(Bloomberg) -- New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks pledged to bring a “new normal” to the U.S.'s largest school system, outlining a plan to reverse an exodus of students by improving digital learning, reducing bureaucracy and expanding gifted programs.
Banks, who was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, highlighted policies that mark a change from the previous administration, including on controversial topics like expanding the number of safety officers patrolling hallways, scaling up the gifted and talented program rather than doing away with it, and embracing well-performing charter schools.
That's the only way to stop falling enrollment that is putting pressure on the budget, Banks said in his first major speech since taking office in January. The school system lost more than 120,000 students over the last five years, but retention of younger students and new enrollees suffered even more in the last two years, particularly among White and affluent students, according to a report issued this week by the New York City Independent Budget Office.
“We need to bring our families back, urgently,” Banks said.
Read More: NYC's White and Wealthy Students Are Driving Enrollment Declines
Loosening Covid Guidelines
The chancellor is ushering the city's schools out of the pandemic as districts across the country loosen their Covid-19 guidelines. Banks said case data looks promising for lifting the indoor schools mask requirements starting March 7, but will not make a recommendation on whether or not students should wear them. More than half of the 500 biggest districts in the U.S. now are mask-optional, according to Burbio data as of Feb. 27.
“The day I took office, our attendance rate was 65%. Yesterday it was 89%,” Banks said. “Returning to school was a big step toward returning to normalcy.”
Covid-19 cases in New York's schools have dropped from a January peak. There were 236 student cases reported Feb. 28 and 116 staff cases, according to city data.
For many parents, the biggest issue now is how to help children recover, academically and socially, from a pandemic that has stretched into its third academic year. “Learning becomes a challenge when their stomach hurts because they're hungry, or they don't feel good because they're sick,” said Tom Sheppard, a representative on the city's Panel for Educational Policy, an advisory body. “What is the DOE going to do to address that?”
New York City's schools have also been criticized by city Comptroller Brad Lander for a lack of transparency with how it's using about $7.7 billion in federal pandemic aid through June 2025, the largest category of stimulus funds in the city. The Department of Education hasn't been clear how it will track the impact of the programs on students' health and academic, social and emotional recovery, Lander said. The department has spent $725 million for maintaining safe classrooms and more than $260 million on addressing “learning loss” but hasn't disclosed how much was spent on ventilation or providing measures of indoor air quality, Lander said.
Read More: NYC Comptroller Says Adams Needs to Better Track Federal Aid
Break From de Blasio
Banks didn't address the pandemic funds but said he's trying to make the Department of Education more efficient by reducing bureaucracy. He said he would eliminate the executive superintendent position altogether and ask all superintendents to reapply for their jobs.
“We spend $38 billion every single year to get the outcomes that we get. With 65% of Black and Brown children never getting proficiency. It's a betrayal,” he said.
In another move away from the policies of the previous administration, Banks said the city needed to “think beyond standardized tests” but didn't go into details. He didn't offer many specifics for reviving the city's controversial gifted and talented program, which former Mayor Bill de Blasio ended last year before he left office.
Banks said the city's gifted and talented program offers less than 3,000 seats, and has a direct connection to the outflow of families from the public school system. “The parents who have chosen to leave are parents who have options,” he said.
“Ultimately there should be opportunities for accelerated learning in every school. High quality gifted programs provide opportunities for students to accelerate their learning and excel,” Banks said. “So we're going to scale these programs all over the city.”
Banks also said he wanted to increase the number of school safety agents by about 1,000, and called them an “essential part of the fabric of the schools.” De Blasio had pledged to move control of 5,000 school safety agents to the education department from the police department.
He said the city would embrace virtual learning options, pledging that “virtual learning is here to stay.” The department would launch a digital learning advisory committee to figure out how to integrate virtual course models into everyday learning and also create a high-quality, real-time remote learning “whenever we need to,” he said. The effort would cater to a small percentage of families across the city who have express interest in a virtual alternative, Banks said, and the administration wants to make that opportunity available to them.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
