New York City, NY – New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks today announced the members of the Class Size Working Group. Made up of a diverse cross-section of stakeholders, the goal of this working group is to gather input and provide feedback for DOE leadership to consider related to implementing the State’s new class size legislation.

The legislation, which was signed into law by Governor Hochul in September 2022, prescribes new class size caps for all DOE K-12 community school district schools as well as the creation of a class size reduction plan, to be phased in over five years, for all DOE K-12 community district schools. In addition to requiring the development of the class size reduction plan, which must be approved by the United Federation of Teachers and the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the law also requires the submission of annual implementation reports. While the New York City Department of Education anticipates being in compliance with the legislation for the next two years, we hope to use feedback from this working group to determine approaches to reaching compliance in the years ahead.

From a large and diverse group of applicants, DOE selected the following members, with a goal of including parents or guardians of DOE students, educators, advocates, researchers, and other key stakeholders. In considering the group composition, DOE considered individuals’ geographic representation, experience, school affiliation (including grade composition and size of the school), as well as organizational affiliation to ensure that a diversity of perspectives are represented within the Working Group.

“We will only succeed in meeting the requirements of the class size legislation with the support of our families, educators, and community partners,” said Chancellor David C. Banks. “The class size mandates included in the legislation passed last year will require difficult decisions and trade-offs in the years ahead, as well as require more funding and other resources. It is critical that members of our school communities are included in this process and help guide the decisions that must be made around implementation of this law.”

The Class Size Working Group will begin meeting this week.

Members of the Class Size Working Group:

Name	Borough	Affiliation
Al Suhu	Queens	Parent
Alysa O'Shea	Queens	Parent
Andrea Daniels	Bronx/Citywide	Parent
Andrew Rein	Citywide	Citizens Budget Commission
Ayishah Irvin	Manhattan	Parent
Bradley Alter	Brooklyn	Parent
Brenda Gonzalez	Bronx	Principal
Celeste Douglas	Brooklyn (District 18)	Superintendent
Chris Ogno	Brooklyn	Principal
Dale Kelly	Citywide	CSA
David Marmor	Queens	Principal
Deborah Alexander	Queens	Parent
Dia Bryant	Statewide	EdTrust NY
Elizabeth Hoffman	Citywide	Office of City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams
Elizabeth Kennedy	Citywide	Office of the NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams
Johanna Bjorken	Brooklyn	School Business Manager
Johanna Garcia	Manhattan	Office of State Senator Robert Jackson
Kaliris Salas Ramirez	Manhattan	PEP Member
Keisha Sydney	Brooklyn	Parent
Kesha Rashed	Bronx	Teacher
Lara Lai	Citywide	NYC Comptroller's Office
Latoya Coleman	Bronx	Parent
Leonie Hamson	Citywide	Class Size Matters
Lisa Rivera	Bronx	Parent
Lori Podvesker	Brooklyn/Citywide	Parent
Lucia Curatolo-Boylan	Staten Island	Parent
Marina Marcou-O'Malley	Statewide	AQE
Matt Chingos	National	Urban Institute
Myrna Torres	Citywide	Children's Aid
Naveed Hasan	Manhattan	PEP Member
Patrick Sprinkle	Manhattan	Teacher
Phillip Composto	Queens (District 30)	Superintendent
Rachel Paguaga	Brooklyn	Teacher
Randi Garay	Brooklyn	Parent
Randi Levine	Citywide	Advocates for Children
Chair Rita Joseph	Citywide	Chair of the Education Committee, City Council
Ron Britt	Queens	Parent
Rosa G Diaz	Manhattan	Parent
Stephen Stowe	Brooklyn	Parent
Tom Sheppard	Bronx	PEP Member
Venus Sze-Tsang	Staten Island	Parent
Vijah Ramjattan	Queens	Parent
Additional UFT and CSA Representation to be determined	Citywide	UFT, CSA