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Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who helmed New York City’s efforts to incorporate thousands of migrant students into city schools, will take over as schools chancellor following the departure of David Banks, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Mayor Eric Adams was expected to announce Aviles-Ramos’ appointment Wednesday afternoon in the Bronx.
The succession plan follows Tuesday’s stunning news that Banks – a longtime friend of Adams who has served as schools chief since Adams took office in 2022 – was stepping down amid widening federal investigations into the Adams administration.
Banks will leave his post on Dec. 31, he said in a letter Tuesday. The announcement came three weeks after federal agents seized Banks’ phones, along with those of his partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and his brothers, Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Phil Banks, and Terence Banks, a consultant and former MTA staffer.
Banks was the latest in a string of high-ranking city officials to announce their resignations in recent weeks, throwing the Adams administration into chaos. The quick naming of a successor to lead the Education Department is likely an effort to inject some stability into the operations of the largest city agency, which oversees 1,600 schools and more than 900,000 students.
Aviles-Ramos, who currently serves as a deputy chancellor overseeing family engagement, took on the high-profile task of steering the Education Department’s efforts to incorporate the wave of migrant students who began arriving in Summer 2022 – an initiative the city dubbed Project Open Arms.
Adams has cited that effort as a major success of his administration.
“When you do an analysis of the last two years, we incorporated over 40,000 students,” Adams said at a recent press conference. “It’s clear the Project Open Arms … has really met the mark.”
Aviles-Ramos began working in the city Education Department in 2007 as a teacher, according to her LinkedIn profile, later serving as a principal, acting superintendent, and Banks’ chief of staff.
She left the city Education Department in February to take a job as a college administrator, only to come back several months later in the new role as deputy chancellor for family and community engagement and external affairs. She replaced longtime Banks ally Kenita Lloyd, who took Aviles-Ramos’ old job as chief of staff.
Adams is expected to announce Aviles-Ramos’ appointment on Wednesday at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice — a school Banks helped launch as its founding principal in 1997.
Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.
Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
