NYC is set to open 24 new public schools on Thursday. Here's where.
NEW YORK -- The new school year in New York City is about to have a milestone moment.
Two dozen new buildings will be open on Thursday when students arrive for the first day of classes.
It's an important time for the city, which is under intense pressure to meet state guidelines for reducing class size. The 24 new schools not only mean state-of-the-art facilities but they also will give principals the ability to have fewer kids in the classroom.
Nine of the new schools are in Brooklyn, eight are in the Bronx, six are in Queens, and one is ready for students in Manhattan.
"These 24 new buildings will add 11,000 new student seats, the most K-12 student seats we have added added in a single year since 2003," Mayor Eric Adams said. "And this means that we can close all but 24 of those outdated trailer classrooms from our schools. That is our mission, to close them all, and we are closer and closer to getting there."
"Thanks to Mayor Adams, the City Council and our other elected officials, our newly adopted 2025-2029 capital plan provides funding for another 33,417 seats. I would be remiss if I did not mention that the SCA has made huge advancements in removal of the transportable classroom units, as the mayor mentioned," said Nina Kubota, CEO of the New York City School Construction Authority. "Work has been ongoing to remove these outdated facilities from our school grounds. Only 24 TCUs at six sites remain as of today citywide."
NYC to face some tough choices, schools chancellor says
"There are tougher challenges coming," Schools Chancellor David Banks said Wednesday.
Banks said he isn't sure if New York City schools can meet the class-size guidelines. The law, which is phased in, requires 20 or fewer students in grades K-3, 23 or fewer in grades 4-8, and 25 or fewer in grades 9-12. By next fall, 40% of city classes must meet those standards.
"Class size law, at its full implementation, will require us to hire 10,000 to 12,000 new teachers," Banks said.
And with a national teacher shortage, that could be a huge problem for New York City and force officials to make some hard choices.
"So the question becomes do you lower standards to get more teachers?" Banks said. "It's not an easy choice and there are other choices that have to be made. We can meet the class size law if we were to cap enrollment at some of the most high-profile schools in the city. Should we be doing that? All things are on the table."
Queens school sets an example
Students at Intermediate School 145 in Jackson Heights, Queens, will be seeing smaller class sizes during their first day Thursday. It's part of a larger push from the United Federation of Teachers and the city to enrich the student experience.
The incoming sixth grade class is down to 23 students from more than 30 last year.
"To have the attention down to 23 kids per teacher is amazing. This is really about, as the principal said, investing in social and emotional welfare," Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. "Because it's really about ensuring that you can have that one-on-one intervention with students who may need a little bit more TLC."
"You get a better learning environment when you lower class size. I taught classes with 30. I taught classes with 18. When I taught a class of 18, I was a better teacher because I got to spend more time with each of my students," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said.