The New York City education department on Tuesday announced which 72 schools will hire more teachers in a bid to boost reading outcomes for students.
The $18 million initiative aims to lower teacher-to-student ratios, with a focus on campuses where class sizes are larger than the city average, test scores in reading and math are below the city average, and more than 70% of students come from low-income families. City Council members pushed to include the pilot program in the city’s budget, which was approved this month.
“Educators know that smaller classes mean more attention for each child,” education department spokesperson Katie O’Hanlon said in an emailed statement. “Thanks to our partners at the city council, we’re adding staff and reducing class sizes at some of our highest-need schools to make that happen.”
It’s unclear how many of the schools will add teachers to classrooms, instead of whittling down the total number of students in a room. Since many overcrowded schools are crunched for space, it will likely be hard for many of the campuses to accommodate more classrooms with fewer students.
O’Hanlon pointed out that the education department’s capital plan funds 57,000 new school seats across the five boroughs. Officials also hope that an historic increase in school budgets will also mean that principals hire more teachers to reduce class sizes.
Below is the list of schools included in the pilot.
