Kamar Samuels, a former elementary school teacher from the Bronx, has taken the helm of the nation\u2019s largest public school system as New York City\u2019s new schools chancellor under Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
With more than 20 years of experience as a teacher, principal and superintendent within the New York City school system, Samuels enters the role at a critical moment. Mayor Mamdani has tasked him with addressing long-standing challenges, including declining enrollment, absenteeism and educational inequities.<\/p>\n
Speaking Sunday on CBS News New York\u2019s\u00a0The Point with Marcia Kramer, Samuels candidly assessed the current state of NYC Public Schools, giving the system an overall grade of \u201cC,\u201d while expressing optimism about its potential for improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe schools should be safe, rigorous, and truly integrated,\u201d Samuels said. \u201cIf schools are not truly integrated, then throughout our system, we won\u2019t really enjoy the greatness that New York City has.\u201d He emphasized that socioeconomic and racial integration will be central to his policy agenda.<\/p>\n
One of Samuels\u2019 major priorities is transforming how the Department of Education engages parents and families.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn all of my jobs across the system, the lead thing that I did was listen to parents, and I want to take that into this role,\u201d he explained. \u201cParents and families want to know they are part of the decision-making process in schools, and when I was in Brooklyn, we did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing the possibility of school closures, Samuels acknowledged that some schools are currently under-enrolled but stopped short of committing to closures.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m going to close schools yet,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019re going to look at structural moves, which includes mergers and all of that, to see what opportunities exist\u2014not just to create diverse schools, but also to meet our class-size mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tackling declining enrollment remains a top priority, with Samuels pledging to bring high-quality education to every neighborhood across the city.<\/p>\n
He stressed that closing academic gaps must begin with reading proficiency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing we have to do is make sure every student is on track in reading,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we exist, and right now we don\u2019t necessarily have that in every single neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuels expressed strong support for the NYC Reads initiative launched in 2023 and said he plans to expand the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to double down on that and then start thinking about math,\u201d he noted. \u201cIf our students are not literate and not performing well, they won\u2019t be ready for the jobs that exist\u2014much less the jobs that don\u2019t yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the importance of parental feedback, using basic math skills as an example.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a parent says their fourth grader is struggling with multiplication tables, that matters,\u201d he said. \u201cKnowing your times tables is very important. When you get to algebra, you won\u2019t be able to factor on your fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuels cautioned against over-reliance on conceptual teaching methods alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cConceptual understanding is important, but it\u2019s also important for kids to have automaticity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Chronic absenteeism is another growing concern for city schools, affecting students across all demographics. Samuels noted that attendance rates remain lower than pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
To reverse the trend, he believes lessons must be both rigorous and engaging.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf our work is not rigorous and not engaging, students won\u2019t be excited to come to school,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know who got this right? Video game developers. They keep kids in what we call the zone of proximal development, so they want to keep going. Schools should have the same approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also placed responsibility on parents, particularly in lower grades, to ensure consistent attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith more parents working from home, it\u2019s easier to say, \u2018Don\u2019t go to school today,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to work directly with parents and students to change that mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Mamdani announced Samuels\u2019 appointment just hours before officially assuming office on New Year\u2019s Eve. Samuels replaces Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who served as chancellor for 14 and a half months under the previous Adams administration.<\/p>\n
As he steps into his new role, Samuels says collaboration with families, educators and communities will be key to transforming New York City\u2019s public education system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kamar Samuels, a former elementary school teacher from the Bronx, has taken the helm of the nation\u2019s largest…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":513794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-513793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115889512543504902","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}