ADVERTISEMENTs

Mamdani announces new plan to hire thousands of teachers for NYC’s public schools

New York City currently hires about 4,000 to 5,000 new teachers each year.

Zohran Mamdani at a press conference announcing the plan. / Biplob Kumar Das

New York City’s Democratic Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Oct. 15 announced a plan to increase teachers in the city’s public school system. He described the plan as the “classroom to community policy”, which will employ 1,000 new teachers every year.

Mamdani’s announcement comes at a time when the city faces an acute shortage of teachers in its public school system, particularly after a class-size law was passed at the state level, requiring thousands of new hires every year. The city will need to hire around 7,000-9,000 new teachers to meet the requirements of the new law by 2028. 

“This is a policy that addresses this shortage. It is a policy that’ll be a citywide initiative to train, to certify, and to hire new teachers. To create a pipeline from school to school, to ensure every year we are hiring an additional 1,000 new teachers,” Mamdani said at a press meet held at a playground in Astoria, Queens. 
 



New York City currently hires about 4,000 to 5,000 new teachers each year. The new class-size law caps kindergarten to grade 3 classes at 20 students, 4-8th-grade classes at 23 students, and high school classes at 25 students. The tighter class sizes are leading to a pressing demand for more teachers. 

Mamdani listed a string of incentives for New Yorkers, particularly aspiring teachers, to enter the public school system. 

“We will do so by providing tuition support for those who are pursuing teaching degrees, students in college, in exchange for a three-year commitment to being a part of our public school system and for teaching within that same system,” he said. 

Mamdani’s plan seeks to incorporate high school graduates, who will receive college credits and $12,000 a year in tuition assistance in exchange for teaching at schools. 

Also Read: “Proud of my Hindu Heritage”: Mamdani visits NYC temples to connect with supporters

Apart from tuition assistance, college students will receive mentorship from existing teachers, get access to free public transit cards, and be connected to certification exams. 

The second component of his plan includes an opportunity for adults who are seeking to change careers and are interested in joining the city’s public school system. 

“This will also be particularly helpful for increasing the number of bilingual educators we have in our city’s public school system,” he said. 

Mamdani was accompanied by New York State Senator John Liu, City Councilmember Rita Joseph, and United Federation of Teachers Vice President Mary Vaccaro. 

“We need to be able to attain more teachers. We need to look to our CUNY and SUNY schools in order to support that work, and make sure that we are able to fill those classrooms with well-qualified, wonderful teachers,” Vaccaro said at the press meet. 

Among New York City’s public school students, proficiency levels in mathematics stand at 57%, and proficiency in reading stands at 56%, reflecting a need for an overhaul in the city’s education policy. 

“We will prioritize placement in the very districts that have the highest needs in additional staffing,” said Mamdani. 

Mamdani’s plan for the city’s public schools has been the subject of much debate in the past month, particularly after he said he would scrap the city’s Gifted & Talented program at the kindergarten level. He claims that the program, which creates a separate academic track for students identified to be gifted,  leads to segregation at a very young age. Asian-American students have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the program. 

New York City will vote for a new mayor on Nov. 4, where Mamdani will compete with former New York Governor and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa on the ballot. 

The latest election poll suggests Mamdani is set to win the mayoral race with a comfortable lead.

Comments

Related