New York City Public Schools Celebrates a Year of Achievements

  • Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2024

NEW YORK – As we approach the new year, New York City Public Schools highlights a range of meaningful initiatives and policy advancements. These actions reflect the city’s steadfast commitment to improving education, encouraging innovation, and equipping students for a bold future.

“From day one, our administration has focused on creating a safer, more affordable New York City. In 2024, we continued to deliver on that vision and ‘Get Stuff Done’ for working-class New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Thanks to our extraordinary public servants, America’s safest big city got even safer this year, with overall crime down and thousands of illegal guns, mopeds, and ghost cars taken off city streets. We passed historic legislation to turn New York into a ‘City of Yes,’ shattered affordable housing records once again, and put billions of dollars back into New Yorkers’ pockets. We broke records for the most jobs and small businesses in city history and moved millions of trash bags off our sidewalks and into containers. But we know that there is even more we can do to continue to uplift working-class families. As we look to the future, our administration remains committed to keeping New Yorkers safe and making our city more affordable for the millions of New Yorkers who call our city home.”

"It has been a year full of growth and achievement for New York City Public Schools, from expansion of our signature initiatives like 'NYC Reads' and Student Pathways, to the creation of new divisions, such as the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning and the Division of Family, Community, and Student Empowerment," said Schools Chancellor Melissa-Aviles Ramos. "I'm proud to lead this school system, the largest in the nation, and I'm grateful to the hard work of our educators, staff, and families who are nurturing and supporting our children each day. I also want to thank Mayor Adams for his leadership and for prioritizing the education and development of the next generation of New Yorkers." 

Key highlights from 2024 include: 

SUPPORTING STUDENTS THROUGH HIGH-QUALITY INSTRUCTION

Prioritized inclusive and accessible learning: In June, NYCPS announced the creation of the new Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL), a division focused on supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Reflecting Mayor Adams’ commitment to serving all students and families, this new division will build holistic educational experiences for every student — no matter their background or ability — that equip them to graduate on a pathway to a rewarding career and long-term economic security.  

Early successes in ‘NYC Reads’ literacy instruction: This fall, classrooms in early childhood programs through grade 5 implemented, NYC Reads, a high-quality literacy curriculum grounded in the science of reading, cementing the final step in citywide implementation. Early signs of progress include a 1.8-point increase in K-2 screener data. 842 K-5 schools are now implementing NYC Reads.

Expanded ‘NYC Solves’ mathematics instruction: Following the early successes of NYC Reads, NYCPS launched NYC Solves, a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to teaching mathematics that prioritizes collaboration and problem solving over rote instruction. Initially announced under NYC Reads, this year 155 additional high schools joined the initiative, marking citywide implementation across 420 high schools. Additionally, all middle schools in districts 2, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 26, and 32 signed on to use high-quality curriculum for math instruction.

Created new opportunities for Career Connected Learning: 15,000 students now participating in FutureReadyNYC with paid career-connected learning experiences, early college courses, college and career advising and financial literacy. FRNYC students have now earned over $10 million through paid internships, and the number of students taking college courses has increased by 6,000 over the past two years.  Announced an unprecedented partnership with Northwell Health to design a career-focused high school that will help prepare students for well-paying careers in healthcare and address local education and healthcare talent needs. The school in Woodside, Queens which will open in the fall of 2025 and serve approximately 900 students at capacity, is part of a first-of-its-kind $250 million initiative led by Bloomberg Philanthropies that is connecting healthcare and education systems to create new career-connected learning high schools in 10 urban and rural communities across the country.

Produced new texts through the Civics for All Comics Group: Announced the publication of Patsy Takemoto Mink and A Story in Every Object! An Asian American Comics Anthology, the 24th and 25th comic books produced in-house by the Civics for All Comics Group. This release marks the two millionth comic book distributed by the group, pushing New York City Public Schools into the top ten comic book distributors in the country. This notable achievement was earned in just five years and features the work of many of the top writers and artists in the comic book canon. 

Championed E-Sports with the Continuation of the Battle of the Boroughs: New York City Public Schools held the fourth annual New York City Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs (BOTB) this past year. BOTB is a scholastic K-12 Esports competition designed to engage our youngest New Yorkers in shaping the future of their city. Building on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done (GSD), the city’s strategic climate plan, and the Mayor’s Digital Gaming Initiative, student teams competed to create the most inclusive future-ready city spaces.

ENSURING SAFETY AND PROMOTING WELLNESS

Supported Students in Temporary Housing with Project Open Arms: Provided support to schools and families as NYCPS has welcomed approximately 48,000 new students in temporary housing over the past two years, including   essential educational and emotional support and resources and enrollment support. The program continues to help students bridge the gap and maintain continuity in their education.

Supported Mental Health in our Schools: NYCPS continues to ensure that students have access to necessary mental health supports. This year we ensured that ~241,000 students have access to on-site mental health providers via School Mental Health partnership (CBO or clinic). Already in School year 24-25 :  SY24-25:  ~20,000 mental health services delivered to students on site, including ~5,000 targeted service.

Met the Moment: Launched our comprehensive Meeting the Moment plan to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate, with new and ongoing initiatives designed to foster safety, engagement, and education across our 1,600+ school communities. To ensure safety, NYCPS re-trained all principals on the Discipline Code and launched a new Anti-Hate Hotline to provide a streamlined path for the NYCPS community to report incidents of hate, harassment, or discrimination. To promote education, NYCPS partnered with Facing History & Ourselves to train all middle and high school principals on navigating difficult conversations. NYCPS also published resource guides, offered professional learning to educators, and announced the creation of new Hidden Voices curricular materials highlighting the Muslim and Jewish American communities. Finally, NYCPS launched the Interfaith Advisory Committee to engage our diverse NYC communities and model building bridges for our students.

Celebrated Disability Pride: More than 70 students in kindergarten through 12th grade submitted individual and group artwork to the Disability Pride Visual Arts Contest, a competition that honors the resilience and achievements of individuals with disabilities in their ongoing pursuit of equity, access, and inclusion. For the first time ever, the ten finalists and one grand finalist had their artwork displayed across all Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) subway stations and train cars during the month of July to celebrate Disability Pride Month. 

Continued to Uplift Sustainability: New York City Public Schools continued to ensure sustainability is a priority. This year, we uplifted our first Agency Chief Sustainability & Decarbonization Officer who oversees all high-level strategy and implementation surrounding all agency climate commitments and actions. Additionally, by the end of this year we will have 25.3 MW of solar panels will have been installed on 116 school buildings, a ~120% increase of solar capacity completed since 2020. Additionally, New York City Public Schools was awarded $92 million to purchase 289 electric school buses from the EPA . All of this work builds on the ongoing sustainability education happening staff and student engagement in Climate Action Days, school-based operations such as proper waste disposal and waste reduction, and a growing number of projects and programs to improve our school infrastructure and enrich the everyday experience for students.  

STRENGTHENING COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL AND TEACHER SUPPORTS

Supported Schools With Significant Fiscal Investments: New York City Public Schools and the Adams Administration is proud to have continually supported our schools and students via robust fiscal support, including a year-over-year and mid-year hold harmless to help schools continue to support new students and respond to enrollment fluctuations. This builds on more than $500 million in city and state funding for educational programs for young New Yorkers in Mayor Adams’ Executive Budget this year as well as ongoing wage increases for our hardworking educators.  

Launched Inclusive Schools NYC: NYCPS launched the Inclusive Schools NYC initiative in September 2024.  More than 90 schools have already opted in to this network, with student Disability Affinity Clubs, student Inclusion Clubs, panels, field trips and pride parades. This network was dreamed up by students with disabilities on the Chancellor's Student Advisory Council (CSAC) and is led by and for young people with disabilities.  To ensure we are reflecting the vision of our students, we partner with the Neurodiversity Alliance to build leadership capacity in our youth, and Reel Abilities to ensure students have mirrors and windows of themselves in media. This is a growing network that welcomes all NYC Public Schools to join!

Embraced diversity with Hidden Voices: Stories of the Global African Diaspora: Launched in February 2024, this new set of curricular resources brought the stories of the people, places, and events that were typically omitted from history books into K-12 classrooms across New York City. These resources, free for download, join a suite of resources that celebrate stories of the LGBTQ+, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and the Americans with Disabilities communities.

Won Federal Grants to Create New York City’s First Ever Magnet High Schools: The U.S. Department of Education awarded Magnet Schools Assistance Program grants totaling nearly $30 million to fund the creation of the city’s first three magnet high schools. Magnet schools support the development of special curricula aligned to a specific theme that, in turn, help attract more diverse groups of students. The grants will be administered over five years and go to six existing schools in the public school system throughout the Bronx and Manhattan.

Met Class Size Targets and Committed New Funding to Continue to Meet Goals: With our class size rates in compliance this year, New York City Public Schools is proud to have launched, in collaboration with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the Council of School Supervisors & Administrators (CSA), a new framework for class size planning for school year 2025-26, allowing schools to submit individual “Class Size Reduction Plans” and funding requests. This builds on the administration’s investment of  $182 million for class size reduction and other purposes aligned with the state Contract for Excellence this year.

Opened Nine New Schools: Introduced innovative school models across the city to increase access to accelerated schools and increase elementary school and high school seat capacity in neighborhoods with overcrowded schools. These schools are: 

  • M.S. 644, District 9, Grades 6-8 
  • M.S. 428, District 15, Grades 6-8 
  • P.S. 482, District 13, Grades Pre-K – 5 
  • P.S. 456, District 15, Grades Pre-K – 5 
  • Bard High School Early College- Brooklyn, District 19, Grades 9-12 
  • P.S. 331, District 20, Grades K-5 
  • P.S. 413, District 20, Grades K-5 
  • M.S. 407, District 20, Grades 6-8 
  • Motion Picture Technical High School, District 30, Grades 9-12

FOSTERING GENUINE AND IMPACTFUL FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Increased 3K Seats in High Demand Neighborhoods: In a joint effort, the Adams Administration and City Council made a $100 million investment earmarked in the FY 25 adopted budget to strengthen the city’s early childhood education system to better allocate resources and connect families with seats. The Division of Early Childhood Education added more than 1,500 additional 3-K seats in high-demand areas of the city to support families for the 2024-2025 school year. In FY25 Adopted Budget, the Adams administration worked with the New York City Council to secure $100 million in a 10-point plan that adds more seats, including special education seats, increases outreach to families, adds programs for extended day and undocumented families. With this funding, New York City Public Schools has continued to drive down waitlists – reaching 100 percent of 3K families who applied before the application deadline with first-round offers by mid-August for the first-time ever in the history of the 3-K program.

Fostered Genuine Partnership with our families and communities through NYC Reads: This year Office of Family and Community Empowerment (FACE) trained over 1200 families to become NYC Reads Ambassadors. Over 57% of families reported immediate positive impact in their child’s reading. With the Ambassadors, FACE hosted big book parties in four boroughs giving away over 10,000 to 1,600 families. FACE established 21 literacy hubs in businesses across 9 districts and 3 boroughs. The Lil’ Readers program hosted 250 families over 8 sessions sharing books, the power of oral traditions, and empowered all families to participate in the work of literacy.

Expanded Student OMNY Cards: Beginning this school year, students received OMNY cards instead of the MetroCards that have been distributed citywide to students since 1997. The new Student OMNY cards are valid 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with up to four free rides a day. These changes have significantly expanded flexibility for student travel, as students were previously limited to only three free rides each day from only 5:30 AM to 8:30 PM, and the cards could only be used on days when the student’s school was open for class. We also rolled out The NYC School Bus App — developed in collaboration with Via, a partnership between bus drivers, families, and schools that allows families to track their school bus arrival. 

Continued to Deliver Free and Engaging Summer Programming Through Summer Rising: Thanks to approximately $80 million in additional city funding from the Eric Adams Administration to support the continuity of the previously stimulus-supported program, Summer Rising continued this year, providing academic and enrichment activities to students during the summer. This past year, applications opened a month earlier, allowing families more time to plan their summer, and placements continued to be assigned with a focus on equity.  

Community Empowerment: Office of Family and Community Empowerment (FACE) hosted a pilot program Bridge to LEAD. This program uniquely combined learning and practicing English, career exploration, goal setting, time management, networking, job searching, interviews, and workers' rights. The participants reported being able to obtain jobs and move into permanent housing.