NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks gave a high-energy “State of the Schools” address on Tuesday, touting his administration’s recent accomplishments and highlighting future education goals.
Banks, who delivered the speech at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, focused on the “building blocks” of education, which he said include academics, safety, and civic engagement.
“So to deliver a true education, we have been transforming our school system,” Banks said. “When we returned to classrooms after the pandemic, many people said we cannot go back to the way things were before. We need something totally reimagined. But first, you need the building blocks in place to set students up for success.”
NYC Reads and NYC Solves
During an approximately 60-minute speech, Banks highlighted his administration’s NYC Reads and NYC Solves programs, which kicked off last year to boost student literacy and math skills, respectively.
While noting NYC Reads’ expansion this year into over 840 elementary schools, the chancellor said NYC Solves is now in over 400 high schools and around 100 middle schools.
“Starting now, if you walk into any 3-K or pre-K classroom, anywhere in the city, the kids will be learning from the same curriculum, backed by evidence-based literacy strategies, strategies that we know build confident readers,” Banks said. “Likewise, our older students in NYC Solves will be learning from consistent, high-quality curricula to become confident mathematicians. This is tremendous—and totally unprecedented in NYC.”
Battling antisemitism in schools
Banks did not shy away from discussing his testimony in front of Congress in May where he discussed antisemitism in public schools.
“When I was called to testify on antisemitism before Congress last spring, I knew it was my responsibility to take a stand against hate and to share our New York values on the national stage,” Banks said.
Throughout the academic year, Banks doubled down on his plan to tackle all forms of hate after several public schools became sites of incidents of antisemitism, most infamously at Hillcrest High School in Queens, when a mob of students went on a violent tirade, calling for a teacher to resign because of her support for Israel.
Upcoming plans for the 2024-2025 school year
Banks discussed college and career readiness, noting that HBCU Early College Prep, an accelerated high school, will open in southeast Queens. He also noted that Bard Early College, another accelerated high school, has already opened in the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn.
“This school will be the first of its kind in any major metropolitan school district,” the chancellor said. “Through a groundbreaking partnership with Delaware State University, students will have the opportunity to earn an Associate’s degree, for free, while still in high school.”
Using AI
The DOE is also looking into ways to use AI in the classroom. This includes creating personalized learning and using AI as an assessment tool to learn more about student performance.
“AI is already shaping our workforce and our world, and we have an obligation to equip our children with new skill sets in response,” he said.
Banks emphasized that technology “cannot replace the power” of teachers, but it can help improve student academic outcomes.
“In addition to shaping our schools, AI can revolutionize how we function as a system, increasing efficiency in areas ranging from transportation to enrollment to hiring,” he said.
The State of the Schools address comes one day after NYC Mayor Eric Adams released the annual Mayor’s Management Report on Monday.
