Yesterday, New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks informed Mayor Eric Adams that he would be resigning from his position. Banks will step down officially on December 31st, 2024, allowing for somebody else to take over starting in 2025.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished during my tenure and the opportunity to work alongside such dedicated professionals to shape the future of education in our great city is one that I will always cherish. We have faced many challenges and made significant strides in improving the educational landscape for our students, families, and educators,” Banks wrote in his retirement letter. In this letter he also alluded to the fact that he and Mayor Adams had already discussed his retirement early this year, but not until “after ensuring the school year got off to a good start.”
After Banks’ announcement, Adams said, “In less than three years, our city’s public schools have transformed — from ensuring schools were safe and open coming out of the pandemic to a space that has increased our students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates. We’ve implemented critical initiatives like ‘NYC Reads,’ ‘NYC Solves,’ and universal dyslexia screenings while also ensuring a seamless and timely coordination with partners to welcome, enroll, and support thousands of newly arriving students and their families on a citywide scale.”
According to the Daily News, Mayor Adams will announce top education deputy Melissa Aviles-Ramos as the next head of the New York City public schools later on today.
