Chancellor Banks outlines vision for transforming, building trust in NYC public schools
Schools Chancellor David C. Banks has outlined his vision for New York City public schools and the Department of Education’s priorities.
According to banks, his visions revolves around four pillars: reimagining the student experience; scaling, sustaining and restoring what works; prioritizing wellness and its link to student success; and empowering families to be our true partners.
in his words, “Just over two months after becoming Chancellor, I thought it would be a good time to share with all of you more detail about my vision for New York City public schools and how we are going to go about achieving that vision together. I also want to share my gratitude for what we have already accomplished in a very short period of time.”
Acknowledging the support of the New York Mayor, Eric Adams, Banks said, “First, Mayor Adams and I can’t tell you how proud we are of our students, families, teachers, and staff for stepping up in the face of the Omicron virus surge.
“Together with the New York City Department of Health, the Test and Trace Corps, the New York City Police Department, Governor Kathy Hochul, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, CSA President Mark Cannizzaro, District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, Local 237 President Greg Floyd, 891 President Robert Troller, and many other partners, our Stay Safe, Stay Open plan succeeded in reducing rates from 16% at the beginning of January to below 1% since the start of February.”
He added, “It was so important to this city that we kept our doors open, because returning to school was a big step toward returning to normalcy.
“Our public schools are essential to the fabric and economy of New York City. Our families depend on our schools so that they can do their own jobs while knowing their children are in a supportive environment where they will be academically challenged and held to high expectations every single day.
“And Stay Safe, Stay Open has worked! On January 3, the day I took office, our attendance rate was 65%. Yesterday it was 89%.”
He further remarked that during the long months when the pandemic forced our school buildings to close, our children suffered.
“Taking away the routine of going to school, missing the pat on the back from a teacher, having lunch with their friends — all of those normal things that we used to take for granted — there’s no doubt that negatively affected the mental and physical well-being of our students.
“So many of our youth, particularly our LGBTQ+ students, may have been in homes where they weren’t free to be their true selves, perhaps even to feel truly safe. Our team will be working closely with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and its new commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan to implement innovative, comprehensive strategies to support students’ mental and emotional well-being.”
“Now, our students and staff are back, more students are able to compete in PSAL, the energy in our classrooms and hallways has returned, and masks are off at recess — and hopefully in classrooms as well within the next week! Let’s give a round of applause to everyone who made that happen!
“Let’s be clear: Covid is far from the only challenge facing our schools. Our schools have lost over 120,000 students over the past five years — a trend that began prior to the pandemic and has since accelerated. Our families have been voting with their feet, and we need to aggressively respond right now. Part of rebuilding trust is being honest about the challenges we face,” he concluded.