Michael Elsen-Rooney, Chalkbeat, Alex Zimmerman, Chalkbeat, Author at THE CITY

School safety officers greet students outside P.S. 146 in Manhattan after their first day of the classes

Education

NYC School Safety Force Drops by Almost a Third

March 11, 2025, 2:36 p.m.March 11, 2025, 5:35 p.m.

The declines have been driven by high attrition during the pandemic, slow hiring and a $37,000 annual starting salary.

A group of migrant students wait for a bus across from the Stewart Hotel in Midtown on the way to school.

Migrant Crisis

Deportation Fears Keep Migrant Kids Out of School as ‘Everyone Is Scared’

Jan. 24, 2025, 4:00 p.m.Jan. 24, 2025, 4:20 p.m.

On high alert after President Donald Trump's inauguration this week and worried about his promise to fast-track deportations, scores of immigrant families kept kids home.

Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, Dec. 17, 2018.

Education

English Learners Rarely Get Into City’s Specialized High Schools. This Student Came Achingly Close.

Dec. 5, 2024, 4:56 p.m.Dec. 5, 2024, 4:57 p.m.

A change made to public schools’ Discovery program in an effort under former Mayor Bill de Blasio to boost the numbers of Black and Latino students at specialized high schools created an eligibility rule that may be excluding those very students.

City Department of Education

NYC Extends High School Application Deadline After Tech Glitch

Dec. 4, 2024, 4:46 p.m.Dec. 5, 2024, 10:34 a.m.

The glitch only affected two schools — Millennium and NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies — but families said that it could have had ripple effects on their rankings.

"Student OMNY" read a sign in a station subway car at Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School.

MTA

Student OMNY Cards Boost Public Transit Use

Oct. 6, 2024, 8:26 p.m.Oct. 6, 2024, 8:26 p.m.

Under the new system, kids get up to four free trips a day on cards that can be used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

School Buses

NYC Piloting School Bus Cameras From Company Run by Phil Banks Aide

Sept. 30, 2024, 8:24 p.m.Sept. 30, 2024, 8:24 p.m.

An Education Department spokesperson said the agency played no role in arranging or organizing the pilot.

(R-L) New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Melissa Aviles-Ramos, and Schools Chancellor David A. Banks at Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.

Education

Next Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos Says She’ll Have Mayor Adams’ Back

Sept. 25, 2024, 6:10 p.m.Sept. 25, 2024, 7:02 p.m.

“I want you to see me as a symbol of stability,” said Aviles-Ramos, who was quick to cast herself as an ally to the istration in the midst of several federal investigations.

Schools chancellor David Banks speaks at the opening of the newly-renovated P.S. 487 in the South Bronx.

Education

Schools Chancellor David Banks Announces He’s Retiring Amid Federal Investigations

Sept. 24, 2024, 8:15 p.m.Sept. 25, 2024, 6:57 a.m.

Federal agents visited David Banks’ home the day before school started and seized his phones as part of a broader investigation into of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle.