Archive - NYC Public Schools Plus You, 2022-2023

I’m excited to share with you today some of the improvements we’ve made to our admissions process for middle and high schools. This has been a priority for me since I started as Chancellor, and I wanted to ensure we first listened to our community about where improvements to the application system were needed most. Our Office of Student Enrollment last spring hosted an Admissions Listening Tour, which included more than 30 meetings with parents, students, school leaders, staff, and community groups. 

We then focused on improvements based on that feedback. 

I hope you find these changes to be helpful and responsive. The overriding priorities are: 

• To simplify the process for families to apply to the schools they like. 
• To start the process early and ensure families have the time and information they need. 
• To ensure students who have performed well in the classroom throughout their education are given priority at those academically accelerated high schools that have an admissions screen, so that they can build on their success as high school students. We want to reward academic excellence through this part of the admissions process

Soaring high, 

 Chancellor David C. Banks 

Dear New Yorkers,

This week, I visited P.S. 16 in the Bronx, which has done an amazing job of bringing more than 30 new students in temporary housing into their school. New York is a proud city of immigrants, and we cherish our responsibility to welcome all students seeking a high-quality education.

Thanks to the City’s Project Open Arms, schools like P.S. 16 have been able to offer new students the supports and wraparound services they need to thrive inside and outside the classroom.

Here are just a few of the services we are providing through this initiative:

I am so grateful to our school leaders, faculty, and community leaders for stepping up over the last few weeks. I also want to thank our families for welcoming our new students and helping them feel comfortable as they adjust to their new home. Together, we are opening our arms to welcome and support our newest New Yorkers.

Soaring high,

David C. Banks

Chancellor

Dear New Yorkers:

We have a wide array of quality middle and high schools all across our city, and we want to make it as simple as possible for our fifth- and eighth-grade families to learn about them and find the best options for their children. Throughout the fall, we’re working together with our schools to roll out the red carpet and make it easier for families to see all we have to offer and to visit the schools that interest them. 

As part of the community-driven improvements we’ve made to the enrollment process, we created a centralized Events Calendar in MySchools. Right now, you can find information on more than 2,000 open houses, tours, fairs, and other events––all on the same website where you can learn about school options and apply. Schools are continuing to add events. When logged in to your MySchools account, you can add events to your personal calendar and RSVP to events directly. And if you Favorite a program or add it to your application, that school’s open house or tour dates will automatically appear in your MySchools account. 

I also want to share an update on the process for applying to middle schools, which opened this week. Each community school district announced decisions about whether any middle schools in their district will use classroom grades to screen applicants for admissions. As part of our strengthened family-partnership focus, we gave each Superintendent in each district the flexibility to make community-informed decisions about enrollment and admissions screenings for their schools. If your child is applying to middle school this year, you can learn about the school’s admissions process by going to its MySchools page. 

If you have a younger child, we’ll be sharing information and hosting virtual events about elementary and early childhood admissions by early December.

I’m proud of the range and quality of schools that we offer to our children of all ages, and we’re committed to making further improvements—driven by our engagement with you. That’s absolutely essential to living up to our responsibility to our city, strengthening our system, and bringing more families back to our schools. 

December 9, 2022

Dear New Yorkers, 

The best part of my job is spending time in schools with our students, seeing first-hand what they’re learning, hearing what excites them, and even occasionally joining them in class activities. This week’s visit to Aviation High School in Queens reinforced again my belief in our kids and in the power of our schools to connect them to a great career...and a great future.

As you might guess, Aviation High School prepares students for careers in aviation maintenance and the aerospace industry. On Monday, I got to celebrate the school’s exciting new partnership with Joby Aviation, a leading air-taxi service for the New York City area. Through this partnership, our students will develop real-world, industry skills, and it will open up a vast frontier of opportunities in the field of electric flight to them.

Students participate in Joby’s pilot-training school, a rigorous academic program, and learn from a technical curriculum that’s aligned to Federal Aviation Administration standards. But that’s not all. Joby has provided the school with virtual reality (VR) flight simulators, and I got to try one!

Outfitted in a VR headset, I slid into the pilot’s seat, wrapped my right hand around the remote control, and off I flew (guided by a student, of course). It was extraordinary! This state-of-the-art technology allows students to experience what it’s like to fly the Joby S4, one of the company’s electric aircraft.

Our partnership with Joby is another way we are reimagining the school experience and putting our students on pathways to bold, uplifting futures. Our educators help students find their path—their dream job. And then we need to get them firmly on that path, with all the skills and confidence they need to go after that future they see ahead. Aviation High is doing a terrific job of putting its students on the runway, getting them ready to soar.

The best part: We can use high-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs like this as a blueprint for other schools and pathway programs across the city. If this type of program feels like it might be a good fit for your child, please visit our website to learn more about career-connected learning and how we put students on pathways to rewarding careers.

None of this innovative programming would be possible without dedicated educators in the cockpit, so let me close with a shout-out to Principal Steven Jackson, Superintendent Hoa Tu, and Aviation’s remarkable teachers, many of whom are graduates of this very school. And best of luck to the remarkable students I met this week; it’s all systems go...with a limitless future on the horizon. 

Chancellor 

Chancellor Banks enjoyed a wonderful visit this week to M.S. 390 in the Bronx, where he met with student leaders. The M.S. 390 school culture emphasizes student social-emotional development and leadership, and students are empowered to make positive decisions through the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People-Leader in Me process.

December 16, 2022

Early education is key to the success of our children—in school and in life. Unfortunately, for far too long, our young children with disabilities and their families have been overlooked by a system that was not built with them in mind.

Our vision for Early Childhood Education truly sees all children. This week we unveiled a historic expansion that will open enough seats to serve every single preschool child with disabilities across the five boroughs.

On Tuesday, Mayor Adams, Deputy Chancellor Kara H. Ahmed, and I visited ABC Graham School Echo Park, an early childhood provider in Harlem, to announce(Open external link) a $130 million investment to enhance 3,000 early childhood special education seats across 65 providers.

Under the leadership of Dr. Ahmed, who heads our Early Childhood Education office, we are opening 400 new seats for preschool children with disabilities, and we will add 400 more new seats this spring. With this expansion, for the first time, every child with a disability who wants an early childhood seat will have one in a classroom equipped to meet their needs.

Another first: instead of a five-hour school day, children with disabilities in early childhood will now be in school for six hours and 20 minutes—the same as their general-education classmates, which provides more learning support for the child and extended childcare for working families.

We will also work hard to keep the absolute best teachers in the system by increasing pay for Early Childhood special-education teachers. They deserve to earn pay in line with other teachers working for community-based providers.

We are doing all of this because we know—families know—that any truly universal program must see and properly serve every child, every day.

I was so touched listening to Ms. Baez, whose 3-year-old son Ryan has autism, speak about how well he’s doing at ABC Graham School in Echo Park. With the right instruction, care, and support, Ryan is now thriving in school.

“It warms my heart every morning, walking Ryan to the front door to drop him off,” Ms. Baez said. “Ryan is so excited to see his school. He actually runs into the school and sometimes forgets to say goodbye. But that says it all.”

It sure does, Ms. Baez; it’s what all of our families want for their child, and it’s exactly what we’re striving to give every family in New York.

I promise to continue to listen to and learn from our providers, community members, and parents like Ms. Baez.

To everyone who devotes so much of their lives to our youngest learners and to our children with disabilities, thank you for your heart, your dedication, and your talent. Together, we are building a high-quality Early Childhood Education system that sees all children and that will serve as a strong foundation for generations of New Yorkers to come.

December 23, 2022

Dear New Yorkers,

I’m so excited to welcome your children back from Winter Recess, and I hope that they’re just as excited to be back in school with their classmates and teachers.

We know that when you entrust your children to us, you expect them to not only receive an outstanding education but also the wraparound supports and services that can help them thrive, including free breakfast and lunch every single day.

Our schools are not only places of learning but of care and comfort—and a tasty and nutritious meal is a critical part of that. When our students have a nourishing, healthy and culturally reflective meal each day, they perform better in the classroom and they are more likely to make healthy decisions in the future.

I know many of us have an image of what school food is—from decades ago when we were in school. Today in our school cafeterias, we serve fresh salads, local produce, and a variety of nutritious menu items that reflect our students’ culture.

To encourage our students to take advantage of these meals, we are expanding the Cafeteria Enhancement Experience—and reimagining the way our students dine. This expansion is kicking off with a $50 million investment to transform more than 80 cafeterias into warm and welcoming spaces for students to dine. Here’s what your children can expect:

As part of this enhancement, we’ll be expanding access to halal options in schools across the city. So far, we’ve certified 78 of our kitchens for halal meal service. This allows our kids to experience meals in an equitable way: with no separate lines, no separate meals, and options for every student.

None of this would be possible without the tireless work of our food-service teams. These are the caring adults who interact with your children every day and ensure that they have the nutritious and delicious meals they need to power through their school day. I am so grateful for their dedication and hard work.

I hope the new dining spaces whet your children’s appetite and have them looking forward to the chance to get some good, tasty food and unwind with their friends.

Soaring high,

David C. Banks

Chancellor

I couldn’t have been prouder as I watched 11 brilliant elementary, middle, and high-school students take the stage at the New-York Historical Society last week as part of SoapboxNYC—an annual student-voice showcase. Our students spoke passionately and eloquently on serious topics such as gun violence, women’s rights, equal pay, and the decline of the American education system. 

When Jose Ortega, a fourth-grader from P.S. 205 Alexander Graham Bell in Queens, spoke about the need for adaptive changes to playground equipment to make parks more accessible to students with disabilities, I vividly saw the profile of a future mayor of New York City—and only partly because he was dressed in a three-piece suit.

Thousands of students participated in SoapboxNYC this year, a partnership between our Civics for All program and Mikva Challenge—an organization that helps young people use their voices to become empowered citizens. Using the Project Soapbox curriculum, students from every grade identify and learn about an issue that matters to them. They then share how it affects the greater community, and they deliver a call to action and a plan to address the issue. Students from 144 schools delivered their original speeches at the SoapboxNYC culminating event last week.

Being a part of this year’s SoapboxNYC event may have been the best two hours I’ve spent so far as Chancellor. The program represents so much of what I think public education is missing. It brings school to life for our kids, shows them how their learning, their thinking, and their voice have the power to solve problems, bring a great sense of fulfillment, and make our world a better place. We need to do a better job of showing our kids the real-world connections to what they’re learning at school. Getting students fired up about learning and its relevance to their lives, while also giving them the chance to express themselves, shows them the power of a great education…and gives them a clearer view of their future.

Every single speaker blew me away, and I also want to shout out all of the 174 students who participated; their teachers said each student delivered a powerful and convincing speech. 

It means so much to me as Chancellor to spend as much time as possible with our students--seeing their brilliance firsthand, feeling their energy, and listening to their ideas and convictions. 

They may not know it yet, but our city needs them. Our future needs them. They are the leaders of tomorrow…and of today.

As always, my gratitude to every single teacher, coach, and family member who supported our young firebrands, as they blaze a brighter future for us all.

Soaring high,

Soaring high,

Chancellor

Celebrating the Lunar New Year 

On January 24, Chancellor Banks celebrated the Lunar New Year at P.S. 130 Hernando De Soto School in Chinatown, where students proudly took the stage to share what they’ve learned about different cultures and communities. The event marked the culmination of the successful Hidden Voices: Asian American Pacific Islander pilot program, which helped New York City’s students learn about and honor the numerous people, often “hidden” from traditional historical records, who have shaped and continue to shape our history and identity. The Chancellor also announced a new AAPI curriculum guide, which will be available for all educators to begin building their own knowledge around AAPI history and content.

FSF funds on average, approximately two-thirds of our schools’ budgets, and it’s based on the number of students enrolled at each school and the students’ specific needs. It intentionally takes students’ needs into account, “weighting” students’ needs to determine how much each school requires to effectively serve its students.

Last year, I convened the Fair Student Funding Working Group to study the formula and make recommendations for ways to improve it. The group released its report in November of 2022, and last week Mayor Adams and I announced proposed improvements, with a focus on equity and targeting investments to our students’ needs.

These are the most important changes we are proposing:

• An additional weight for students in temporary housing to schools serving these students, including recent asylum-seeking students. This is a groundbreaking shift in how schools allocate resources to public school students. This change is expected to drive approximately $45 million in funding impacting students in temporary housing across all five boroughs.
• An additional weight for schools that serve higher concentrations of students with needs, including students in poverty, students with disabilities, and English language learners. This is expected to drive over $45 million in funding to schools in all five boroughs.
• A commitment to ensuring the budget-appeals process is responsive to special-education programming needs. We will refine the process that schools follow to request additional funding in order to prioritize staffing investments that allow students with disabilities to learn in a general education setting.
• Improving transparency in our budget and budget process. We received feedback that not just FSF, but our budget and our budget process are inaccessible and hard to understand. I’ve asked my team to work on increasing information and transparency in a variety of ways.

Learning to read is one of the most critical milestones in a child’s education, and yet too many students have fallen through the cracks and have not received the support necessary to develop this foundational skill. We’re working hard to remove this barrier…and any barrier to learning to read well.

This school year, we launched a literacy pilot in classrooms across the five boroughs. This first-of-its-kind, comprehensive approach to addressing literacy challenges is designed to identify students who are at risk and provide them with the targeted interventions they need to succeed. 

And on February 9, Assembly Member Robert Carroll and I announced a $100,000 investment in specialized programming for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities.

With these funds, PS 107 and PS 295 in Brooklyn’s Community School District 15 will join our innovative Structured Literacy Schools pilot. Educators at these schools will receive in-depth training on evidence-based reading instruction, as well as access to additional expert staff who will provide targeted, small-group instruction in standalone classes for students who are at risk for or diagnosed with dyslexia.

By building on our early successes and scaling our specialized-instruction pilot, our schools are giving our students bright starts…and preparing them for bold futures—as accomplished readers and confident learners.

Soaring high, 

David C. Banks

Schools Chancellor 

The opportunity to play on a sports team is a critical part of the full school experience. It’s an enrichment activity that forges new friendships, builds teamwork skills, and develops leaders. Playing on a team also makes school a more positive, inclusive space for all students.

I know firsthand the joy and confidence that come from playing sports. Basketball, baseball, football, and tennis were a huge part of my life growing up in Queens. I lived for afternoons and weekends when my brothers and the kids from the neighborhood would go out and shoot hoops and play two-hand touch football on my block. Playing sports gave me valuable life skills—and I believe all our students deserve these opportunities. Unfortunately, this is not always the case; many students with disabilities have been traditionally excluded from school sports.

Until now! Earlier this week, I was thrilled to announce that more than 1,700 students with disabilities can now participate in Special Olympics track and field, volleyball, and basketball during their school day. An afterschool unified basketball league is open to an additional 200 high school students with and without disabilities, while 300 middle school students with and without disabilities can join a unified bocce league.

I am especially grateful to our partner, Special Olympics New York, for committing to $50,000 in funding, supporting the training of educators and coaches, and providing sports equipment and team uniforms. Through this partnership, we can now ensure access to Special Olympics sports at all District 75 schools. This will truly be a game-changer (pun intended!) for our students.

This historic expansion tells students, families, and educators that we see you—we welcome, value, and support you in every way we can, inside the classroom and beyond. I’m proud of the ways our leaders look to innovate and open doors of opportunity, and I hope that our new initiative makes us a model of inclusion and healthy enrichment activities. And most importantly, I’m thrilled that it gives every student the chance to develop the skills they need to succeed in school and in life.