schools and enriched district programs. Adams also added a 鈥淭op Performers鈥� category, where all students who were in the top 10% of their schools could apply to transfer to newly created district G&T programs starting in third grade. However, students in different types of schools 鈥� district, charter and private 鈥� were evaluated differently, leading to a new set of frustrations.

Adams鈥檚 predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, had been determined to do away with G&T altogether, unhappy with its lack of racial and socioeconomic diversity. Adams took the opposite approach, making it easier for students from all groups to qualify. But in the process, he is on track to nullify what made the programming beneficial, particularly for those underserved kids in whose interests he is supposedly making these changes.

For 2024, all students who earned 4鈥檚 or 3鈥檚 (鈥渕eets expectations鈥�) are eligible for the G&T lottery, which now extends to fourth grade to accommodate seats created by the 鈥淭op Performers鈥� program. Under this system, about two-thirds of all students 鈥� roughly 45,000 per grade level 鈥� are eligible, with no distinction made between those who earned all 4鈥檚 across the three core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics and those who scored all 3鈥檚.

This turns the process into a glorified lottery. As I tell NYC parents, 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry if your kids are smart. All kids are smart. Worry if your kids are lucky.鈥� Because that鈥檚 what determines whether they receive an adequate education.

In light of these changes, I cannot help wondering: Why is NYC going through the time, resources and, most importantly, expense (amid ) to create the charade of a G&T program that goes against relevant research on the topic?

For instance:

• The most highly advocates looking at multiple factors. Schools in New Jersey, for example, emailed parents of first and second graders advising that 鈥渢o ensure equitable opportunities for all students 鈥� the results of [IQ] tests will be utilized as one of several data points鈥� that will also include classroom observation and teacher nominations.

• Based on NYC鈥檚 2023 screening technique, the majority of students currently attending kindergarten through third grade now qualify for first through fourth grade G&T. Yet, the Department of Education is not opening any new programs to accommodate them all. How can the department, on the one hand, claim these students require special services while providing such services for only those lucky enough to win a lottery? If the district tried the same approach with special-needs kids it would be in violation of state and federal law!

• Several of the citywide, accelerated schools have already indicated they don鈥檛 have the room to accept new students for 2024. As a result, the majority of those who qualify for G&T will be placed not in accelerated classes, but in . This is the opposite of what鈥檚 been proven beneficial. A 2021 study summarized: Enrollment in a self-contained accelerated class exposed Black and Hispanic students to higher teacher expectations than they would experience in a traditional classroom setting. The report concluded that: Acceleration is an effective and cost-effective way to supplement the learning needs of exceptionally talented students.

• Conversely, the study continued, “enrichment鈥� has been shown to be: Not sufficiently intensive. 鈥� As national evidence shows that a majority of elementary school gifted programs include four hours or less gifted education services a week, the educational dose of gifted programs may be too slight to yield positive effects.

Earlier this month, NYC launched an initiative to bring the to elementary school classrooms, employing rigorously tested best practices alongside 鈥渃onsistent, research-based materials.鈥�

Why, then, has this administration chosen to swing in the opposite direction when it comes to G&T?

While it is unclear where the mayor got his $1 billion figure, or how he believes that money will be spent, his remarks raise some bigger questions: Why is Adams assuming that if more charter schools open, district school families will naturally flee to them? What does he think is wrong with his city鈥檚 schools that makes them so undesirable? And, most critically, how does he plan to go about fixing those problems?

After testifying, Adams elaborated: 鈥淚 want to scale up what works. When you create these boundaries that certain things that are successful based on what they’re called, (then) you’re not willing to scale up what works. I just don’t subscribe to that. I’ve gone into district schools that have been wonderful. I’ve gone into charter schools that have been wonderful. So why not look at those who are educating our children and say, ‘Let’s scale up what works.’ “

There is no question that 鈥渨hat works鈥� is defined differently by different parties. State test scores are one such metric. With the disruption of the pandemic, it is difficult to get a clear sense of how all NYC students and schools are doing in that regard. 

In 2018, however, before COVID-19 struck, of NYC鈥檚 , seven were traditional public schools that screened students for admission, two were traditional public schools that did not screen for admission, 15 were Success Academy charter schools and one was the South Bronx Classical Charter School. 

As a result, in 2018, even the , never a fan of the charter sector, admitted that: Success Academy charter network, which has significantly outperformed district schools on state tests, did so again, showing extremely high test scores for its students who are mostly poor minorities. In its more diverse schools, like Success Academy Cobble Hill, the achievement gap is quite small, with students doing equally well despite racial and socioeconomic differences. 

This was in direct contrast to: P.S. 8, the Robert Fulton school in Brooklyn Heights, which the identified 鈥� as having one of the richest Parent Teacher Associations in the country, and which has a relatively diverse student body. While 64% of its students passed the state math test in 2016, compared with 36% of students citywide, Black students at the school were nearly a full proficiency level behind their white peers. Black students at the school also had significantly lower estimated incomes than white students.

If Adams truly wishes 鈥渢o scale up what works,鈥� it would seem that looking to Success Academy for pointers 鈥� or simply letting the network open more schools 鈥� should definitely be one approach.

The same goes for traditional public school gifted-and-talented programs. After parents indicated that their return to public schools post-pandemic hinged, in part, on availability of academically rigorous curriculum, Adams created a Top Performs G&T pathway and added 100 seats to kindergarten G&T programs citywide. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing this because ,鈥� he assured.

As it stands now, there are still not enough charter school or G&T seats to accommodate all the families who apply. The bulk of NYC students 鈥� 903,000 as of 2022-23, down from 鈥� continue to attend their zoned public schools. 

And those are the schools that Adams presumes will lose students, and funding, if more charter schools are allowed to open.

So what is he doing to improve zoned public schools in order to retain students 鈥� and funding?

There is his , to screen for and support struggling readers. There is his addition of for children with disabilities. There is the Next Generation Community Schools K-8 . There are mentoring and for high schoolers and a renewed focus on .

Yet, the mayor鈥檚 own words suggest he doesn鈥檛 believe the above are enough. His claims that new charter schools will cost the city $1 billion convey a defeatist acceptance that families will continue to leave traditional public schools for public charter schools if given the chance. A no-confidence vote from the city鈥檚 own mayor, as it were.

And if that is, indeed, Adams鈥檚 mindset, then we have to ask again: What does he intend to do to prevent it?

The plan to expand the city鈥檚 鈥淢odern Apprentice鈥� program – from about 500 students to 4,500 in five years 鈥� was launched last month with the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase and the information technology firm Accenture. 

Apprentices would make $15 to $25 an hour for part time work over the three years of the program.

鈥�(This) is about getting our students out to the professional world to explore their interests and invest in themselves, their futures, their families, and ultimately in their communities,鈥� said New York City Chancellor David Banks. 

New York joins a growing national movement to add more internships and apprenticeships for young people, both to help their job training and fill open positions as Baby Boomers retire and people shift careers after the Covid pandemic. The number of , before taking a dip during the pandemic. There is now a national push to recover and expand them further. 

Apprenticeships also offer an alternative pathway to middle class careers without forcing students to go to college and take on loan debt.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who will more than double the apprentices at his company from 21 to 50 next year, said it is critical for companies and the city to give students a head start on meaningful careers. 

鈥淲e need to do this,鈥� said Dimon. 鈥淭his鈥reates opportunity. And maybe among all these folks there’s an Albert Einstein and Barack Obama.. we’re gonna miss it if we don’t do it. So it’s critical.鈥�

The New York program is part of CareerWise, a three year apprentice model created in Colorado based on job training in Switzerland, where apprenticeships are common in most fields. CareerWise apprentices start in 11th grade, as is typical in Europe, and work part time in fields like manufacturing, business operations, information technology through graduation and a year after.

CareerWise NY Executive Director Barbara Chang, who has led the first years of the apprentice program, said her staff will soon start training teachers at 60 city high schools to teach career exploration and readiness classes. Ninth graders will start having those lessons in the spring of 2023, with additional classes for 10th graders in 2024.

鈥淚n ninth grade, it’ll be more career exploration and, and an understanding of what jobs and careers are available in the city,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o they’ll be taking site visits, they’ll be learning about themselves and what they’re passionate about. And so it’s more of an exploration type of curriculum. In 10th grade, it’s about readiness, getting ready to show up at a workplace.鈥�

Banks said training matters to businesses and to having students succeed.

鈥淢any of our businesses are willing to take students, but they weren’t suitable to show up having some level of business protocol and understanding what it takes to be successful in the space,鈥� Banks said. 鈥淭hose are the kinds of things that are happening and continuing to be honed and developed even more. This is just the beginning, the opening salvo if you will, in this work around career-connected learning.”

The expansion would give New York one of the largest programs in the U.S., though organizers鈥� grand dream 鈥� placing 5% of the city鈥檚 high schoolers in apprenticeships to be on par with Europe – could take decades to achieve.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said she started an apprentice program in her company even before the Modern Apprentice program started in New York. Her company, which started with five apprentices in Chicago in 2016, now has 2,000, she said. She plans to hire 30 in New York next fall.

鈥淭his program coming together is about a proven methodology to help our young people find new careers,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t has been tested, and it works.鈥�

Sweet also said businesses should not look at adding apprentices as just a charity project. They add value and help businesses attract young talent.

鈥淚 hope all of the businesses who are listening or watching will be inspired to hire,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I hope that the policymakers, the foundations, the educational institutions will be inspired to continue to invest and make it possible that鈥ll companies, medium, small and large, can provide the opportunity to change the course of the lives of these young men and women.鈥�

Mayor Eric Adams said the city will contribute $33 million to youth job preparation efforts that include the apprenticeships, but staff declined to say exactly how much would go to them.

In New York, where participating companies also include Amazon, Citi, Mastercard and Bank of America, students are paid between $15 an hour 鈥� the city鈥檚 minimum wage 鈥� and $25 for the hours they work. Companies also contribute $4,000 a year to training each apprentice, which can cover technical certifications, career-specific training or college tuition.

At the end of the three years, they are not guaranteed a job, so they might stay with the company, go to college, get another job, or negotiate a way to work while attending college. 

Emily Carpio, a graduate of University Heights High School in the Bronx, in her third year of her apprenticeship, works in advertising for Amazon while starting studies in data analytics at the City University of New York.

鈥淚’ve always known I wanted to pursue something in business, but business is such a broad term,鈥� she said. Doing analytical work on advertising feedback and results hooked her. 鈥淚t’s really helped me kind of narrow down what..I want to do.鈥�

 Dimon is watching how the program affects students.

鈥淵ou should judge us,鈥� he said. 鈥淛udge us on the outcome, not the money spent, not the time spent, (but) how many kids graduate鈥nd get a job either among our companies or elsewhere, making $40, 45, 50, 60,000 dollars a year? How many go on to community college? How many graduate there?

鈥淲e’re going to measure and report,鈥� Dimon said. 鈥� We may fall short. But it’s not going to be for lack of trying.鈥�

This story was reported with support from the Spencer education reporting fellowship at Columbia University.

The decision comes with a contentious cap on the number of students in the classroom 鈥� topping out at 25 at the high school level 鈥� with the final goal to be reached by 2027. 

The agreement also increases the size of the panel that votes on education policy, partly an effort to curb the mayor鈥檚 power while including more parent voices. But many say the changes are not enough, that the current system cannot account for the needs of such a wildly diverse group of students.

Tajh Sutton, twice elected to the Community Education Council in District 14, which covers large swaths of Brooklyn, said she would love to abandon mayoral control in favor of a system that would allow communities to develop programs that suit their specific needs.

“The mayor is not deeply invested in the majority of our kids,鈥� she said, adding the current system makes it difficult for residents to get his attention. 鈥淲e need more student, parent and staff voices. We have some really good ideas about how to improve public education as a whole and we really want to see citywide systematic change.鈥�

Paullette Healy, of Bay Ridge, said Adams is too focused on improving the gifted and talented program, neglecting others that impact a far greater number of students, including her son, who has autism. The mayor鈥檚 four parent appointees to the expanded Panel for Education Policy must include at least one, like Healy, whose child attends a District 75 school, which serve students with the most significant disabilities. Parents of children with any kind of disability and those in bilingual or English as a second language programs must also be newly represented.

鈥淭here are a barrage of special ed concerns,鈥� said Healy, who sits on the Citywide Council on Special Education. 鈥淕ifted and talented is not mandated. Special ed is.鈥� 

And while the cap is popular with teachers and the union for making classrooms more manageable and for requiring a sizable staffing increase, skepticism remains about its funding 鈥� and whether the shift will bring about major educational gains. 

Adams initially denounced the idea, saying before the vote that, 鈥渦nless there is guaranteed funding attached to those mandates we will see cuts elsewhere in the system that would harm our most vulnerable students in our highest need communities 鈥� including the loss of counselor positions, social workers, art programs, school trips, after-school tutoring, dyslexia screenings, and paraprofessionals.鈥� 

New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks agreed, worried class size will become too high a priority in a district facing other pressing challenges, including a 40 percent absenteeism rate.

鈥淢ake no mistake, it will lead to large cuts in these critical programs,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his should not be a choice that school leaders have to make.鈥�

But the mayor softened his stance Friday. 

鈥淲e are optimistic that there is a way forward on key elements, including ensuring we achieve the shared goal of smaller class sizes without forcing the city into a fiscal crisis and impacting programs for our most vulnerable students,鈥� he said in a statement.

State Sen. John C. Liu, chairman of the Senate鈥檚 New York City Education Committee, said the cap will, in fact, be funded by $1.6 billion in additional money NYC schools will receive as part of long-awaited action on . Liu called the move, 鈥渁 huge victory for NYC school kids that will finally fulfill the long-overdue constitutional duty of providing students with a sound, basic education.鈥�

Adams may have made peace with the legislature鈥檚 plans, but Mona Davids, president of the New York City Parents Union, has not. She chided lawmakers for putting too many constraints 鈥� and demands 鈥� on the mayor, undermining his authority and making him responsible for a costly directive. 

鈥淭he only people who benefit from this bill are the United Federation of Teachers,鈥� she told the . 

Farah Despeignes, president of the Community Education Council in the Bronx鈥檚 District 8, warned the class size reduction alone won鈥檛 translate to improved results. 

鈥淚f you have a mediocre teacher, they won鈥檛 be any more innovative with a smaller class,鈥� said the former educator. 鈥淏ut if you have a well-trained teacher, you get more out of it: This teacher is already doing good work and will have more time with the students. I don鈥檛 want people to think outcomes will automatically be great with a smaller size class. That鈥檚 not the only issue.鈥�

In addition to the specific parent representatives, the mostly appointed Panel for Education Policy, or PEP, will grow from 15 to 23 members. Also, the mayor and borough presidents will no longer be permitted to remove those members who don鈥檛 support their initiatives as has . And PEP members will serve one-year terms and can be renewed. 

While some embraced the change as a check on Adams鈥檚 power, Jonathan Greenberg, president of the Community Education Council in District 30 in Queens, said many parents would like to see a new model, a break from mayoral control 鈥� and from the 32 community school boards that preceded it. 

鈥淭here is an urgent need for a task force to study and recommend a new alternative,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would like to see a more democratic system where those responsible for the system are chosen for that purpose.鈥� 

The state has been granting mayoral control over the city鈥檚 schools since 2002 when it first went to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. This year鈥檚 decision was delayed as lawmakers considered additional parental involvement, a core feature of the previous, more decentralized but .

Sutton, of Brooklyn, remembers clearly the school board misconduct that rocked her community when she was a student. Even so, she believes mayoral control is far too centralized. 

Each of the three mayors given this privilege, she argued, have used children as political pawns to further their own ambition. She faulted Bloomberg for pushing for privatization with public and charter schools occupying the same buildings and said while Bill de Blasio campaigned on student equity, he couldn鈥檛 close the opportunity or achievement gap. Adams may be only months into his first term but Sutton sees the mayor and his chancellor as already showing an affinity for charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run.

But no matter who is in office, parents remain sidelined, Sutton said, frustrated about the removal of mask mandates, the lack of reliable transportation for special needs children, unaddressed language barriers and a host of other concerns. 

鈥淎 lot of parents have come to see mayoral control as a huge hoop we have to jump through,鈥� she said, adding that parents must not only advocate at the school level, but at the district and city level, hoping to catch the mayor鈥檚 attention on social media. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be this one politician who is completely inaccessible.鈥�

Despite a steep pandemic-related decrease in the student body, in the NYC school system in 2020-21. Of those, 13.3 percent were English language learners, 20.8 percent were students with disabilities and 73 percent were economically disadvantaged. 

More than 40 percent of students were Hispanic, 24.7 percent were Black, 16.5 percent were Asian and 14.8 percent were white: More than 138,000 were in charter schools. 

The four-year graduation rate was 81.2 percent in August 2021 with a 4.8 percent dropout rate that year. 

The schools are run on a $38 billion budget.

The effort, called 鈥�,鈥� is meant to help students bounce back from the pandemic鈥檚 lasting impacts, Bloomberg explained in a joint City Hall address with Mayor Eric Adams.

Stalled academic progress through the pandemic is like 鈥渢he educational equivalent of long COVID,鈥� said Bloomberg. 鈥淭he good news is we know how to treat it: extra help and intensive instruction. We’ve got to provide it, and we’re going to start right now.鈥�

The investment bolsters an already ambitious plan for summer learning in New York City. Adams previously announced he is working to expand the city鈥檚 existing summer school initiative, 鈥淪ummer Rising,鈥� from 98,000 children last year to this July 鈥� the largest in the city鈥檚 history. The mayor also plans to for older students from 75,000 to 100,000.

The city鈥檚 Summer Rising program is open to all K-8 students, including those who attend publicly funded charters and private schools, but Bloomberg indicated that charter sector leaders are interested in running their own independent programs.

鈥淭he charter schools wanted to take a chance, take the opportunity to try what they’ve been doing during the school year for the summer schools, which they didn’t have before,鈥� said Bloomberg.

Mayor Adams鈥檚 endorsement of the program from Bloomberg, who announced in 2021 that he plans to spend $750 million to expand charter schools nationwide, represents a break from his predecessor Bill de Blasio, a stark opponent of charter school growth. The announcement marked Bloomberg鈥檚 return to City Hall for the first time in eight years.

鈥淚 am not going to be caught up in the conversation of separating children based on the names of the schools they are in,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淓very young person, whether they are in district schools or charter schools, they deserve to have a quality education.鈥�

The privately funded $50 million sum will cover seats for 25,000 youth at up to $2,000 per student, with grant applications open now through May 4. There are roughly 938,000 students enrolled in traditional NYC public schools and 143,000 attending charters.

鈥淓very school will be eligible and hopefully every school will apply,鈥� explained Howard Wolfson of Bloomberg Philanthropies. 鈥淥ur expectation is that the vast bulk of the applications will be approved.鈥�

Ben Samuels-Kalow, founder and head of school at Creo College Preparatory Charter School in the Bronx, which currently serves fifth through seventh graders and will scale to eighth grade next year, was thrilled by the Monday announcement and said he plans to apply for a grant in the coming days. His school ran a math-intensive summer program last August, a model that he said provided an 鈥渙n-ramp鈥� to the school year, rather than the typical July programming, which can be more on an 鈥渙ff-ramp.鈥�

Should his school receive funds through the Summer Boost grant this year, it will allow Samuels-Kalow to provide additional pay to staff who may be struggling with burnout and fatigue, he said.

鈥淭eachers have had the hardest possible last two years of their professional lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淸This grant] is giving schools the material ability to compensate teachers for their time.鈥�

Having a critical mass of educators on site for summer learning opportunities, the former added, 鈥渋s hugely beneficial for kids and for schools.鈥�

Schools may plan programs that serve up to a third of their total enrollment, with a focus on reaching those who have fallen furthest behind during the pandemic, and can request to expand further if funds are left over after the first round of grants are awarded, according to the initiative鈥檚 .

Summer Boost will offer free professional development and English and math curricula from Lavinia Group, owned by the for-profit teacher education company Learners Edge, to participating schools, though they may use their own curricula if they prefer.

Grantees must test students at the start and end of their programs, which are required to run at least 20 days, said Wolfson. Bloomberg Philanthropies is contributing about two-thirds of the initiative鈥檚 budget and private donors, including the Carson Family Charitable Trust and the Gray Foundation, are covering the rest.

Representatives from the KIPP charter network, which operates 18 public charter schools in the city, declined to comment on whether their campuses intend to take advantage of the Summer Boost program.

School leaders interested in learning more about the program can join one of several offered late April through early May.

In early March, Schools Chancellor David Banks announced he would eliminate the executive superintendent role from the Department of Education鈥檚 internal structure and require district superintendents to re-apply for their jobs. The shifts received a in The New York Times story covering the chancellor鈥檚 remarks, his first major address as head of the DOE.

But to Bronx parent Ilka Rios, the news hit like a thunderbolt.

鈥淚nitially, when [the chancellor] made the announcement, at that point, I didn’t hear nothing else that came out of his mouth,鈥� she said.

To her, the update meant only one thing: Her borough, which suffers the city鈥檚 highest poverty rates and lowest high school graduation rates, would lose a leader who had finally started to turn around the area鈥檚 schools, Erika Tobia.

鈥淒r. Tobia has been a godsend to the Bronx,鈥� Rios told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淓very time the Bronx finds someone to help them get better, it’s like someone from downtown swoops in and removes them.鈥�

A 30-year education veteran in the borough, Tobia had only assumed her post as executive superintendent 11 months prior. The position itself was created just three years earlier in 2018 under former Chancellor Richard Carranza, who to increase oversight and support for district superintendents.听

With a total of eight positions, one or two per borough, eliminating the posts will save millions of dollars, said Chancellor Banks, who founded a Bronx high school early in his career.听

鈥淲e want to push those dollars closer to schools,鈥� the chancellor later said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all this is about.鈥�

The idea that parents would rally to preserve an additional layer of bureaucracy is hardly typical and, indeed, not all parents are equally enamored with their executive superintendent. In Brooklyn, Yuli Hsu praised the chancellor鈥檚 move.

鈥溾�嬧�媁hen the previous chancellor added the executive level of superintendents, to me it just added another level of expense and bureaucracy,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 really noticed any impactful change since [Executive Superintendent Karen Watts] arrived鈥� in her role in North Brooklyn.

蜜桃影视 reached out directly to each of the city鈥檚 eight executive superintendents. None responded.

In the Bronx, Tobia鈥檚 parent-first style won families over.

The leader ran food drives, held sessions to build trust between campus police and families and launched a series of 鈥溾�� for adult education that regularly drew dozens of participants. Every month, Tobia held gatherings 鈥� dubbed 鈥渏ust us鈥� meetings because she honored parents鈥� request that no other district officials attend 鈥� for families to share their education concerns, said Rios, who was president of the Community Education Council in the borough鈥檚 District听 12 for nearly a decade.

鈥淔or us in the Bronx, it鈥檚 really important because we never had that voice before,鈥� said Farah Despeignes, District 8鈥檚 CEC president. 鈥淭hat is why parents are so upset鈥� that they would eliminate that position.鈥�

With parents and school leaders across the city looking to get a handle on the new administration鈥檚 education agenda, they say how the chancellor moves forward with his planned shakeup will be an early test of his priorities and willingness to incorporate community voices.

So far, Rios remains unsatisfied.

鈥淭he chancellor nor the mayor, neither one of them brought us to the table to ask us parent leaders how it was working with [Tobia],鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey just made the decision, 鈥榃e’re eliminating the position.鈥� And I get it, eliminate the position, but then tell us, you’re going to put her somewhere else in the district.鈥�

Despeignes penned a December letter on behalf of her parent organization, , to then Mayor-elect Eric Adams urging him to consider the Bronx executive superintendent for a post where she could engage with and uplift families across the city.

Banks has dropped indicators that he may still heed their advice. While the executive superintendent role will be going away at the end of this school year, some of those leaders 鈥渕ay reappear in other positions鈥� in the DOE, he said.

During a two days after the chancellor鈥檚 announcement, Bronx Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson pressed Banks on his choice to get rid of the position prized by many of her constituents.

The chancellor empathized: 鈥淚鈥檝e heard from a lot of parents in the Bronx who are really supportive of the Executive Superintendent Tobia,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e become very fond of her myself in the two months that I鈥檝e been here and I鈥檝e seen her work 鈥� so stay tuned.鈥�

鈥淲e are working diligently to finalize the execution of [the chancellor鈥檚] announcement and additional details are forthcoming,鈥� a DOE spokesperson wrote in a March 14 email to 蜜桃影视.

The Power of Community! When we come together鈥e can achieve anything!

鈥� Erika Tobia (@BxSuptTobia)

Experts agreed with that, structurally, the role 鈥渁dds a level of bureaucracy without adding enough value to schools and students.鈥� According to David Bloomfield, the extra layer actually restricts the authority of local leaders.

鈥淭he executive superintendents handcuffed the superintendents, and now the superintendents will be freer,鈥� said the Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center education professor. 

鈥淭his is a win-win,鈥� he added. Because there will now be 46 superintendents 鈥� presumably some of them new faces after the reapplication process 鈥� reporting to the chancellor rather than eight executive superintendents, 鈥渢he chancellor鈥檚 office is going to have more information to assess its policies and the principals and superintendents will be able to act with more discretion.鈥�

Since taking office in January, Banks has repeatedly vowed to improve the city鈥檚 schools 鈥溾�� by giving principals more autonomy, an agenda item reminiscent of the Bloomberg era.

Parent leaders like Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, of Harlem, say their schools became more responsive to the community once the executive superintendent role was introduced.

鈥淭here was a systemic issue in my district where parents were not empowered and parents didn鈥檛 have a voice,鈥� Salas-Ramirez told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲hen the executive superintendents were put in place, Marisol [Rosales, the Manhattan leader at the time,] was incredibly responsive to parents on the ground.鈥�

That indicates, said Andrea Gabor, author of , not that another layer of bureaucracy was necessary, but that perhaps Salas-Ramirez鈥檚 district superintendents weren鈥檛 properly doing their job.

鈥淚n an ideal world, teachers and principals should be the ones who are responsive to parents,鈥� the Baruch College professor told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淵ou should not have to go through a four-layer cake in order to get some kind of a response.鈥�

The DOE took a similar stance: “[School] leaders will be successful when they work closely with families. 鈥� There are phenomenal schools in every neighborhood across the city, and it is our responsibility to cut bureaucracy and grow what is working at the school-level,鈥� said Press Secretary Nathaniel Styer.

Still, based on her experience in the Bronx, Despeignes pushed back. 

鈥淵es, it is another layer of bureaucracy鈥� but it’s a layer of bureaucracy that is needed because it brings all the schools and all the superintendents under one tent,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not outlandish,鈥� noted Bloomfield, to eliminate executive superintendents in most boroughs, but keep them on a case-by-case basis in areas where they鈥檙e making a positive impact, perhaps like the Bronx.

Back in Brooklyn, District 14 Community Education Council President Tajh Sutton said the bulk of the Adams鈥檚 administration鈥檚 work building families鈥� trust is still to come.

鈥淚’m happy to see one layer of the bureaucracy go, but what does that look like in practice? And how does it improve the lives and interactions between families and districts on the ground?鈥� she wonders. 鈥淎re we talking to the most marginalized members of each district community to really try to get a sense of, 鈥業s this superintendent effective? Is this principal effective?鈥欌��

Hsu, also on the District 14 CEC, agrees. She鈥檚 been frustrated by the lack of action after she raised concerns over anti-Asian racism her kids and others have experienced in school, she said. To her, re-ordering the DOE鈥檚 organizational chart is not enough.

鈥淵ou’re just kind of shuffling pieces of a broken system around,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat I really want to hear is about meaningful change from the ground up and meaningful engagement with parents.鈥�

Offered the job by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, Carvalho in private, then presided over a televised school board meeting that featured three hours of supporters all but begging him to stay. In the end, Carvalho remained.

greeted the move in Miami, but it didn鈥檛 go over so well in New York, home to the nation鈥檚 largest school district: Eric Phillips, de Blasio鈥檚 press secretary, , 鈥淲ho would ever hire this guy again?鈥�

Four years later, Phillips has his answer: Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation鈥檚 second-largest school system.

The drama of the hire was underscored by Pedro Noguera, dean of the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, who likened the move to 鈥�LeBron coming to the Lakers.鈥� But Los Angeles offers only the most recent example of an oversize personality with huge ambitions taking over a district鈥檚 top job. Right now, all three of the nation鈥檚 largest school systems are run by energetic reformers, a rarity even in big-city schools circles.

All of them greet Spring 2022 full of promise 鈥� and problems. Over the next few years, they鈥檒l enjoy unprecedented funding as taxpayers throw billions of dollars at schools to scrub away deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But all three districts are rapidly losing students. And unions, emboldened by 2021 victories around remote instruction and, in recent years, high-profile strikes, could be formidable obstacles to their priorities. In Chicago, new schools CEO has already faced down a citywide teacher walkout.

In addition to Carvalho and Martinez, who are both immigrants, New York City Mayor Eric Adams in December named , the founder of a small network of public boys鈥� schools, as the new school chancellor. Banks鈥檚 schools have stood out for, among other reasons, employing many male teachers of color.

All three 鈥渄efinitely seem reform minded, which I think is super exciting and a real breath of fresh air,鈥� said , superintendent of the Catholic independent Partnership Schools network. 

鈥淚 think it really speaks to the moment we’re at as we’re coming out of COVID,鈥� she said. The pandemic 鈥減rovided an uncomfortable reminder鈥� of the need for leaders who will put children鈥檚 needs first. 

Billions in new funding 鈥� until 2024

Martinez, Chicago鈥檚 new schools CEO, is of Chiefs for Change, a group that advocates for increased school choice, effective teacher preparation, and standards-aligned curricula. But it also rails against 鈥渙nerous bureaucracy鈥� in schools. That credo will certainly be challenged by the sheer scale of federal intervention: some in COVID-related relief since 2020.

In New York, state lawmakers in 2021 increased funding to New York City by nearly half a billion dollars. By next year, a lawsuit settled last year to equalize urban school funding could bring that to $1 billion, said president of Bank Street College and New York City鈥檚 former senior deputy chancellor. 鈥淪o there is a significant infusion of new dollars into the school system that can be used to dig into systemic issues. And that’s very rare.鈥�

As in districts large and small elsewhere, the three leaders are 鈥渁ll drinking from a firehose鈥� of funding, said of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. But that also places extra responsibility on them: 鈥淣o one can blame lack of funding as their excuse for not getting things done,鈥� she said.

But unless Congress acts, all that extra funding will run out in 2024. None of the three new leaders agreed to be interviewed for this piece.

, who leads the AASA, the nation鈥檚 school superintendent鈥檚 association, said many leaders are using the cash to upgrade facilities. But spending it on generous raises or new instructional positions could actually put them at odds with unions, since those jobs won鈥檛 be sustainable.

鈥淭he financial cliff is only two years away,鈥� he said.

A 鈥榝riend of charters back at the helm鈥�

A product of New York City鈥檚 public schools, Banks cut his teeth founding and the network of five unionized Eagle Academy public schools in New York City and Newark.

While the schools aren鈥檛 charters, Banks has said he supports charter schools. He told in December that families 鈥渁re desperate for quality seats, quality schools 鈥� And if the traditional public schools were offering that, you wouldn鈥檛 see such a mass rush to the charter schools.鈥�

Banks created the Eagle Academy schools to serve academically struggling boys of color in grades six through 12 who often face harsh discipline. As chancellor, he said, his first priorities are to expand early childhood education, improve career pathways for older students, and to combat students鈥� trauma.

, president of the United Federation of Teachers, the city鈥檚 union, has known Banks for years. 鈥淚’ve been at his schools and I found them to be quite well-run,鈥� he said. All the same, running the largest school district in the nation will force him to tame the city schools鈥� 鈥渕ammoth bureaucracy.鈥� 

The last two mayors have restructured the school system six times, Mulgrew said. 鈥淎nd every time, all they did was add another layer.鈥�

In his , Banks on March 2 acknowledged that many families have 鈥渄ecided to vote with their feet, and to say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to find other alternatives and other choices for our children.鈥欌�� 

He promised an overhaul of the bureaucracy, including requiring district superintendents to reapply for their jobs. And he took direct aim at the way many schools teach reading, criticizing a method developed by a Columbia University Teachers College professor that 鈥渉as not worked鈥� with many children. He promised to shift to a method that emphasizes explicit phonics instruction, among other changes.

Banks has also said he鈥檇 like to transform city schools from the bottom up by handing to 鈥減rincipals who know what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� according to the speech. He also wants to tweak how standardized tests are used, allowing students to show they鈥檝e mastered content in other ways.

His ascendance stands in contrast to previous leaders who have looked suspiciously on the charter sector. New York actually caps the number of charter schools statewide at 460, with just 290 allowed for nearly 1 million students in New York City. While it鈥檇 take a state-level change to allow more, choice advocates said Banks can eloquently make the case.

鈥淚t feels to me like this is the moment where we can really see that there is a friend of charters back at the helm of New York City schools, which I think is really great to see, and I know is probably sending some shockwaves,鈥� said Porter-Magee.

So far, at least, Banks hasn鈥檛 forcefully pushed to lift the cap, in December, 鈥淲e want to scale excellence. So if that means opening a few more charter schools, that’s what we’re going to do … if we can get the state to approve it.鈥� But he said he鈥檚 also encouraging the philanthropic community 鈥渢o lean in on the traditional public school system, because at the end of the day, most of our children will continue to go to our traditional public schools.鈥�

Enrollment downturns

Carvalho, who led Miami-Dade schools for 14 years, has been able to compete with charters by creating centralized data systems that allowed him to keep track of students鈥� academic progress better than most big-city leaders during the pandemic, Rees said. 

A Portuguese immigrant, Carvalho grew up in Miami and worked restaurant and construction jobs early on. He came up through the ranks in Miami-Dade, starting out as a high school science teacher and becoming a new breed of area leader: one who sticks around. Before he took the top job in 2008, Miami-Dade 鈥渨as a revolving door for superintendents coming and going,鈥� Domenech said.

Sticking around paid off. In 2012, the district won the coveted $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education, which recognizes school districts that have shown academic improvement while narrowing the achievement gap. More recent findings from the district鈥檚 Office of Academics and Transformation paint a : While Black students鈥� graduation rates rose from 62.4 percent in 2011 to 85.6 percent in 2020, just 40 percent of Black students in 2019 were proficient in reading; 44 percent were proficient in math. 

With parents clamoring to remediate lost instructional time during the pandemic, Domenech said Carvalho brought in 鈥渁 very creative鈥� program that contracted with camps to provide summer school.

Carvalho鈥檚 long tenure 鈥� the average big-city leader sticks around 鈥� is 鈥渁 testament to his savvy in terms of the politics, in dealing with the board, in dealing with the community, in dealing with employee groups,鈥� Domenech said.

He鈥檒l need that savvy in Los Angeles, which also has recently featured a revolving door of superintendents, a strong union and an outspoken, ever-shifting school board 鈥� it currently has three seats open in the next election. In Los Angeles, Carvalho will work at the pleasure of the school board. Meanwhile, Banks and Martinez will work for the mayors of their respective cities.

During his second week at LAUSD, Carvalho unveiled a that includes expanded preschool, year-round learning and a 鈥淧arent Academy鈥� offering coursework to help parents understand their children鈥檚 education. He鈥檇 also lengthen the school year and offer teachers more professional development. He acknowledged that he鈥檇 have to negotiate with the city鈥檚 teachers union about those last two ideas.

Carvalho last month told 蜜桃影视 the district must expand school choice if it wants to keep from 鈥渂leeding out students鈥� from a system that, while much bigger than Miami, has fewer than one-third as many school choice options.

Los Angeles students, he said, basically have two choices at the moment: magnet schools and charter schools. 鈥淲hoever decided to restrict choice on the basis of those parameters?鈥� he asked. 鈥淲here are the programs in L.A. where we see long waiting lists of parents? Why aren鈥檛 we expanding more of those programs to where the demand is?鈥�

He has the district consider an 鈥渆xplosion of offerings鈥� for students, including dual-enrollment programs, International Baccalaureate programs, fine and performing arts magnet schools, and single-gender schools, among others. 鈥淚鈥檓 less concerned about the dynamic of dialogue that usually separates people into two camps: charter versus non-charter. I鈥檓 more interested in programmatic offerings that benefit kids 鈥� period.鈥�

Carvalho suggested that the district analyze which programs motivate students to travel long distances from their neighborhoods and offer more of these. 鈥淚 can fill an entire wall with a repertoire of options for parents. Why aren鈥檛 we offering all of that?鈥�

Throughout the pandemic, all three cities have struggled to retain and, in some cases, even find their students. All have seen in .

of the California Charter Schools Association said a crashing birth rate across California is a cause for concern. And net migration has actually dipped 鈥渋nto the negatives鈥� as home due to anti-immigration policies and economic uncertainty.

鈥淭his is not about 鈥楾he affluent went to Tahoe during the pandemic to hunker down,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭his is real and it’s permanent and it’s creating challenges across the state.鈥�

An 鈥榠nnovative and data-informed鈥� school integration experiment

Born in Mexico, Martinez emigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 5. He is in a family of 12 children with deep ties to Chicago鈥檚 public school system 鈥� three of his sisters and some 28 nieces and nephews attend local public schools. 

Martinez was working in finance for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2003 when then-Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Arne Duncan hired him as chief financial officer. He remained there until 2009 鈥� Duncan moved on to serve as U.S. Education Secretary under President Obama. Martinez made a name for himself leading the San Antonio Independent School District through a redesign, beginning in 2015, that 蜜桃影视 dubbed 鈥渙ne of America鈥檚 most innovative and data-informed school integration experiments.鈥�

Using family income data, he mapped poverty levels for each city block. Then he integrated schools not by race but by income and, among other factors, by parents鈥� education levels. Three years later, San Antonio鈥檚 90 schools and 47,000 students were among the fastest-improving in Texas.

In Chicago, he faces something entirely different: a 330,000-student system that鈥檚 as families leave the city. Recent enrollment data show that while 43,500 new students enrolled for the first time this year, 54,000 left between the last school year and this one.

On the job in Chicago for seven months, Martinez has already his first major crisis: the city鈥檚 teachers in early January voted to not show up for work until COVID-19 safety demands were met. 

Martinez proposed a host of measures, including building-level testing to determine when to close schools. But the union, with memories of an that ended with millions in extra spending, insisted on more strict measures, including negative PCR tests for all staff, students, and volunteers in order to keep schools open. 

The strike lasted just under a week after the district agreed to increase testing options, allow remote learning on a case-by-case basis, and secure more KN95 masks. Despite the agreement, union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates Mayor Lori Lightfoot as 鈥渦nfit to lead our city. She鈥檚 on a one-woman kamikaze mission to destroy our public schools.鈥�

鈥楾his is the moment that unions should be at their strongest鈥�

, a school consultant and occasional columnist for 蜜桃影视, said the political climate in all three cities reflects a desire by voters more broadly and parents specifically, to pull back from 鈥渟uper-progressive鈥� policies, such as the Defund the Police movement, to more centrist strategies that simply ensure a solid education for all. Parents 鈥渏ust want a school system they can count on, that’s reliable, that is just serving their kids.鈥�

, president of the education advocacy group 50CAN, said Adams, the New York mayor, campaigned on not just a return to moderation but normalcy: 鈥淭he schools are open, the subways are safe. The restaurants work. People are back in their offices. That’s almost nostalgia now, and people crave that. And I think these candidates got that. And their education choices reflect that too.鈥�

At the same time, unions are on the ascent. With their to in-person instruction amid COVID-19 spikes and a handful of recent in recent years, they鈥檝e seen their and influence grow after years of declining membership. 

鈥淭his is the moment that unions should be at their strongest,鈥� said , a resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a libertarian Washington, D.C., think tank. 鈥淭his is a health crisis, and unions are designed to make sure that they’re protecting the health and safety of their members.鈥�

But over the past few years, he said, unions in many places have 鈥渙verplayed their hands鈥� by demanding that instruction stay remote. The arrival of these new leaders may signal something different altogether: The new leaders are by no means union supporters, even if voters in each of their solidly blue cities are.

Rees, of the charter schools group, noted that Banks hired Dan Weisberg as first deputy chancellor. Since 2015, Weisberg has served as , a national nonprofit (formerly called The New Teacher Project) that has trained thousands of teachers outside of traditional teachers colleges. Since its founding in 1997, it has had a complicated relationship with unions. 

In 2018, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt unions a blow by making a portion of members鈥� dues optional, Weisberg wrote that he disagreed with the decision, calling it 鈥渁 matter of basic fairness that teachers who reap the benefits of collective bargaining should also share in the costs.鈥�

But Weisberg also called the decision 鈥渁 blessing in disguise鈥� for unions, which he said 鈥渁re now forced to finally confront an existential threat that鈥檚 been brewing for years: They鈥檙e losing touch with more and more of their members.鈥�

Rees said Weisberg鈥檚 hiring 鈥済ives us confidence that there’s a new sheriff in town and that things are going to be a little bit different, or at least that the reform community and the charter school community will have a seat at the table.鈥�

In early March, a pandemic celebrity best known for advocating that schools should move toward a pre-COVID normal wielded her weapon of choice, arguing in The Atlantic that lifting mask mandates for all but the youngest students is 鈥�.鈥�

Emily Oster laid out what she, and many others, understood to be the situation at hand in her opening paragraph: 鈥淎lthough the CDC recently moved to relax COVID guidelines, it continues to recommend universal indoor masking in early-childhood-education programs for those ages 2 and older.鈥澨�

The CDC鈥檚 coronavirus for child care providers, last updated Jan. 28, lists a number of 鈥渒ey takeaways,鈥� including that the agency 鈥渞ecommends universal indoor masking in [early childhood education] programs for those ages 2 years and older, regardless of vaccination status.鈥�

But in a surprising twist, about a week later, the Brown University economist posted an update on her Instagram story.

鈥淎fter my piece in @theatlantic last week, the CDC emailed me to let me know they DO NOT recommend masking for toddlers in areas with low or moderate transmission. Toddlers鈥� masking recommended to align with everyone else,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭hey are struggling to get the message out so maybe this will help!鈥�

鈥淚 realize that seems a little crazy, but I am telling you that is the email I received from a senior person at the CDC.鈥�

The federal agency has a yellow banner at the top of its that says the CDC鈥檚 latest recommendations 鈥渁lign precautions for educational settings with those for other community settings.鈥�

鈥淭hat banner 鈥� is intended to replace all of the information that is below it in the bullets that say that kids should still be masking,鈥� Oster said in an Instagram video.

In late February, the CDC made major news when it replaced its previous recommendation that all schools require universal masking, stipulating instead that classrooms could now go mask-optional when community COVID rates were low or moderate, the current virus level across most of the country.

But without a vaccine available for those younger than 5, Oster and many others understood the guidance to apply only to K-12 schools, not early child care and pre-K programs. The CDC is 鈥渆asing its recommendations for wearing masks in indoor K-12 settings,鈥� the Los Angeles Times .

But in fact, the guidance was meant to apply to all educational levels, including those under 5.

In a Thursday email to 蜜桃影视, the CDC confirmed that 鈥渞ecommendations for masks in K-12 schools and early care and education (ECE) programs are consistent with recommendations for other community settings.鈥� 

鈥淐hildren ages 2-4 have a lower risk of severe disease from COVID-19 and parents of children in ECE programs as well as ECE staff can make appropriate choices about mask wearing in school settings based on local requirements and their personal levels of risk,鈥� wrote spokesperson Jade Fulce.

She did not explain why it has taken the agency several weeks to update its website, but said they would make the information available 鈥渁s soon as possible.鈥�

To New York City parent Daniela Jampel, whose 4-year-old daughter has continued masking while her older sister goes to school face exposed, the delay is unacceptable.

鈥淚t鈥檚 ridiculous,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he CDC is having trouble updating its website so they reach out to Emily Oster?鈥�

鈥淭heir website on this issue should not be left to interpretation. It should be very clear,鈥� said Jampel, an early advocate for amid remote learning and now an outspoken critic of the city鈥檚 decision to leave masking in place for preschoolers.

Oster agreed that the unconventional communication method underscores the widespread confusion on the issue, but clarified that the CDC did not contact her asking her to spread the word about their policy. Rather, they were correcting what they said was inaccurate information in her Atlantic piece.

鈥淭hey weren’t like, 鈥極h, by the way, it would be great if you could share with people this information,鈥欌�� Oster told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭hey just said, 鈥楨verybody should already know this.鈥� But I think it’s pretty clear looking at 鈥� how people responded that they have not managed to make that clear.鈥�

Several parents, mostly in blue states like New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois, responded to Oster鈥檚 update saying that their child care provider was still requiring masks, said the professor.

鈥淚 showed this (post) to my provider,鈥� many parents wrote, and in response were told, 鈥淲ell, if the website still says that masks are required, that鈥檚 not our interpretation of what that banner is.鈥�

鈥淭here is a fair amount of people looking to this guidance and trying to interpret it and the way that it is currently stated is extremely difficult to interpret clearly,鈥� said Oster.

The confusion extended to The Atlantic itself, which did not immediately update Oster鈥檚 original column to reflect the CDC鈥檚 clarified guidance after Oster received the agency鈥檚 email. In a follow-up interview with 蜜桃影视, Oster said she corresponded with her editor, but because the CDC had made no official announcement on how to interpret the vague website, the outlet decided not to alter its story at that time.

鈥淸The fact-checker] read the banner at the top, but then everything below it still said there should be masking,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t went under the radar.鈥�

However, after this story first published and 蜜桃影视 requested comment from The Atlantic, Oster鈥檚 piece was updated Thursday night to reflect the disconnect in the CDC鈥檚 guidance between the banner and the information below it.

Many early childhood education providers nationwide continue to require universal masking for 2- to 4-year olds.

Head Start, a federal school readiness program serving over 800,000 children from low-income families each year, 2-year-olds and up to wear face masks indoors, although in a Jan. 1 ruling, a U.S. district judge on the program鈥檚 rule in 24 states, mostly Republican. In the remaining 26 states, even those that long ago lifted their school mask mandates, participating toddlers are still required to cover up.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams cited hospitalization data when announcing earlier this month that the country’s largest school district was lifting its K-12 mask mandate but keeping the rule for 2- to 4-year-olds.

鈥淲hen you look at those under 5, they were more likely to be hospitalized,鈥� Adams . 鈥淧eople wanted to say, 鈥楲et’s lift it across the board,鈥� but that’s not what the science was showing us.鈥�

Masking in early child care settings is associated with a in program closures due to virus outbreaks, according to a recent study from doctors at Yale University. But the data were collected during the early months of the pandemic before vaccines were available to staff.

And while federal data show that hospitalizations for children under 5 did spike during the Omicron surge, an outsized share of that uptick was driven by newborns not yet 6 months old, who the masking guidance does not apply to anyway.

Meanwhile, COVID cases in Europe are , fueled by a more transmissible Omicron subvariant. Even as infections continue to , many experts warn that the increases across the pond could foreshadow a coming wave in America.

Jampel, despite frustration with the CDC鈥檚 haphazard rollout of its guidance for toddlers, doubts whether more clarity would impact the rules affecting her family. 

鈥淣ew York City schools have done many things that go far beyond what the CDC recommends,鈥� she said. 鈥淚’m not convinced that it鈥檚 the CDC holding us up, and I’m not convinced that a CDC change will mean that our political leaders will take notice and change their policies.鈥�

Neither the Department of Education nor the Department of Health immediately responded to requests for comment.

Steven Barnett, co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, said the two key questions on the issue are 鈥淲hat are the health benefits from masking young children?鈥� and 鈥淲hat are the developmental consequences?鈥�

鈥淭he problem with trying to be an expert on this issue is that there is very limited science on which to base conclusions,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视 in an email. 鈥淲ith respect to the health benefits, the known risks to young children from infection are quite small but this is a novel virus with unknown long-term risks.鈥�

鈥淎ll this leads me to think,鈥� he continued, 鈥渢hat masks for young children may be prudent when there is a high rate of community transmission鈥� 鈥� a conclusion that lands him in alignment with the now clarified CDC guidance.

But with all the CDC鈥檚 communication glitches along the way, Oster worries it will impact the public鈥檚 faith in the agency, which has been shaken several times throughout the two-year pandemic.

鈥淭his erodes trust,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f people are trying to trust the CDC, they’re trying to listen to them, when the messaging is confused in this way, or incomplete in this way, it makes people less likely to pay attention to the CDC.鈥� 

鈥淥ur schools have been some of the safest places,鈥� said Adams, citing a COVID positivity rate this week of 0.18 percent in schools. 鈥淲e are lifting the indoors mask requirement for DOE schools.鈥�

“We want to see the faces of our children. We want to see their smiles,” he said.

The seismic move in the country鈥檚 largest school district was in accordance with plans the mayor signaled on Sunday, days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted their universal masking guidance for schools in areas with low to moderate transmission.听

After a tumultuous two years in which the teachers union and City Hall were often at odds over COVID protocols, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew endorsed the change in a brief emailed statement.

鈥淥ur doctors agree with the city’s medical experts that this is the right time to safely move from a mask mandate to an optional mask system,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is the responsible, thoughtful way to make our next transition.鈥�

Face-covering requirements will stay in place for those younger than 5 in pre-kindergarten and child care settings, Adams said, noting that age group is not yet eligible for vaccination. That distinction will set up a scenario in some city schools with pre-K programs that certain grade levels can go mask-free while others cannot.

In February, Pfizer and BioNTech postponed their request that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize their COVID shots for toddlers, pushing the timeline back several months for that age group.

Over three-quarters of all New York City residents have received at least two vaccine doses, including 87 percent of adult residents, according to . Studies show that three doses of the COVID vaccine are at preventing hospitalization, even against the Delta and Omicron variants.

However, student vaccination rates vary widely from school to school, from just under 10 percent coverage in some places to above 90 percent at others, reveal. Schools in wealthier areas tended to have higher rates of immunization, leading some to worry that lifting the face-covering mandate will lead to a disproportionate toll on underserved families who have suffered outsized death tolls through the pandemic.

On Wednesday, parents took to the steps of Tweed Courthouse to protest the city鈥檚 plans to drop universal masking in an event organized by the parent advocacy group . They rallied under the hashtag #MaskingForAFriend to emphasize the need to protect the most vulnerable, including the immunocompromised and the elderly, they said.

鈥淚 know there鈥檚 some who state that they still want their children to wear their masks,鈥� acknowledged Adams. 鈥淵ou can.鈥�

He himself will continue masking in crowded venues from time to time, he said, and wants to ensure that no child is ostracized for their decision to cover up.听

Monday will also mark the end of proof-of-vaccination requirements for gyms, restaurants and movie theaters, though individual businesses may keep their rules in place if they so choose, the mayor said.

Meanwhile, his administration has indicated that they are interested in creating a virtual learning option for families who prefer to keep their children out of the classroom, but has provided no concrete details on a timeline, frustrating parents who have advocated for that possibility since . In January, at the height of the Omicron surge, Adams told officials that the process could take as long as six months.

The mayor closed his Friday address on a rejoiceful note.

鈥淭his is a celebratory moment,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been waiting for this day for so long. And it鈥檚 here.鈥�

Watch the full address:

The updated total represents a 16 percent jump over the original figure, which a state agency provided to 蜜桃影视 via a public records request in late December. 

Based on those records, 蜜桃影视 reported in January that school staff had made over 2,400 calls to the state鈥檚 child abuse hotline in the first three months of the 2021-22 school year and over 9,600 since the start of the pandemic 鈥� many of which, advocates say, were harmful to families and possibly the result of racial bias.

But according to the corrected counts, city school personnel made even more reports than previously known: 2,822 between September and November 2021, and 11,560 between August 2020 and November 2021. 

In late February, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services sent 蜜桃影视 its amended tabulation, noting that reports made by teachers were 鈥渋nadvertently excluded鈥� from the initial record it had provided in response to a November 2020 freedom of information request.

鈥淲hen the report was initially run for 鈥榮chool personnel,鈥� teachers were accidentally not included as a source,鈥� OCFS Records Access Officer Tracy Swanson wrote in an email. 鈥淥nce our data people realized the error, they reran the report and included the accurate data.鈥�

Having left out teachers was a 鈥渉uge oversight,鈥� said parent advocate Paullette Healy, who herself was subject to an investigation that ultimately found no evidence of neglect.

Gabriel Freiman, head of education practices at the legal nonprofit said the sheer number of reports of abuse and neglect made by school staff 鈥� over 11,500 from August 2020 to November 2021 鈥� 鈥渄emonstrates to me that our school system is really intertwined with the family regulation system.鈥�

Roughly 16 percent of all reports made by school personnel during that time period were from teachers, a comparison of the original and updated records reveals. The vast majority of calls came from other staff in the nation鈥檚 largest school district. School personnel are mandated by New York state law to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to a central hotline.

鈥淭he way that this gets recorded, it鈥檚 the person who actually is 鈥� making the call to the [],鈥� said Freiman, who works with families navigating child welfare investigations. 鈥淚f a child discloses something to a teacher about what’s happening in the home and the teacher immediately goes and talks to the principal, it could be the principal that calls in the report or the counselor that calls in the report.鈥�

Healy doesn’t believe it was her child’s teacher who reported her and thinks it may have been a school psychologist with whom she had previous conflicts. Her child鈥檚 Brooklyn school did not respond to 蜜桃影视’s request for comment. 

Reporting done by The Hechinger Report and HuffPost in 2018 showed that school officials in select cases as a retaliation tactic against parents they find to be bothersome.

The new numbers matter because child welfare investigations disproportionately impact poor families of color and can cause devastating impacts for children and parents. Charges can stay on parents鈥� records for years, erasing job prospects in fields like child care. Most dire, children can be separated from their parents 鈥� a trauma that studies show is later associated with elevated risks of .

In New York City, some of children named in investigations are Black or Hispanic, while, together, those racial groups make up 60 percent of the city鈥檚 youth. Even among neighborhoods with similar poverty rates, those with greater shares of Black and Hispanic residents face , research shows.

Such disparities are 鈥渄eeply concerning,鈥� a spokesperson for the Administration for Children鈥檚 Services, the New York City agency tasked with looking into suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, said in mid-January. 

蜜桃影视 previously reported that many families investigated this school year by ACS say they were not neglecting their children, but rather keeping them home from school as a COVID precaution. Under the city鈥檚 own guidance instructing schools to have leniency in such cases, they say, they should never have been reported to the agency.

Mayor Eric Adams鈥檚 Sunday announcement that he plans to lift the city鈥檚 school mask mandate March 7 may add yet another reason for COVID-wary parents to fear returning their children to in-person learning 鈥� signaling the issue may be far from over.

鈥淓nding the mask mandate in @NYCSchools is a [middle finger] to Black, Latino, underrepresented Asian, disabled & immunocompromised kids & staff,鈥� parent organizer Tajh Sutton on Twitter.

But while the total reports from school staff was higher in the fall of 2021 [when NYC schools were in-person] than the fall of 2020 [when classes were online], the share of calls that included an allegation of educational neglect dropped significantly over that span, the state’s data show. Some 63 percent of the 1,996 reports made by school staff between September and November 2020 included an educational neglect charge, while just 31 percent of the 2,800 reports filed over the same span a year later raised the same claim.

ACS data provided to 蜜桃影视 also showed a decline in reports of educational neglect from NYC school staff. From Sept. 1, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, school personnel made 2,708 reports alleging educational neglect compared to 1,926 over that same time window in 2021-22, according to the agency鈥檚 numbers. 

鈥淎 large reason for the difference would be the guidance ACS and DOE worked on together with regard to when to call in a report, and the significant training and messaging that was done with teachers,鈥� an ACS spokesperson told 蜜桃影视.

The City reported in 2020 that during remote learning, some children who missed Zoom classes because their family lacked devices or home internet were , which could have also driven those numbers in the first year of the pandemic.

Healy鈥檚 ACS report came in early November 2021, after schools reopened without a remote option. The Brooklyn mother remained unconvinced it was safe to send her two children back into classrooms, having lost several relatives to COVID. So she filed home instruction applications for both kids and stayed in communication with school staff, she said. The whole time, her children accessed and submitted classwork via Google Classroom.

鈥淚 was in constant contact [with the schools],鈥� Healy told 蜜桃影视. 鈥溾�嬧�婣ll of the things that needed to happen were still happening.鈥�

Yet in early November, an ACS caseworker knocked on the door of her apartment. The agency had received a report of suspected educational neglect from a staff member at her younger child鈥檚 school.

Healy is an organizer with the advocacy group PRESS, , and was familiar with her rights as a parent. But still, the visit was jarring to the whole family. After the caseworker left, her 14 year-old son, who has autism, paced back and forth for an hour, worried that the unfamiliar woman would return with law enforcement, Healy said. Her 13 year-old child, who identifies as non-binary, had continued nightmares, fearing they would be taken away from the only home they knew. Even Healy couldn鈥檛 avoid creeping thoughts of the worst-case scenario.

鈥淵ou automatically think someone鈥檚 here to take my kids away,鈥� she said. 

Since November, the most recent month for which data are available, Freiman said that several clients have continued to navigate new child welfare reports 鈥� especially during the Omicron surge when the sheer volume of COVID cases often complicated school attendance.

鈥淲e were working with people where the parents had COVID so [were] required to quarantine, but their children didn’t and so the school was expecting them to come to school. But the parents didn’t have a way to get them there,鈥� explained the attorney. 鈥淲e have had situations where those kinds of problems have resulted in a call to the state central register.鈥� 

ACS has said it is trying to avoid such scenarios. 鈥淲e are 鈥� working together (with the Department of Education) to make sure that families are not reported to the state鈥檚 child abuse hotline solely because of [a] child鈥檚 absences from school,鈥� a spokesperson wrote in a Jan. 13 message to 蜜桃影视. The agency is providing training to professionals working with children on ways to support families without calling the hotline, they said.

But Healy says there鈥檚 still a long way to go. Her own case was closed in December after uncovering no evidence of neglect, but she鈥檚 still going through a time-intensive and costly legal process to clear her record of the investigation. She hopes that the Adams administration, including schools Chancellor David Banks, works to ensure that other families don鈥檛 have to endure the same hardship.

鈥淭he whole punitive measures that ACS has been delivering up until now still needs to be addressed,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e definitely want to make sure that this gets nipped in the bud under this particular chancellor before more parents are unfortunately held to this repercussion.鈥�

From early November through Jan. 1, the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn family was under investigation by the Administration for Children鈥檚 Services, or ACS, the New York City agency tasked with looking into suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. Healy had been reported for educational neglect for not sending her children to school amid COVID fears, even though she says her kids kept up with their work remotely. 

The report that spurred their investigation was one of more than 2,400 that New York City school personnel made to the during the first three months of the 2021-22 school year, according to data obtained by 蜜桃影视 through a public record request 鈥� about 45 percent more than were reported over the same time span a year prior when most of the city鈥檚 . From August 2020 to November 2021, records show NYC school staff made a total of 9,674 reports. 

The highest monthly tally, 1,046, came in November 2021, the same month that ACS and the Department of Education issued 鈥嬧�媔nstructing schools to have patience with families keeping their children home due to COVID-19 concerns, and to avoid jumping to allegations of educational neglect when students don鈥檛 show up.

About a third of the reports from NYC school personnel from September through November 鈥� 839 out of 2,412 鈥� included an allegation of educational neglect. Of that total, just over half named educational neglect as the sole allegation, according to an ACS spokesperson, who pointed out that the rate was actually higher pre-COVID in the fall of 2019, when about 40 percent of reports from city school personnel alleged educational neglect.

Many of the families caught up in COVID-related investigations this school year, including the Healys, say that given the DOE’s statements and guidance, their ACS reports should never have been made.

Child welfare investigations, which disproportionately involve low-income families of color, can have devastating impacts. Charges can stay on parents鈥� records for years 鈥� even in cases like Healy鈥檚 where the agency ultimately found no evidence of neglect. Job prospects in fields like child care and education can be erased. And most dire, children can be separated from their parents 鈥� a trauma that studies show is later associated with elevated risks of .

ACS has clarified that, on its own, missing class should not be a reason for educators to suspect neglect. 鈥淲e are 鈥� working together (with the DOE) to make sure that families are not reported to the state鈥檚 child abuse hotline solely because of [a] child鈥檚 absences from school,鈥� a spokesperson wrote in a Jan. 13 email to 蜜桃影视, adding that the agency is providing training to professionals working with children on ways to support families without calling the hotline.

But now, after New York City student attendance rates plunged in early January amid surging Omicron cases, and with over how the Adams administration will approach remote learning, questions swirl over whether even more families may get entangled in the child welfare web.

鈥淚’m 鈥� worried about who’s going to be asked to answer for the decisions that they made in the wake of Omicron,鈥� said Gabriel Freiman, head of education practices at the legal nonprofit .

Healy echoed the concern, adding that families who kept children home amid the surge may be 鈥渧ulnerable to possible investigation.鈥�

How did we get here?

Rewind to the fall: New York City announced that schools would open in-person with no option for remote learning, and Healy was terrified. She had suffered massive personal losses through the pandemic 鈥� more than a dozen of her relatives had died of the virus, she said, ranging in age from 36 to 87 鈥� and the Brooklyn mother remained unconvinced that sending her children into crowded buildings was a good idea. She quickly submitted applications for home instruction for both of her kids. 

Meanwhile, just before classrooms reopened, the nation鈥檚 largest school district made a vow to parents: 鈥淭he only time ACS will intervene is if there is a clear intent to keep a child from being educated, period,鈥� then-schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said during a September . 鈥淲e want to work with our families because we recognize what families have been through.鈥�

Even while remote, Healy鈥檚 kids were still learning, she said. Both were accessing and submitting coursework via Google Classroom. She had even met with school staff to update both children鈥檚 Individualized Education Programs, the plans that spell out their special needs and mandated school services.

鈥淚 was in constant contact (with the schools),鈥� Healy said. 鈥溾�嬧�婣ll of the things that needed to happen were still happening.鈥�

So it caught Healy off guard when, in early November, an ACS caseworker knocked on her door. The agency had received a report of suspected educational neglect from a staff member at her younger child鈥檚 school.

Healy had understood that a visit from ACS was a possibility. As a member of the advocacy group PRESS, , she knew of numerous other parents keeping their children home from school due to coronavirus concerns who had been investigated. She had even put together informing parents of their rights when ACS shows up. But her own investigation still took her by surprise. If anything, she was over-involved in her children鈥檚 education, she thought, not neglectful. 

鈥淚鈥檝e always inserted myself into the schools whether they wanted me there or not,鈥� Healy joked.

Familiar with her rights as a parent, Healy did not let the caseworker inside their house. But despite being armed with strategies to navigate the situation, the visit was jarring to the whole family. After the caseworker left, her 14 year-old son, who has autism, paced back and forth for an hour, worried that the unfamiliar woman would return with law enforcement, Healy said. Her 13 year-old child, who identifies as non-binary, had continued nightmares, fearing they would be taken away from the only home they knew. Even Healy herself couldn鈥檛 avoid creeping thoughts of the worst-case scenario.

鈥淵ou automatically think someone’s here to take my kids away,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视.

鈥楢CS is like the police鈥�

Just like doctors and nurses, school personnel are mandated by New York state law to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to a central hotline. But even before COVID-19, alike have critiqued the practice as potentially harmful to families and prone to racial bias.

In New York City, some of children named in ACS investigations are Black or Hispanic, while, together, those racial groups make up 60 percent of the city鈥檚 youth. In 2019, according to , the lower-income, mostly Black and Latino neighborhood of East Harlem saw over six times as many investigations as the nearby Upper East Side, which is mostly white and affluent.

Even among neighborhoods with similar poverty rates, those with greater shares of Black and Hispanic residents face , research shows.

鈥淎CS has long been used to criminalize our families,鈥� said Tanesha Grant, a New York City parent leader who formed the group for mutual aid throughout the pandemic. Many Black parents, she told 蜜桃影视, see child protective services as a form of racialized surveillance and punishment. 

鈥淎CS is a curse word in our community. ACS is like the police,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t is deeply concerning to us,鈥� said a spokesperson for the agency, 鈥渢hat, year after year, there are dramatic racial and ethnic disparities in the reports ACS receives from the state and is required [by law] to investigate.鈥� 

As per a 2021 state , mandated reporters are now required to undergo implicit bias training intended to keep reporters鈥� assumptions from coloring their assessments of parental fitness.

But just how much of an impact it will make in the K-12 setting remains to be seen. Nationwide, school staff report more allegations to child protective services than any other category of reporters, yet school reports are or lead to family interventions, research shows. In New York City, approximately 1 in 3 calls from school personnel ultimately lead to evidence of abuse or neglect, said ACS. In cases where no evidence is found, families often report that the investigation process can be .

There鈥檚 often a mismatch, said Freiman, of Brooklyn Defenders, between the typical impacts of child protective services investigations and the purpose they are meant to fulfill.

鈥淣eglect is supposed to cover a category below which we don’t expect any parent to go,鈥� the legal expert explained. 

But the parents keeping their children out of classrooms this school year, from what he has seen, tend to be highly involved and caring, like Healy. Some are even former PTA heads at their children鈥檚 schools. 

鈥淭hese aren’t people who are trying to hurt their children. They’re trying to protect their children,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淎CS is just the wrong tool to employ.鈥�

Even the softer guidance that ACS and DOE offered in November was not enough to sufficiently blunt that tool, advocates said. Healy said she worked with 50 families accused of educational neglect through PRESS and was only able to use the updated guidance to dismiss cases against two of them. 

Miranda rights for child welfare

As a way to mitigate some of the worst effects of ACS investigations, state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a former educator from Brooklyn, is that would require a Miranda-style reading of parents鈥� rights at the outset of every child welfare investigation. 

鈥淧arents of color are more likely to be unaware of the rights they have when dealing with [child protective services],鈥� Brisport told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭he bill seeks to address the disparities in the CPS system.鈥�

When, without warning, ACS showed up at the door of Melissa Keaton鈥檚 Flatbush, Brooklyn apartment in late October, the mother was taken by surprise. Having lost her father, who was a caregiving adult to her 9-year-old daughter, in April 2020 during the city鈥檚 deadly first coronavirus wave, Keaton chose not to return her traumatized child to her sought-after dual language school in Manhattan鈥檚 Lower East Side when classrooms reopened. The family was not ready for a two-train commute to and from school each day, Keaton decided. Unlike Healy, she was in the dark about how to navigate the interaction with her caseworker.

鈥淭here’s no paperwork. There’s no way of, you know, finding out what is this process? How does it work? What is expected of me?鈥� Keaton told 蜜桃影视.

Parents are not legally obligated to allow caseworkers to enter their homes unless ACS has a warrant. But many parents assent without realizing they have a choice. If caseworkers find evidence of drug use or other outlawed practices, it can lead to compounding charges and increase the likelihood of child separation. 

鈥淪ometimes our families actually find themselves in a deeper hole 鈥斕齨ot because they’ve done anything wrong 鈥斕齜ut because ACS comes into the home looking for a problem,鈥� said Tajh Sutton, a PRESS organizer. 鈥淭hey’re going through your refrigerator, your cabinets 鈥� asking these really invasive and inappropriate questions of your children.鈥�

鈥淭his bill doesn鈥檛 create new rights,鈥� explained Brisport. 鈥淚t literally tells parents what their rights are.鈥�

鈥楢CS should not have been called鈥�

Despite the lasting psychological impacts of the neglect investigation upon her children, Healy also acknowledged that her caseworker was kind and actually quite helpful. The staffer fast-tracked her children鈥檚 applications for home instruction, helping her younger child recently gain approval for the program. Healy hopes her son will also soon be approved.

But her example, she believes, is an outlier. Not everyone is so fortunate. 

On Dec. 23, Keaton was preparing to lay flowers on the gravestone of her late father. The day marked what would have been his 63rd birthday 鈥� and because her dad鈥檚 December birthday used to be a part of the family鈥檚 holiday rituals, Keaton was feeling his absence even more acutely.

But before she left, she was contacted by her caseworker, who relayed what the mother thought was good news: She was ready to close the case. Keaton told her to come by.

When the caseworker arrived, she told Keaton that the investigation had been completed, but the agency had indeed found evidence of neglect. The news hit her like a thunderclap, Keaton said, stirring fears for how she might appeal, what the findings might mean for her future employment having previously worked at a children鈥檚 summer camps, and, most of all, whether it opened the possibility of her daughter being taken away.

The message, Keaton said, was 鈥渋mprinted in my mind throughout the holidays, along with the thought of, 鈥榃hat happens next?鈥欌�� 

The caseworker instructed her to appeal, Keaton said. When pressed on the evidence behind the finding of neglect, Keaton said, the caseworker explained that her daughter鈥檚 school had taken weeks to respond to requests, and when they did, they cited her elementary schooler鈥檚 inconsistent 2019 summer school attendance as a strike against the family 鈥� data that Keaton said is 鈥渃ompletely false.鈥�

Staff at the elementary school did not respond to requests for comment and ACS said that it cannot disclose the details of individual cases. Keaton is awaiting paperwork in the mail that will provide insight into the exact reasons the educational neglect allegation was substantiated by ACS. 

Keaton believes her case was unproductive at best, and inappropriate at worst. She was trying to keep her daughter safe and had been putting together educational assignments for her despite, she said, not being provided materials by her school. She was also applying for medically necessary home instruction 鈥� a process through which the November ACS and DOE joint guidance instructs schools to support parents wary of COVID rather than reporting them to child services. 

鈥淏ased on the guidelines,鈥� said Keaton, 鈥淎CS should not have been called.鈥�

Lead Image: Paullette Healy at the front door with her younger child, Kira. (Asher Lehrer-Small)

In remarks where he took a swipe at Chicago’s recent labor dispute that shut down its public schools, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday he was ” with the teachers union a temporary remote learning option.

While the mayor referred to United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew as his “good friend,” he did not indicate that the city and the union had reached an agreement on what a “quality” remote option would look like. A sticking point may be whether the union would allow classroom teachers to livestream their in-person lessons to remote students.

More than once, Adams described any possible remote learning option as temporary and strongly reiterated his position that students needed to be in school. “We’ve lost two years of education. Two years” he said. “The fallout is unbelievable. Math and English. English is is not as bad as math, but the numbers with math, they are frightening.”

One day after Mayor Eric Adams said it would take six months to develop a solid remote learning program, the head of the New York City teachers union pressed for quicker action and the schools chancellor said he was working on a plan.

But it might be at odds with how teachers want to deliver virtual learning, leaving students, parents and educators unclear about a path forward as the highly transmissible Omicron variant sweeps through the state and nation.

鈥淲e’ve called for a remote learning program since September, and we believe we need to do this,鈥� United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said. 鈥淚 think Mayor Adams is really thinking it through, because it is just the fact there’s over 200,000 children who haven’t been in school for over two weeks.鈥�

Mulgrew鈥檚 remarks came during a town hall meeting Wednesday evening with roughly 15,000 UFT members and again Thursday morning on . 

鈥淲e need to set something up, because we hope this is the last wave,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut we do not know if it is. So, I think it’s time for the city really to think about it and contemplate it.鈥�

Adams鈥檚 鈥嬧�媏stimate that it will take roughly six months for city schools to include virtual options would effectively push remote learning off until the end of the school year. He made the comments Wednesday during a conference call with officials, including more than two dozen city and state legislators who sent him a letter in the first week of January calling for a pivot to remote learning through Jan. 18 to slow the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, , schools Chancellor David Banks told a parent advisory council Thursday morning that the city was in talks with the union to create a remote option for this year, but needs to iron out the details. 

鈥淢y goal is to create an option that will take us at the very least to the end of the school year,鈥� Banks said at a virtual meeting. 鈥淚f I could figure out a way to do a remote option starting tomorrow I would 鈥� It鈥檚 not quite as simple as that because you have to negotiate this stuff with the unions.鈥�

According to Chalkbeat, Banks suggested that one way to have remote learning immediately would be to do away with an agreement with the union that prohibits schools from requiring teachers to livestream their lessons and urged parents to take their demands for a remote option directly to their local UFT chapter leaders. 

The back-and-forth was prompted by one of the most chaotic weeks in NYC schools since the pandemic first shut down classes in March 2020. Fear of the Omicron variant sparked widespread school walkouts by NYC students, who say they feel unsafe on campus and at risk of contracting the virus and bringing it home to their families. Worried parents have also been keeping their children home in : The New York City Department of Education reported Wednesday鈥檚 at 76.34 percent. 

The figure is a marked improvement from last week when more than 300,000 students skipped class. 

While some reports show the city might have already hit its peak, the infection rate remains troubling with roughly  The fast-spreading Omicron variant now has scores of . 

Studies have generally shown remote learning has led to compared to in-person instruction. In its earlier incarnation in NYC schools, it also posed staffing challenges with one set of teachers instructing children remotely while another set worked with them in the classroom. 

Mulgrew, whose union represents nearly 200,000 public schools educators and school-related professionals, among others, said the city needs a reliable means to connect with those students who are unable or unwilling to come to campus. 

鈥淲e have to make sure we are getting to all of the children because the learning loss we鈥檝e seen already 鈥� is quite large,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut on the remote option, we don鈥檛 want to go back to 65 percent of the children staying home. So, for parents, I’m going to ask again, please if we have this option use it judiciously. And again, think about giving us consent for testing your child and really contemplate about getting your child vaccinated. Because these are two of the things the school system needs right now for keeping your child and all of the children safe.”