New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced David Banks as his choice to lead the nation’s largest school system, an educator and lifelong friend committed to addressing racial inequalities in education. for work.
Adams made the announcement outside Public School 161, the Crown Heights elementary school that Banks once attended. Banks, 59, is the founder of Eagle Academy, a network of schools serving almost entirely young men of color.
Banks is considered an intriguing option given that the schools he founded are quite atypical, offering mentors and longer school days. They raise private funds from outside the system and their graduation rates exceed those of the City Department of Education schools, but at the same time they differ from charter schools in that their instructors are members of the powerful city teachers union. .
Given his history, Adams said Banks is the ideal candidate to lead New York City’s historically “dysfunctional” public school district in terms of how it has addressed entrenched racial and socioeconomic disparities.
Banks, a graduate of the New York City public school system, will be responsible for educating one million school-age children who suffered learning losses during the pandemic.
He will also be in charge of implementing some of Adams’ proposals, such as screening all children for learning disabilities and deciding the fate of gifted and talented programs.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in October that he was initiating a process that would begin next year to phase out the program, which critics say favors white and Asian-American students while enrolling disproportionately few black and Latino children.
Adams was quick to respond to the news, saying he would keep the show and expand it.
“You can’t get rid of it until next year. There’s nothing to get back on track, “Adams said, adding that she would evaluate the program and expand opportunities for accelerated learning and for children who have barriers to learning.
The decision comes days after the current chancellor of New York City public schools, Meisha Porter announced that she will be stepping down at the end of the year. Porter was the first African-American woman to take command of the New York City public school system.
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