Education Policy

“Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of [people].”

—Horace Mann

Executive Summary

I was a student in a public school where I almost fell between the cracks. I believe that getting a high-quality, public education is a basic right. Our education system is not delivering anything close to this for many kids – especially for students in disadvantaged communities. As Mayor, I will work with teachers, parents and others to change that.

Last week, I issued an NYC Bill of Rights, which includes the right to a first-class education. Adding this to the City Charter has the effect of making this a law and is a critical start.

We have work to do. Lots of it.

Too many struggling kids fall so far behind that they never recover. And that problem starts early. In 2024, only half of students in grades 3-8 met standards in English Language Arts (ELA) or math. Less than half of students living in poverty met those standards in 2023.[1]

Too few kids are reaching their highest potential. There are too few gifted and talented programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods for students performing well. Our math curriculum is behind that of China. And many disadvantaged students aren’t prepared to compete for advanced high schools.

My plan will solve these problems.

PART I: STRUGGLING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS

Many NYC students face issues that can hurt their ability to learn. In 2024, three-quarters of students were economically disadvantaged.[2] Around one in eight were homeless at some point in the year.[3] Many students grow up with single parents, who often have less money and time to spend on their kids. Some have at least one parent who is abusive, incarcerated or suffering from addiction. Some students live in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

Schools cannot solve all of these problems. But a better school system can do more to improve education and life opportunities for many.

I will create a Mayor’s District comprised of the highest-need elementary schools. Then, I will make three changes in these schools:

First, I will drastically reduce class size to 12-14 students in grades K-3. I want to provide disadvantaged students with the quality of a private-school education at the ages when it would make a greater difference. Research shows that significantly reducing class size in early grades can sizably improve students’ reading and math, with minority and disadvantaged students gaining the most. In kindergarten and first grade, minority students improved twice as much as non-minority students. Better performance continued after students returned to regular-sized classes in fourth grade.[4]

Smaller classes let teachers give students more attention and reduce classroom distractions. They also help students learn the study skills that will serve them throughout their education.

Second, I will push Albany for the flexibility to shrink classes in a smarter way. The law now requires smaller class sizes across the board, with a firm deadline. We need the latitude to focus on the worst-performing schools.

Third, in the Mayor’s District, I will raise starting teacher salaries to at least $120,000/year. Teacher quality is critical for student performance,[5] and schools serving disadvantaged students have a harder time attracting good teachers.

Though the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union does not favor merit pay, the UFT previously has agreed to extra pay for high-need schools. From 1996-2003, NYC had a Chancellor’s District of the most troubled schools. These schools paid teachers 15% more for extra work, and recruited good private school teachers with $10,000 bonuses.[6] I believe the UFT will agree that our current need supports higher pay for teachers in this new Mayor’s District.

PART II: MANDATED LITERACY CURRICULUM

For almost two decades, NYC public schools pursued a flawed reading curriculum that caused disadvantaged students to fall behind. Now the NYC DOE launched the phonics-based NYC Reads curriculum mandate.[7] NYC Reads also requires District Superintendents to choose one of three literacy programs. “Into Reading” is the most popular option, but some educators and advocates “contend that it is not culturally responsive, is too reliant on text excerpts rather than full books, and is not focused enough on building students’ content knowledge.”[8]

As Mayor, I would keep curriculum mandates for schools with literacy and reading proficiency rates below 60% and offer additional support to give struggling students more individual attention. These schools should use either “Wit & Wisdom” and “EL Education.” I would exempt schools from curriculum mandates if they have proficiency rates at or above 85%. For the schools between 60% and 85%, I would give superintendents discretion to require mandated curriculum on a school-by-school basis.

PART III: MORE LITERACY HELP FOR KIDS IN NEED

Education starts at home. Families are kids’ earliest teachers of reading and arithmetic, as well as life habits like discipline and organization. Learning doesn’t stop when the school day ends or the school year is over.

I will boost education outside of school for disadvantaged students in public housing. I will create “Reading Skills Pays the Bills” in partnership with NYCHA Community Centers – offering parents rent credits if kids attend and complete additional courses. I will encourage people from both NYC and surrounding suburbs to donate children’s books to help disadvantaged families build home libraries.

PART IV: INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS (IEPs)

Too many students with disabilities are not receiving the services they need, hurting their education and social development.[9]

I will convene a task force and consult with experts to figure out a solution. Until we do, I will double the number of, and increase the value of, school vouchers so more parents can find a private solution in the meantime.

PART V: GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM

The shortage of seats in gifted and talented programs has opened a quiet war among parents’ groups. Some want DOE to use specific tests as the only entrance criteria such as the OLSAT and the NNAT. Others want more flexible standards. The latter approach won out. As a result, several problems emerged. The pool of eligible students ballooned beyond the number of seats. A “lottery” system now leaves many gifted kids out of the program altogether. And there is no publicly available data to track how kids are performing.[10]

I will help students achieve their full potential: I will expand gifted and talented programs, including in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Gifted and talented programs develop students’ brains and help disadvantaged students better compete.[11] I will give students chances to test into gifted and talented programs every year from grades 1-6. The system will guarantee seats to students who score highest on the test. Although I will switch back to the test as the primary entrance criteria, I will (a) provide free test prep materials to further expand access to gifted and talented programs and (b) provide additional support to kids from disadvantaged schools that scored within 10% of the cut-off, so they have a better chance to test in the following year.

PART VI: ACCELERATED MATH CURRICULUM

NYC’s standard high school math is several grades behind that of China. Also, Americans ranked 22nd in math achievement among the 37 members of the OECD nations in 2022.[12]

I will accelerate the math curriculum. When I am Mayor, students will learn algebra in eighth grade, and advanced math students can take it in seventh grade. I will accomplish this by having primary schools move faster through the arithmetic curriculum.

PART VII: SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS

NYC has eight specialized academic public high schools that admit students using the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT).

I will increase awareness of and preparation for selective schools and double the number of specialized academic high schools. City Hall presented a false choice on entrance criteria for specialized high schools. Some firmly believe in standardized criteria through the SHSAT test. Others believe the SHSAT is too exclusive.

In response, the de Blasio administration essentially tried to rig the system against the Asian American community and pit different diverse communities against each other. To the architect, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Asian Americans didn’t count as “diverse,” despite the fact that Asia is the largest continent with many ethnicities ranging from Chinese to Indian to Korean to Filipino to Pakistani to Bangladeshi to Vietnamese to Nepalese and more. Asian Americans on average have one of the higher poverty rates in NYC,[13] but many Asian Americans see education as the path to economic mobility and spend more of their income on their kids’ education. Not only was de Blasio’s plan to admit the top 7% of each middle school racist against Asian Americans, who are more concentrated in a limited number of middle schools, but also this plan flew in the face of facts and logic – one out of every six middle schools had less than 7% of eighth graders passing the NYS math exam, and almost one out of every four middle schools had zero students achieving the advanced level on this exam.[14]

I reject false choices. I support helping all students be better prepared to exceed the bar. One way is my plan to expand gifted and talented programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Another is to increase awareness of and preparation for the SHSAT. Too few disadvantaged students know about the value of the specialized high schools and that the SHSAT is the way to get in. I will establish a free extracurricular SHSAT prep class in seventh grade.

Instead of fighting over pieces of the pie, I will expand the pie. As Mayor, I will double the number of specialized academic high schools from eight to 16. The original eight schools will continue to use the SHSAT as the sole criterion for admissions. The SHSAT has proven to have predictive value for both high school grades and performance on NYS Regents exams.[15] At the additional eight schools, admissions will start off using a combination of the SHSAT and the NYS ELA and Math tests from seventh grade because limited research has shown that these NYS tests also have predictive value.[16]

PART VIII: BOOSTING OUR MIDDLE CLASS BY STRENGTHENING CAREER EDUCATION

Different students have different interests and career goals. While many students want to attend college, others want vocational education and skilled trades, which also can provide a middle-class living. The US has a shortage of skilled trades workers.[17]

As Mayor, I will build on the current FutureReadyNYC program.[18] I will expand the number of Career and Technical Education (CTE) high schools that focus on blue-collar skilled labor. I also will make shop class, home economics, and financial literacy education widely available in schools.

Overall, as Mayor, I will make NYC public schools gems for students, teachers, parents and the whole community.

New Yorkers deserve real leadership, not more excuses. We can fix this. We will fix this. And we will do it by putting people ahead of politics.