showed that candidates backed by the powerful Chicago Teachers Union won four seats, one of them unopposed. Meanwhile, pro-school choice candidates backed by wealthy donors won three seats, with three seats won by independent candidates.

The independents include a rapper who beat three opponents on the city鈥檚 South Side. said he ran to ensure that every school gets a registered nurse, a librarian, counselors, tutors, support staff and quality arts instruction.

The 10 new board members will join 11 others who will be appointed in coming weeks by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer.

鈥淭here’s a lot going on here,鈥� said Hugo Jacobo of , a nonprofit that supports independent school board candidates.

Groups that advocate for charter schools spent about $3 million on the race, The Chicago Sun-Times , with the union spending about $1.6 million on its endorsed candidates through its own political action committees and at least eight other PACs. Other estimates show the union spending more than on the races.

The union鈥檚 preferred candidate came up empty in District 3, one of Chicago鈥檚 most politically progressive areas. A reform-oriented candidate, , beat union-endorsed candidate by 12 percentage points, despite a reported $300,000 in donations. The union painted a more positive picture Tuesday night, with President Stacy Davis Gates , 鈥淏illionaires spent a lot of money to get three out of 21,鈥� referring to the larger board that will eventually be seated. 鈥淚 keep telling you, it鈥檚 cumulative. It keeps getting bigger and it keeps growing. And we want more people for this group project.鈥�

Tuesday鈥檚 results push Chicago Public Schools, the fourth-largest school system in the United States, into a new phase, with observers saying a fully elected board could improve schools and make them more responsive to parents and taxpayers. 

But whether the shift will curb the system鈥檚 recent chaos is another matter. 

Last month, the entire seven-member board resigned after Mayor Brandon Johnson threatened to oust schools CEO Pedro Martinez. Johnson had appointed six of the seven members . 

He brought in a new board, but a week later the newly appointed president, the Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, after news reports revealed he鈥檇 written antisemitic and sexist posts on social media and posted that he agreed with a theory that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were an 鈥渋nside job.鈥�

Tuesday鈥檚 split result, while offering what will likely be a variety of perspectives on finances, management and curriculum, is bound to be just the beginning of a new, and perhaps even more tumultuous era 鈥� for one thing, all 21 seats, including the 10 from Tuesday, will be on the ballot in 2026.

“This first cycle was really a warm-up for 2026, when all 21 seats are up for election and the stakes are real,鈥� said Peter Cunningham, a former head of communications for the district and founder of the nonprofit .

Cunningham, who also served as a spokesman for U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said Tuesday鈥檚 election 鈥渂ecame a referendum on Mayor Johnson and the teacher’s union because of the chaos at the board over the last few months. They did not get a clear mandate to pursue their more controversial policy proposals, but they will likely do it anyway because this is their last chance to control the board.”

The range of ideologies among fully elected board members could fuel further drama, said Meredith Paige, a mother of two high schoolers and leader of , an advocacy group.

鈥淭he chaos is going to continue,鈥� she said.

From appointed to elected board  

For nearly 30 years, Chicago鈥檚 mayors have enjoyed the right to appoint and dismiss board members, with the city standing for decades as one of just a handful with mayoral control 鈥� New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Detroit are among others where mayors still wield considerable power over school policy. 

Until now, Chicago Public Schools was also the school district in Illinois that didn鈥檛 have an elected board. But the state legislature in 2021 ordered the city to transition to a fully elected, 21-seat board. 

It may take a while for the changes to sink in with voters, said Paige, who canvassed in neighborhoods last week and met 鈥渁 lot of people who had no idea that there was a school board election.鈥� Others believed Chicago already had an elected school board. 鈥淪o that’s been a problem the whole time,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven now, parents don’t understand how this is going to work.鈥�

Among the first business items the hybrid board will face in coming months: whether to terminate the contract of Martinez, the schools CEO, who has served since 2021. They must also decide whether to approve Johnson鈥檚 push to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to defray short-term expenses, including a $175 million pension payment for non-teaching employees.

The district faces a projected deficit of $505 million next fall, due partly to rising healthcare costs and the expiration of federal ESSER pandemic funds. Johnson鈥檚 predecessor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in pension costs from City Hall, which had historically underwritten them, to the district.

And the city is also hemorrhaging students: enrollment has dropped by 20%, or more than 80,000 students, since 2010.

In July, Martinez and the school board proposed a $9.9 billion budget that aimed to close the deficit through staff cuts and freezes affecting nearly 250 jobs. The board authorized the budget as written, but relations between the mayor and the district soured. 

Johnson has proposed taking out a $300 million loan to fund teacher pay increases and pension contributions, and he in October for comparing his critics to confederates who opposed freeing slaves 鈥渂ecause it would be too expensive.”

Even if both sides agree on a new source of spending, the district and the union are also engaged in a contentious negotiation over the terms of the next teacher contract. One estimate said paying out an expected series of teacher raises and taking on more pension debt from the city could increase its deficit to nearly $1 billion. 

Despite Johnson鈥檚 bid to fire Martinez, the CEO remains popular, said Jacobo of Chicago Democrats for Education. 鈥淗e’s the only one really concerned about the financial situation of our city and our school district system, so people want someone responsible like him to stay.鈥�

Paige, the parent advocate, agreed. 鈥淭he mayor and CTU want to fire the CEO, who has brought a lot of stability to the district. So there’s a lot of frustration over that.鈥�

She said the bitter, two-week in 2019 is also having lingering effects: 鈥淭here’s still a lot of toxicity in the system over that 鈥� and just a general鈥� she hesitated, 鈥溾�榝rustration鈥� is the nicest word I can think of right now 鈥� that the mayor seems so disconnected from reality of the financials that he wants to put the district in peril to pay the teacher’s contract.鈥�

The state legislature has given Chicago until 2027 to transition to a fully elected board, and despite the challenges, Jacobo said the change will be welcome.

鈥淚’m very glad that there will be a number of these new school board elected members who honestly are just not beholden to anyone but the parents, the voters in their district,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd when they talk, when they speak, it’ll be with a perspective of what is best for their community. I think it’s one step forward, but a lot of work to go.鈥� 

Michael Hinojosa left one job this year as superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District only to take on a few more. In one, he鈥檒l be coaching superintendents on how to survive the culture wars and stay focused amid broadsides from local school boards. In another, he鈥檚 taken a leading role with a consulting group that he said alleviated some of the 鈥減ain points鈥� he faced in Dallas. 

He also seriously weighed a foray into big-league urban politics, citing a desire to give back to the city that raised him. But on Dec. 4, he announced that he won鈥檛 run against Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. Aside from the incumbent鈥檚 strong odds of winning reelection, Hinojosa said he鈥檚 got enough consulting work to . 

But colleagues who know Hinojosa well have no trouble seeing him as a politician. He already has a track record of staring down powerful opponents, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 May 2021 that banned districts from mandating masks.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a respected voice in the legislature,鈥� said Chris Wallace, president and CEO of the North Texas Commission, an organization devoted to developing the 13-county Dallas region. 鈥淧eople listen when he speaks because he really excels in empowering people. That鈥檚 a leadership art.鈥�

A Mexican immigrant, Hinojosa is a product of the Dallas schools and worked as a teacher and basketball coach until moving into administration. He started out leading smaller Texas districts before landing his dream job of heading up the Dallas schools in 2005. After one term, he left to lead the Cobb County district in metro Atlanta to be , who lived in the area. But in 2015, he returned home for another run as chief.

He originally planned to stay through the end of this year, but chose instead to leave in July, saying he had confidence in successor Stephanie Elizalde, who was chief schools officer in Dallas before serving as superintendent in Austin.

Recognizing leadership potential in educators is one of his strengths, said Chaundra Macklin, principal at Joseph J. Rhoads Learning Center, a pre-K site in the district. He interviewed her for her first principal鈥檚 job in 2007. She worked at a top-rated school, but then he tapped her to lead one that was struggling.

鈥淗e encouraged me as a leader even in my darkest moments, when it wasn鈥檛 going so well,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e said, 鈥榊ou just keep doing what you need to do.鈥� 鈥�

He鈥檚 currently serving as the new chief impact officer for , which guided the Dallas district through several challenges, including passage of a $3.2 billion bond issue the fall after the pandemic began. 

He鈥檚 also 鈥渉ead coach鈥� of a new effort by the Council of the Great City Schools to support superintendents at a time of unprecedented turbulence in the profession. 

鈥淗is commitment to urban education has been proven time and time again,鈥� said Ray Hart, executive director of the council. 鈥淗e is already playing a pivotal role in the organization鈥檚 efforts to train the next generation of leaders and ensure educational equity in the nation鈥檚 big-city school districts.鈥�

In an interview, Hinojosa discussed his 27 years of leadership and his desire to share his expertise with other superintendents. He also had tough words for charter schools, discussed the 鈥減itfalls of big urban systems,鈥� and recounted the controversy that drew protesters to his house (It wasn鈥檛 mask mandates or critical race theory).

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

蜜桃影视: Why did you leave six months before originally planned? 

Michael Hinojosa: There鈥檚 never a right time. I love being superintendent. I love the city, and I love the district. But I finally had an epiphany. I could do this to the end of my contract in 2024, but I couldn’t do it for another 10 years. I was being selfish. I didn’t want to be just some guy chasing some kind of record. I’ve seen too many people hang on too long, and they ruined the good they did. I didn鈥檛 want to be that guy.

There was an expectation that Susana Cordova [who left the superintendent鈥檚 job in Denver to become deputy in Dallas in 2021] would be your successor. But that job went to Stephanie Elizalde. What happened there? 

The board put in my contract to bring in somebody for a succession plan, and I chose Susana. I told her from the beginning that I don’t get to make this decision. She knew that on the front end. The board gets to hire the person they want, and they were very fortunate they had two great candidates, obviously Susanna, and Stephanie, who had worked for me before.

I’ve always argued that if you don’t know Dallas, you can get eaten up alive. They had five superintendents in the 1990s 鈥� five superintendents in five years, and went to prison. If you don’t know the pitfalls of big urban systems, and particularly Dallas, then you can really stumble. The board had options, and I thought they both were ready. I was upfront with Susanna, but it was a bit of a surprise to me that she didn’t get that opportunity.

What makes Dallas unique? 

It’s had a history of and you have some very strong, powerful stakeholders. Some of the previous superintendents did some things that were . Everybody was upset and they deserved to be. Performance was not good, so there was very little trust. 

In big cities, you deal with the media, and even though Texas is a right-to-work state, you鈥檝e got to work with labor. If you don’t know the players in the community, that can eat you alive. Not every district is like that, but Dallas is. Now, we’ve had some stability. I was there for 13 years over two terms. Dr. Elizalde knows the community. She was there for five years, so she understands where the landmines are. 

Would you consider a run for mayor in the future? 

I am keeping all options open. The only thing I have going against me is that I am 66 years old but as healthy as ever.

How much did the political battles of the past two years influence your decision to leave the district?

None at all. In fact, I don’t get stressed. I give stress. I’m a carrier. I love being in the fight, and I enjoyed every bit of that. First of all, there was the pandemic. In Dallas, we also had . Other people [in Texas] have had hurricanes, and then you have the cultural wars. As urban superintendents, we’re used to taking the heat, but that’s not true in the suburbs. In fact, now I’m consulting with the Council of the Great City Schools and out of their 77 members, only 20 of them have been in the chair since 2020.

They’ve got all these people lined up, yelling at the school board, yelling at the superintendent.

You鈥檒l be a superintendent-in-residence with the Council. Can you describe your role a little more?  

Since so many superintendents are brand new, there’s going to be a great need out there. One superintendent may need operational help. We鈥檒l have someone who has that expertise. A lot of them may need instructional help. A lot of them have never dealt with school boards. We’re going to have a variety of tools that can help superintendents have a fighting chance to be successful in this environment.

You worked with Engage2Learn in Dallas, and now you鈥檙e going to be consulting with them. What did they help you accomplish?

People want problem solvers. They don’t want whiners, so if you don’t have the capacity, you鈥檝e got to have someone help you do it. That’s why I’ve taken these opportunities. Even with the talented team I had in Dallas, there were things we couldn’t pull off. Engage2Learn helped us develop a long-range technology plan. That was the backbone for our bond program. Engage2Learn helped us talk to people 鈥� students, staff, community members. They synthesized all that information and put it together into something that was actionable for us. 

We have a partnership with Apple to redesign all of our libraries to look just like Apple stores. They’re going to do 50 schools a year over the next four years, and the goal is to make the library the center of traffic for students and community members. Engage2Learn was able to pull in people to help develop and execute on those plans.

The third thing they helped us with is (an improvement initiative focused on middle schools). We’ve done great with our high schools because of our (a STEM-focused program in which students can earn a postsecondary degree or certificate while still in high school). We’re doing very well with our elementary schools, but our last frontier was middle school achievement. Parents make decisions from grades four to eight, and they’re going to vote with their feet. One time I asked leaders, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 our best middle school?鈥� And it was like crickets in the room. 

On the library redesign, did you get any pushback from librarians?

Some of our principals quit using the libraries, and then they traded in the librarian for another instructional coach or the assistant principal. This is bringing the librarians back. They’ve had to rethink how they do business, but it’s gotten them very excited about the library. Even the principals that gave up librarians now want librarians because it’s going to be a way-cool model. 

I鈥檓 sure with all these superintendents you鈥檙e going to be coaching, the topic of enrollment loss and how to attract families into district schools will come up. Talk about your work in Dallas to reverse that trend.

We had this mantra that if you had 300 students or less in your school, you were on the endangered species list. People aren’t picking you. Some Democrats whine about charter schools. I’m not a fan of charter schools. I’m a fan of great schools. I just don’t happen to think that many charter schools are great schools. We have more capacity, we have more intellect, we have more horsepower. We need to beat the charters at their own game and provide Montessori schools, STEM schools, single-gender schools, biomedical schools. 

We have a northern suburb, and every year, we would lose about 75 students to them and we would gain about 75 students from them because they went to our specialty magnet schools. This last year, during the pandemic, we lost about 60 kids to them, but we gained 500 kids from that school district. We stopped the hemorrhaging.

Those are some tough statements about charter schools. Is that just your experience or your view of charters in general?

We don’t get to pick our kids. We take all of God鈥檚 children. That’s my belief system, but I don’t whine about them. I just try to beat them at their own game. 

What was the roughest period you went through as superintendent?

The low point was 2008 when I had to lay off 1,000 teachers. Luckily, the board let me stay. I told him they could have fired me, but I said, 鈥淚f you fire me, then you鈥檙e going to argue for six months about who’s going to be the interim. You鈥檙e going to argue for six months about who’s going to do the search. You鈥檙e going to argue for six months over who鈥檚 going to get the job. I could solve this thing in nine months.鈥�

In fact, we re-hired 600 of the 1,000 teachers that were laid off. We just had to make sure we were solvent. I didn’t eat for two months until we figured it out. I had to go face the music. People were protesting at my house. It had an impact on my family, but I was very blessed that the board let me stay. And then when I left, they brought me back.

That was a lower point than the pandemic and your conflict with the governor?

The pandemic was tough, and we didn’t have a playbook, but that鈥檚 what leaders do. Leaders step up in a crisis. The board criticized me a little bit because they were finding out about stuff on CNN. So the next time I took on the governor, I had to step back, pause, and call every board member and tell them what I was about to do.

Command decisions are easy to make, and hard to implement, and consensus decisions are messy. They take a long time, but the implementation is much deeper. When you’re in a crisis, you鈥檝e got to make command decisions, but you also still need to inform people of why you’re making these decisions.

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.聽

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.聽

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聽 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�

In 16 years, Edward Sanchez wants you to vote for him for mayor. For now, he has to finish high school.

A grueling year and a half of remote learning has indelibly marked the 17-year-old senior: He temporarily became the family breadwinner 鈥� like several of his friends in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 鈥� when his parents lost their jobs and didn鈥檛 qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

For months, Sanchez struggled with a schedule that could break an adult, working a 40-hour week at McDonald鈥檚 while taking classes full time.

This past year helped cement in him what he hopes will be priorities for New York City鈥檚 next leaders.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put kids back into school, [and then] what will they have? Will their sports be back? Will the clubs that they love and enjoy be back?鈥� Sanchez asked. 鈥淲ill there be easier access [to] food for the students?鈥�

Many of his fellow young New Yorkers feel the same way.

A released June 6 by the nonprofit Citizens鈥� Committee for Children asked 1,400 New Yorkers ages 14 to 24, starting in February, about their thoughts on politics and agenda for the next mayor and other elected officials.

Those results, along with additional interviews of young people by THE CITY, show the biggest areas of focus are on improving schools, paying more attention to student wellness and healing the planet.

Nearly 90% of respondents felt that elected officials must move the needle on climate change, while just over 80% said that public schools need more resources.

Mental Health Is Top of Mind

The CCC survey found that young people are seeking help at schools: Some 35% of respondents聽said they wanted or needed mental health resources, with youth from The Bronx (50%) and Manhattan (44%) reporting the highest rates.

Citywide, only 42% of those who said they needed help found it, according to the researchers.

鈥淚 think what really was sobering from the youth survey is the concerns around behavioral health needs, and acknowledging they had behavioral health needs and lacked access to supports to address them,鈥� said Jennifer March, executive director of the Citizens Committee for Children, which enlisted about 200 young people to work on the survey.

Milena Veliz, 18, of Woodside, is ready to cast her vote for 鈥渟omeone who will really think about the hardships youth are facing and how they could actually resolve those issues.鈥�

鈥淏eing stuck on Zoom all day鈥eally brings down your mental health and brings a lot of stress,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of resources for me to talk to someone about it.鈥�

New Voters, Newly Engaged

From the pandemic to social-justice protests and police violence, 鈥渢he combination of everything that happened over the last year, really has focused the thinking about local politics,鈥� said Olivia Brady, the youth engagement coordinator for NYC Votes, the city Campaign Finance Board鈥檚 get-out-the-vote initiative.

鈥淎 lot of young people are thinking about their lived experiences in the city, their experiences with the education system, with the pandemic, with policing, and they鈥檙e really understanding the way that all of our local elected officials impact their day-to-day quality of life,鈥� she added.

Election officials are hoping to mobilize that heightened political engagement. NYC Votes is pushing for almost double the turnout of registered voters 18 to 29, from to 25% this year.

Tuli Hannan, 19, will be one of many new mayoral voters.

She is outspoken about her own struggle to access mental health services, frustration with safety agents and lack of resources in her public high school. Still, Hannan said the energy boost she got organizing and leading Black Lives Matter protests last summer drives her hope for change.

The Queens teen keeps a list of the mayoral candidates beside her in her Sunnyside bedroom. She hasn鈥檛 settled on who she鈥檒l vote for, but she said she wants a mayor who is 鈥渞eally a New Yorker鈥� and knows the city like she does.

鈥淲e need someone that can invest their time in the youth and in New York City residents and people my age,鈥� Hannan explained. 鈥淸To] be able to open their minds to our thoughts and our perspectives of the world because 鈥� we have a lot to say.鈥�

Taking a World View

Almost 87% of the CCC鈥檚 respondents agreed with the statement 鈥済overnment must take more serious action against climate change.鈥� Interviews and written survey responses showed young people believe that the time to act is running out.

鈥淚 want to see a candidate in office that鈥檚 going to鈥� actually take steps in New York to work against the impending, essentially, doom that young people are going to have to face as we grow up,鈥� said Kenisha Mahajan, 15, who lives in Middle Village.

Like Hannan and Veliz, 18-year-old Griffin Must, a senior at Beacon High School in Manhattan, will also be voting for the first time.

He considers this election to be especially important because it will determine, as he put it, 鈥淗ow are we going to, not only bounce back from [coronavirus], but also then improve?鈥�

Walking through his Upper West Side neighborhood, Must said he鈥檚 struck by the empty storefronts and wants a mayor to prioritize promoting local businesses. And as he looks ahead to attending college at William and Mary in Virginia in a few months, he also looks back on his own top-notch public school education with an eye to increasing access for others.

Like nearly 82% of the survey respondents, Must says public schools need more resources. He wants city leaders to explore 鈥済etting rid of the specialized [admissions] tests, or at least finding a way to be able to diversify specialized high schools,鈥� and making sure the next mayor develops a good relationship with the chancellor.

One thing that not all respondents agree on, however, is school policing. Nearly 45% of young people surveyed said that school police officers make them feel safer, while 30% said the opposite.

Hannan said that her relationships with school safety officers were good when she attended well-funded elementary and middle schools. In high school, her perspective changed drastically: 鈥淚t鈥檚 like we鈥檙e treated like animals.鈥�

She believes schools should staff up with guidance counselors and social workers, instead of cops.

鈥淚t gets really brutal sometimes,鈥� said Hannan. 鈥淎nd it affects your mental health, your mental state, how you feel, how you鈥檙e seen in society.鈥�

Time to Listen Up

March, of the Citizens鈥� Committee, said the priorities of youth represent a clear call to action for city leaders.

鈥淯ltimately, the success of their future will be the success of our city,鈥� March added.

While the survey found that only 35% of the young New Yorkers felt they have no say in government, 40% believed that they do. The remaining were largely undecided.

Enough seem to understand that whether or not they鈥檙e part of the electorate, they鈥檙e part of their elected officials鈥� constituency and are poised to make their voices loud and clear.

Students involved with civic engagement group Y Vote have created to help their peers distinguish among the candidates and navigate the races.

In Our Hands, a coalition of more than a dozen local youth activist groups, released a with top priorities that more than 20 candidates have signed onto so far.

The group is set to soon聽 hold a mock election, where young would-be voters can cast ballots that will mirror the official one 鈥� with ranked choice voting and all.

Pharell Kendall, who at 17 is too young to vote in the June 22 citywide primary, said that for years kids have had to 鈥渏ust deal with it鈥� when it came to city policies that affected their lives. He thinks that鈥檚 changing.

After working for over a year on the CCC youth survey, Kendall hopes to hold candidates鈥� at an upcoming youth mayoral forum on June 9. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear how many candidates would participate.

鈥淗opefully,鈥� said the Harlem teen, 鈥渟omeone will hear me, what I have to say, and will make a change about it.鈥�

Sanchez is biding his time while he prepares to take matters into his own hands:

鈥淚f I have to do it myself, I鈥檒l do it myself. And that means running for mayor,鈥� he said 鈥� noting he鈥檇 wait until at least the 2037 race.

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With many public schools still offering part-time in-person learning or no live instruction at all, some mayoral candidates are casting for votes from frustrated parents 鈥� and finding a tricky test that鈥檚 not so easy to pass.

At the head of the class: Democrat Andrew Yang, who has been advocating for schools to fully reopen for all students, five days per week come September 鈥� making it among his campaign priorities.

Yang set course in March, when he complained a return to in-person learning following a pandemic move to remote instruction was happening too slowly. He 鈥� only to later when unsuccessfully seeking the United Federation of Teachers鈥� endorsement.

Rival Maya Wiley followed with a call for every school to immediately open 鈥渋n person, five days a week.鈥�

Along with candidate Kathryn Garcia, Yang joined parents rallying on May 1 to fully reopen schools.

They were countered by protesters who demanded reforms for safety and equity before more children return to classrooms, noting that families of a majority of city public school students 鈥� about 60% 鈥� have chosen remote learning.

And last week, Yang held his own campaign event in front of Department of Education headquarters at the Tweed Courthouse on Chambers Street to highlight his commitment to reopening.

鈥淥ur kids deserve a very clear vision of reopened schools five days per week, and then a plan to get us there,鈥� Yang said in criticizing de Blasio.

But he acknowledged under questioning from reporters that he, too, hasn鈥檛 created a plan.

Like de Blasio, he wants to fully reopen schools five days per week, but is not offering details for how to do it.

Also like de Blasio, he won鈥檛 say whether students 鈥� including those in communities ravaged and traumatized by the coronavirus pandemic 鈥� should continue to be offered the option of fully remote instruction come the fall, as they have for the past year.

鈥淢y focus is on getting kids back into the classroom,鈥� Yang said. 鈥淚 can guarantee that if I am the next mayor, we鈥檒l have a plan well before I take office.鈥�

Two Tracks

Some mayoral candidates have angled to keep both pro-school-opening and opening-concerned parents happy: They say reopen school buildings fully 鈥� but keep a remote-learning option available.

At least four top mayoral candidates 鈥� Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former mayoral counsel Wiley, former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Comptroller Scott Stringer 鈥� are in that camp.

鈥淲hile we hope all our students come back in-person, and the mayor should be rebuilding trust with families to make this possible, the city should also be developing a high-quality, well-planned, well-supported remote school option for students and families who so choose, so we do not yet again end up in a scramble at the beginning of next school year,鈥� said Yuridia Pena, a Donovan campaign spokesperson.

The heads of the teachers and principals鈥� unions also say that providing a remote-learning option will be a necessity.

Garcia, a former Sanitation commissioner, backs remote learning as a possibility for high school students and in other 鈥渓imited circumstances,鈥� according to officials with her campaign. They declined to elaborate.

The campaign of former Citibank executive Ray McGuire said accommodations should be made for students with medical conditions and 鈥渙ther factors as necessary,鈥� but that the default would be in-person learning.

The campaign of Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, didn鈥檛 respond to inquiries.

Where鈥檚 the Remote?

But while many candidates have demanded continued remote learning even as virus infection rates , de Blasio has begun to back away.

The mayor initially said in March that he expected virtual instruction to be offered for some students come fall. Since then, however, he and Department of Education officials whether fully remote learning will actually happen.

On May 7, he declined to answer again when asked on WNYC鈥檚 The Brian Lehrer Show.

鈥淲e鈥檙e planning for every child to be back. We will pay attention in the meantime to what happens with the health care situation, what our health care team says, we鈥檒l certainly be engaging parents, but it鈥檚 plan A,鈥� the mayor said. 鈥淧lan A is every single child back in school.鈥�

A full return to school buildings would resolve a pile of remote-learning problems.

Last year鈥檚 bumpy transition to remote learning suffered from a host of problems that included and . also emerged as schools had to find enough teachers to cover different groups of students coming to classrooms on different days during hybrid learning, on top of the remote option.

Some parents and students were also upset to learn that many middle and high schools were teaching remotely even when students were in classrooms 鈥� an approach derided as 鈥�.鈥� One reason: 28% of teachers have received pandemic medical accommodations to teach remotely through June 30.

But a full return to in-person learning will also require newly recalibrated safety measures that have yet to be determined. Disruptions to in-person learning were a for parents and students until the city last month stopped in the building. With a threshold now at four cases, no schools are currently closed.

No Confidence

City Councilmember Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn), a former educator, said that while schools have been relatively safe when it comes to COVID cases, the city bungled the current school year to such an extent that many families have no confidence in declarations of safety.

鈥淭he reality is, New York City parents and families should not be punished for lacking trust in a system that was not very collaborative and transparent 鈥� certainly at the rollout of the multiple starts to the school year,鈥� said Treyger, who chairs the Council鈥檚 education committee.

East Harlem mom Kaliris Salas said that reality 鈥� combined with the disproportionate impact of COVID on Black and brown communities like hers 鈥� is getting overlooked by those most ardently pushing for schools to reopen.

Salas, the Community Education Council president of District 4 in Manhattan, helped organize the counter-protest that greeted Yang and Garcia at the May 1 rally. The candidates were invited by a group called Keep NYC Schools Open and the Harlem Jets, a local student sports organization.

Salas noted that her neighborhood had higher than average rates of COVID-related deaths than the rest of the borough, while it has among the lowest vaccination rates.

She said the families need to hear more about safety protocols before they鈥檒l consider sending their kids back to school.

鈥淲e have a lot of kids that were OK and now they鈥檝e lost nine, 10 family members and are anxious about going into school buildings,鈥� said Salas, who has a son in fourth grade at Central Park East 1 elementary school.

鈥淎 lot of Black and mixed families, a lot of immigrant families, have chosen to stay remote because that鈥檚 the safest option for them,鈥� she added.

鈥楾he Hardest Year鈥�

Daniela Jampel, 37, helped found Keep NYC Schools Open after all schools shuttered in November as COVID rates rose. She said her now 7-year-old daughter was traumatized by the challenges of learning remotely largely on her own, and by the uncertainty of whether school would be open for in-person instruction.

She said her daughter attended just two days of school in January after elementary buildings reopened 鈥� but is finally flourishing since returning to school full time in late April.

鈥淭his year has been for me and for my children and for many parents and many children the hardest year of our lives,鈥� said Jampel, who lives in Washington Heights.

She said it makes sense for remote learning to continue to be available for students with medical needs. But she added she believes children affected by the fear surrounding COVID could be supported at schools by mental health professionals, social workers and guidance counselors.

鈥淏y having an on-demand remote option, the city is reinforcing the idea that our schools are unsafe, and I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 true,鈥� said Jampel. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for as many children as possible to have an in-person learning experience.鈥�

Meanwhile, a group of over two dozen public school parents sought a last week against the city, de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter seeking to compel them to resume in-person instruction for all students five days per week.

The parents say city officials are depriving their kids of the right to a sound, basic education that鈥檚 guaranteed in New York鈥檚 constitution.

Comfort Level Sought

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew is among those who say the biggest obstacle to a return to in-person learning is the reluctance of families. He added that the issue isn鈥檛 getting enough attention from de Blasio 鈥� nor from some of the mayoral candidates pushing to fully reopen schools.

鈥淎n idea is one thing 鈥� how do you actually make it work? How do you help people get to that comfort level with so much fear and anxiety built into what we鈥檝e been through?鈥� said Mulgrew. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we need to hear about. Not 鈥業 want to open the schools fully.鈥欌��

He urged the city to host open houses at schools in the coming weeks to begin to address the anxiety of families and teachers, and he鈥檚 advocating for a public campaign to help convince families the schools are safe.

Mulgrew said remote learning should be offered by application rather than by opting in, with criteria such as medical necessity. He suggests a goal of capping enrollment at 10% of students. And he wants such a program run centrally rather than by individual schools.

Principals union president Mark Cannizzaro said most of his membership would prefer to program their own virtual instruction, except when it makes sense to combine resources because of a shortage of teachers in certain subjects.

He鈥檇 like to see all students return in person come the fall, but he understands why some families would choose remote learning.

鈥淚 would love for us to get to a point where that鈥檚 not an option, because I think kids belong in school,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 see the ability right now to not have that option.鈥�

Both he and Mulgrew emphasized that no matter what de Blasio decides, he needs to pull the trigger soon 鈥� or else the that plagued the opening of the 2020 school year would repeat again this September.

鈥淭he key is we can鈥檛 wait 鈥� we can鈥檛 wait for this decision to be made,鈥� said Cannizzaro. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 think the lessons of the past would have informed them going forward. But apparently they haven鈥檛.鈥�