New York City Public Schools Celebrates Four Years of Accomplishments Under the Adams Administration

Record High Test Scores

Put Over $26 million in Students' Pockets Through Paid Work-Based Learning Experiences

Over 100,000 Students in Temporary Housing Welcomed

NEW YORK, NY - Over the last four years, this administration has transformed education in the nation's largest school district by revolutionizing literacy and math instruction, investing in supports and resources for the city's most vulnerable students, and expanding post-secondary pathways through new partnerships and opportunities.

"We took office with a simple promise: to 'Get Stuff Done,' and, four years later, our administration can say we delivered that every day for working-class New Yorkers," said Mayor Adams. "We drove shootings to record lows and pushed jobs and small businesses to record highs. We rewrote the playbook on homelessness and mental health to finally get New Yorkers living on our streets the help they need, and, after decades of half-measures, passed historic housing legislation to turn New York into a 'City of Yes.' We overhauled the way our students learn to read and do math, put over $26 million in students' pockets through paid work-based learning experiences, invested millions in special education, and cut the cost of childcare. We eliminated taxes for low-income families, launched free universal after-school programming, and forgave medical debt. We got scaffolding off our buildings, trash bags off our streets, and opened up new public spaces for New Yorkers to enjoy. The haters may have doubted us, but the results are clear. On issue after issue, we brought common-sense leadership to create a safer, more affordable city, and our work has changed our city for the better; it will stand the test of time because we made New York City the best place to live and raise a family."

"As 2025 draws to a close, I'm deeply proud of all we've accomplished during this administration," said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. "From launching and expanding NYC Reads and Solves to creating NYCPS Cares, from supporting our students with disabilities and multilingual learners to founding Project Open Arms, our school communities guided us every step of the way. This progress belongs to us all. I'm reminded today of the power of the NYCPS family and honored to lead a team so dedicated to the success of every young New Yorker."

REVOLUTIONIZED LITERACY AND MATH INSTRUCTION

Nearly 500,000 Students Benefitting from NYC Reads, NYC Solves.

English Language Arts Proficiency Increased 7.2 Points, Math Proficiency Increased 3.5 Points.

Literacy and math instruction have been at the forefront of this administration's educational platform, resulting in landmark gains in the 2025 State test scores, with scores increasing across all grades and subgroups.

This work began with the launch of universal screeners for dyslexia and other print-based learning disabilities in Spring 2022. This shift marked the first time that students could be assessed for risk and receive the specialized instruction they need without leaving their neighborhood school.

In Spring 2023, NYC Reads brought high quality, evidence-based curricula to K-5 schools across the city. Rolled out in phases, fifteen community districts participated in year one, with the remaining districts beginning in Fall 2024. Nearly 200 high schools also signed on to what would later become NYC Solves, shifting math instruction to a project-based approach. Middle schools joined in 2024.

Coming on the heels of the highest state test scores in years, in Fall 2025 both initiatives saw major expansions, with NYC Reads reaching middle schools for the first time. This year, over 2,500 NYC Reads Ambassadors, family, and community members were trained to support literacy development at home. Over 22 NYC Reads Hubs were established in partnership with local businesses to foster literacy-rich environments. To better support English Language Learners in their English literacy development, NYCPS launched a pilot of a new English Language Development curricula in 80 schools.

In 2025, we supported high-quality instruction by meeting class size compliance through teacher hiring. Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos this fall announced that New York City Public Schools surpassed the 60 percent class size reduction milestone originally planned for the 2025-2026 school year. The announcement comes after the Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget funded over 3,700 teaching positions and 100 assistant principal positions across nearly 750 New York City Public Schools, as well as collaborative planning between with United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), and school leaders across the public school system.

FOSTERED BELONGING, COMMUNITY, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Eight Hidden Voices Guides Published and Distributed to Schools.

Nearly 8,000 Students Graduated with the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness.

Students learn best when they see themselves and their communities reflected in their classroom. Through the Hidden Voices initiative, educators received curricular resource guides, posters, and comic books designed to uplift and celebrate the people and events who are typically omitted from history books. Guides were launched to celebrate LGBTQ+,Asian American and Pacific Islander, African Diaspora,Disability, Jewish-American,Muslim-American, and Latine communities.

Civic engagement thrived under this administration, with an over 1,100 percent increase in students graduating with a Seal of Civic Readiness since its launch during the 2021-22 school year. Since its inception, over 90,000 students have been registered to vote during NYCPS's annual Civics Week, which is now in its seventh year.

PRIORITIZED SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES WITH THE GREATEST NEED

Facilitated Improvements to the Fair Student Funding Formula to Increase Equity.

Launched the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL) Focusing Resources on Students with Disabilities and Multilingual Learners.

Students Participating in Specialized Autism Programming Reaching 95 Percent Graduation Rate.

Welcomed and Supported Over 100,000 Students in Temporary Housing Through Project Open Arms.

Bridged Technological Divide by Distributing 350,000 Chromebooks to Students.

To increase equity in per pupil funding allocations - and in direct response to recommendations from the working group - this administration facilitated improvements to the Fair Student Funding (FSF) formula for the 2023-2024 school year. Both new weights, the concentration weight and the students in temporary housing weight, provide additional funding to support our most vulnerable students.

DIAL, a first-of-its-kind divisional structure, represented this administration's commitment to ensuring that multilingual learners and students with disabilities - who have been underserved for decades - finally get consistent, top-quality instruction with the support they need to excel. Under Mayor Adams, NYCPS greatly expanded access to specialized programming for autistic students with a $205 million investment. These programs boast a 95 percent high school graduation rate for participating students. DIAL also forged a new partnership with Special Olympics New York, bringing inclusive sports to over 1,700 students with and without disabilities.

To support the city's youngest learners, this administration baselined $167 million for 3K seats, as well as pre-K special education seats.

Over 100,000 students in temporary housing were welcomed into schools through Project Open Arms. Launched in 2022, this coordinated effort supported families enrolling during the migrant crisis, creating access to an expanded resource closet network offering food, clothing, hygiene products, school supplies, and more. Dream Squads and other initiatives offered programming to welcome new classmates, including hosting community dinners, creating podcasts and murals, and more.

Throughout 2025, dozens of Know Their Rights trainings for staff and Know Your Rights trainings for families were offered in partnership with the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs.

In 2025, NYCPS partnered with the mayor's office and the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation to bridge gaps in technology access and distribute 350,000 LTE- or 5G-connected Chromebooks to students for use during their tenure at NYCPS.

EXPANDED ACCESS TO POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS

This administration prioritized creating opportunities for students to realize their bold futures through career-connected learning and college readiness initiatives.

Under Mayor Adams, NYCPS opened sixteen new schools - nine in the 2024 school year and seven in 2025. Among these schools are:

FutureReadyNYC career-connected mentorship programming expanded to reach 135 schools and 15,000 students across the city. This was made possible through a $53 million investment in the FY2025 budget, representing one of the largest commitments ever made by the city in preparing students for strong careers. The Career Readiness and Modern Youth Apprenticeship program, launched in 2022, connected 3,000 students across 50 schools to paid multi-year apprenticeships in finance, technology, and business operations.

LAUNCHED INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT THE WHOLE CHILD AND CREATE A SAFER SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

In 2025, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos launched NYCPS Cares - a suite of signature initiatives putting safety, wellness, and support at the forefront. Under this umbrella are Every Child and Family Is Known, which expanded to 125 schools across the city, and the Family Connectors program, which trained volunteers to connect over 500 families with local resources.

In addition to NYCPS Cares, NYCPS prioritized student mental health through the successful rollout of the citywide internet-enabled device policy, the opening of ~80 new mental health clinics this administration, now totaling almost 250 across the city, the launch of the free virtual mental health support program Teenspace, partnerships with 29 higher education institutions to assign over 360 social work interns in schools, and partnerships with over 130 community-based organizations who serve 482 schools with mental health programming. This is all in addition to the access that every student has to a social worker or a school counselor, school-based mental health clinic, or community based mental health provider on-site.

NYCPS also expanded the number of covered languages for translationof critical information from nine to twelve, a major step forward in its commitment to educational equity and family engagement.

To promote safer communities, this administration launched Project Pivot. Over $54 million in funding over four years allowed schools to partner with community-based organizations to connect with young people at pivotal moments in their development for counseling, mentorship, and learning opportunities through recreational outings, sports, and the arts. The Safer Access Initiative added an additional layer of security, securing the front door of schools, which are already staffed by NYPD School Safety Agents, to ensure student safety and provide peace of mind to their families.

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