Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos Delivers 2025 State of Our Schools Remarks

NEW YORK - Remarks as prepared:

Thank you, Reverend DeGraff, for the introduction and for your leadership on our Interfaith Council, and thank you to our student emcees, Tymia and Pamela. And let's give a huge round of applause to Chief of Staff Kenita Lloyd and all our fantastic panelists! I'm so inspired by you and your insights-you are helping us set the tone not just for today, but for the entire school year.

Good morning, students, families, staff, community organizations, elected officials, and more! And happy Hispanic Heritage Month! It is an honor and a privilege to be here with you, to reflect on our progress and look to the school year ahead.

I want to thank our hosts at the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics (Superintendent Beidleman and Principal Nicotri), Isaac Newton Middle School for Math and Science (Superintendent Dela Cruz and Principal Purice), and PS M169 (Superintendent Louissaint and Principal Rivas). Thank you to our student participants, including the Fort Hamilton High School Marching Band; JROTC from the Lehman Campus; student journalists from Bronx River High School; and our volunteers, cheerleaders, and student journalists from the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. Thank you, Principal Bell, for your leadership at Schuylerville and for joining us today.

We have so many partners in this work, and I can't possibly name them all in these remarks, but I want to start with Mayor Adams, whose vision and leadership have translated into real results for students and families. Of course, thank you to our education champions at the local and state levels: Education Chairs Rita Joseph, John Liu, and Michael Benedetto, and our labor partners-Henry Garrido of DC37, Michael Mulgrew of the UFT, and Henry Rubio of the CSA. Thank you to our Panel for Educational Policy, our Community and Citywide Education Council presidents and members, our District Leadership Teams, and all our parent leaders.

Let me also shout out the over 145,000 staff members across our schools, districts, and central offices who made the first month of school a success-and who work incredibly hard on behalf of our students every single day. And of course, thank you to our families for choosing NYC Public Schools. We value your trust immensely.

As we kick off the 2025-2026 school year-and all the possibility and promise it brings-there's an image that comes to mind for me: a spark.

As a former teacher, principal, and superintendent, and as a current NYC Public Schools parent, I've seen that spark in many places and spaces. I saw it in my high school students, when we dove into Shakespeare and they made insightful connections between centuries-old plays and their daily lives. I saw it as a school leader, when my colleagues and I made critical improvements that turned around our graduation rate. And I saw it in my own daughter, when her reading skills began clicking into place-and when she proudly contributed to a family dinner conversation around politics by talking about Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

These "aha" moments-driven by high expectations, vigorous discussion, and unrelenting questioning-lie at the heart of teaching and learning. They're the moments that stick with us. They're the moments that inspire our students to take the Advanced Placement course, to audition for the school play, to try out for the team, to pursue their dreams. After two decades in this work, I can confidently say: it all starts with a spark.

Our job, as a community, is to ignite that spark across every NYC Public School. So this year, we are emphasizing deep learning, intellectual curiosity, and academic rigor-because we know that with high expectations and the right supports, every child is capable.

Now let me be clear: this work begins with the fundamentals, with reading and math. Whether it's a child's excitement as they sound out new words or a teenager's thrill at solving a tricky Algebra problem, our students experience these "aha" moments constantly as they build their foundational skills.

That's why NYC Reads and NYC Solves, signature initiatives of this administration, are so important. For the first time, we are working across our entire city to ensure high-quality instruction in both reading and math. I want us to take a moment to appreciate how monumental this is. Walk into any reading classroom in New York City, for example, and I can tell you exactly what you'll see: students engaged in excellent, rigorous, evidence-based instruction, guided by a teacher with specialized training and deep pedagogical knowledge.

This level of quality and consistency-especially at this scale-is transformative. As we begin our third full year of these initiatives, NYC Reads is active in over 900 schools, and NYC Solves in nearly 600. We've provided over 31,000 job-embedded coaching sessions for NYC Reads and Solves educators and leaders, with widespread impact-82% of Reads teachers agreed that it helped their implementation. And we've trained over 5,000 NYC Reads Ambassadors-some of whom are in the audience today-including nearly 2,500 this calendar year alone.

And this year, walk into any classroom across any grade, and you'll see even greater levels of support and acceleration. In early childhood, our youngest learners are building strong language and literacy foundations. For our older students, in NYC Solves, we are prioritizing instructional shifts and focus areas that increase academic rigor and boost students' proficiency.

And we recently announced, across our NYC Reads schools, a systemwide launch of MTSS, or a Multi-Tiered System of Supports, so that when a student needs more help, their teacher can provide an immediate, focused, evidenced-based intervention on top of the standard lesson. This could include practice in phonics, vocabulary, or any of the key skills of reading-ensuring all students, including those with disabilities, receive high-quality support when they need it.

I'm also thrilled to announce today that we will be piloting NYC Reads English Language Development curricula, specifically for our English Language Learners, in 80 schools. This pilot pairs what we know about how children learn to read with how students acquire a new language, accelerating literacy and academic success for our students learning English.

As of last year's NYC School Survey, 93% of our families believed their schools provided high-quality reading and math instruction-an indication of our progress with NYC Reads and Solves. And 74% of middle and high schoolers reported that in most or all of their classes, their teachers want them to become better thinkers, not just to memorize things-a solid start, but I'm confident that our focus on rigor and personalized academic support will get us closer to that 100%.

As we nurture our students' immense potential through rigorous academics, we're also lighting a spark with our Student Pathways work. When a young person discovers their passion and purpose, it is nothing short of life-changing-so we are providing experiences that for too long were offered to too few: work-based learning, early college credit, intentional postsecondary advisement, career exposure and exploration, and more. We've partnered with top employers and institutions of higher education-because our students belong in both the classroom and the boardroom.

Our FutureReadyNYC initiative, now at nearly 180 schools, is preparing students for high-demand fields like healthcare, business, technology, and education. And with over 300 Career and Technical Education programs across 130 schools, our students have access to specialized training in even more pathways, from graphic design to engineering, culinary arts to robotics. On top of this, across all grades, we've opened 28 new schools in this administration-including accelerated, early-college high schools and innovative, immersive career pathways programs.

We've seen the impact: college enrollment increased nearly 5 points over two years, and in 2024, we saw our largest number of students taking-and passing-Advanced Placement exams. Since 2022, our students have earned almost $30M through paid internships and apprenticeships. And our elementary school students are earning too, saving nearly $50M across 280,000 college and career savings accounts through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program.

Of course, the world of work is ever-changing, and we all know AI is the next frontier. As a system, our posture on AI has evolved in recent years: first we banned it, then we embraced it, and today, as we refine our approach, I am eager to announce my four-part AI framework for NYC Public Schools. First, we are preparing students for AI-powered lives and careers. Second, we are teaching students and staff to use AI responsibly. Third, we are mitigating bias and ensuring cultural responsiveness when using AI. And finally, we are leveraging AI to advance operational and instructional efficiencies. To harness AI comprehensively and thoughtfully, each of these components is critical.

I'll have more to share about this work in the near future. Like all our Student Pathways initiatives, this is ultimately about re-envisioning the learning experience, so our students are ready to take on the world.

Just as a spark can stem from the individual-from a moment of learning or self-discovery-it can also stem from the power of community. That's why I am committed to creating a culture of care throughout our schools, shaping environments where students and families feel welcomed, respected, and valued. We are fostering this culture through NYCPS Cares, our newest initiative, which ties together my commitments to student safety, educator support, and family empowerment.

As part of this work, we have launched citywide, student-led anti-bullying and anti-vaping campaigns, because our strongest messengers on these key issues are students themselves. We are expanding the interagency initiative Every Child and Family is Known-connecting children and families in shelters with caring adults-beyond the Bronx and to additional communities, now reaching 125 schools across the city. And we have over 2,000 volunteers signed up to become Family Connectors-community members and parents who will help other families access city services and resources. Let's give it up for our Family Connectors in the room!

Additionally, I'm pleased to announce that we have designated an inaugural NYCPS Cares cohort of 119 schools across the five boroughs. These schools, from communities historically overlooked and underserved, were selected based on key metrics like chronic absenteeism and safety incidents. They will receive intensive support, including training for staff, students, and up to 500 families on trauma-informed care. We'll also train a cohort of approximately 250 Family Connectors, ensuring this trauma-informed approach is disseminated even further. In short, we are caring for our caregivers-because we know that a school community is only as strong as its members, including our adults.

It's important to remember: NYCPS Cares is one of many ways we build inclusive school environments across our city. It expands on a robust foundation of programming: our Respect for All work to combat bias; our Meeting the Moment initiative that fosters crucial conversations; our Hidden Voices resources showcasing the diversity of our city; our Civics for All programs that encourage student voice; our Project Pivot initiative which partners with community-based organizations; our Community Schools that offer wraparound supports; and our Project Open Arms work to welcome newcomer students. NYCPS Cares ties together all these threads, lighting a spark through the power of connection.

Sparks are not just fleeting. If you generate enough of them, they have strength, permanence, and impact. They create results.

We've been lighting sparks with NYC Reads, NYC Solves, Student Pathways, and NYCPS Cares. We've been lighting sparks with key investments by this administration: $167M to sustain early childhood education and support special education Pre-K; nearly $49M additional dollars this year for our Nest, AIMS, and Horizon autism programs, and much more.

And now we are seeing the results. In 2025, the percentage of students considered "proficient" by New York State grew by 7.2 points in ELA and 3.5 points in math-leading to our highest proficiency across both subjects since 2012. We made double-digit gains in third and fifth grade ELA, thanks to NYC Reads. And our literacy Level 1 results-the lowest scores-dropped by 5.8 percentage points. The takeaway is clear: what we are doing is working.

We also saw growth across every student subgroup, with some of the greatest gains for our Black and Latine students-proving that when we provide high-quality instruction and care for the whole child, our students make real strides very quickly. It is not an achievement gap we're solving for; it's an opportunity gap. And as we continue to give our kids the opportunities and resources they deserve-like the Multi-Tiered System of Supports-even more students will get what they need to thrive.

I'm immensely proud of our school communities-the superintendents and principals who led boldly; the teachers who adopted new curricula and instructional methods; the families who practiced reading at home with their child; the students who gave it their all not only on exam day, but throughout the year. Our students are far more than their test scores, but this growth is a testament to their brilliance, their persistence, and their potential.

And it's a reflection of our adults' leadership as well. All the superintendents and principals in the room-please stand so we can acknowledge you.

Please know that our work is not done. These outcomes are promising, but we have a long way to go. I see-and I hear from you-all the ways in which we can better support our students, families, and staff. And I will not rest until we make those changes.

Here's one example of our commitment to continuous improvement. We know we can do better with election engagement for our Community and Citywide Education Councils, one of the most vital parent empowerment structures we have. So based on feedback from internal stakeholders, such as the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council, and external advocates, including the Alliance for Quality Education, we will be implementing several reforms-from developing a robust, long-term outreach plan to improving ballot preparation. Together, we are taking a proactive, collaborative approach to ensure stronger turnout in 2027.

Across our system, in areas ranging from operations to teaching and learning, we have many more improvements in the works. To that end, on our website later today, we will publish our first-ever State of Our Schools Accountability Tool. This tool highlights both our accomplishments and our next steps, our action items, including data disaggregated by district. Some of the information will be static, shared for this year in comparison to last year. Other information-such as paraprofessional training to support students with IEPs, school facilities repairs, and more-will be dynamic, meaning we'll publish our target and update the data throughout the year, marking our progress toward that goal.

This transparency is personally important to me-because as a teacher, I wondered what happened to my feedback anytime I filled out a survey. As a principal, I wondered if Central was truly listening to my concerns. And as a parent, I sometimes felt my daughter was lost in a sea of other children.

As your Chancellor, I want us to operate differently. More openly. More collaboratively. When our 2025 principal surveys came in, I learned that 92% of respondents trust me at my word-and my first thought was: how can I earn the trust of that last 8%? I assure you, I am listening. We are listening. And I encourage you to use this Accountability Tool just as the name suggests-to hold us accountable.

This year, after all, is about lighting sparks-and a spark is not an end in and of itself. A spark represents a catalyst, a beginning. And we are just getting started. Thank you.