Leadership & Management
Hochul proposed a four-year extension of mayoral control, which would give Mayor Zohran Mamdani control of the city’s schools for his entire first term.
Liss helped build the city’s Universal Pre-K program. She talked to Chalkbeat about the lessons of that rollout and her plans to make child care available to all.
Samuels has steadily worked his way up in the Education Department over 20 years, earning a reputation as a leader who seeks consensus on tough issues including school integration and mergers.
The plan is part of the governor’s broader education agenda, which includes funding a free child care program for 2-year-olds in New York City.
State education officials questioned whether the move is legal — though they have limited power to block it.
In exclusive interviews, Chalkbeat spoke with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Chancellor Kamar Samuels about their plans for the nation’s largest school system.
NYC schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels told principals he plans to stick with Mayor Eric Adams’ reading curriculum overhaul.
In his first letter to Education Department staff, Samuels emphasized culturally responsive teaching, school integration, and community input in his decision-making.
The current chancellor, a former chancellor, and others with deep ties to New York could be in the running.
Some parent groups are pushing Mamdani to consult families and educators before he makes a final decision about who should run the nation’s largest school system.
Left-wing political coalitions have typically supported elected school boards. Yet as districts face new existential threats, progressive mayors are testing that and other assumptions.
Mayor Eric Adams has lost control of New York City’s school board. He no longer has a majority of appointees, and members have rejected several proposals recently.
Did your school win an exemption from the class size mandate? Check out our searchable database.
Some groups urged Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to continue Mayor Eric Adams’ curriculum reforms. Meanwhile, charter school leaders extended an olive branch.
Zohran Mamdani’s campaign convened education advocates to discuss mayoral control, school safety, charter schools, and more.
Over more than two decades, mayors have appointed new school chiefs after taking office in an effort to take the system in a different direction. Mamdani might buck the trend.
Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos sits down with P.S. Weekly student journalists to preview the new school year, discussing the cellphone ban, restorative justice, and the SHSAT.
The bump in reading scores is good news for Mayor Eric Adams’ literacy overhaul. But the results can’t definitively show whether curriculum changes are driving the gains.
The delays have raised eyebrows among school integration advocates, government accountability groups, and even former department officials.
The second-in-command weighed in on how long it will take reading curriculum mandates to pay off, hiring challenges connected to the class size mandate, and Zohran Mamdani’s education proposals.