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Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC teachers union boss rails against expansion of curriculum mandates
The powerful teachers union on Wednesday ramped up its criticism of New York City's expansion of standardized curriculum — suggesting the person responsible for the unforgiving mandates should be fired. The United Federation of Teachers has long been a supporter of the Adams administration's efforts to fundamentally change how students learn to read and rally behind a singular approach to literacy and math instruction across the public schools. But the union has increasingly railed against the implementation, especially in math, saying an overreliance on boxed curriculum fails to account for differences between students. 'They turned the word 'fidelity' into a curse word because they're telling every teacher you must teach it exactly how it is written in the book,' UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the Daily News after an unrelated press conference outside the city's Department of Education headquarters. 'Anyone who is instructing a teacher to teach specifically the way something is designed inside of New York City should lose their job,' the union boss fumed. 'And I don't care which deputy chancellor did it, they should lose their job. Because New York City is the most diverse, and we love it. But you cannot teach anything the way it is exactly planned, because it is not planned for each of the children in our classrooms.' Tensions between the administration and UFT spilled over earlier this week when the union was conspicuously absent from Mayor Adams' announcement in Downtown Brooklyn that the curriculum overhauls, known as NYC Reads and NYC Solves, would be expanded to 186 more middle schools — with plans to reach all schools in the grade band by fall 2027. Instead, the union released a statement calling the buildout, particularly in math, nonsensical when there's still more work to do with schools that are part of the initial cohort. The next day, Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos defended the decision against union criticism during an interview with local education news source Chalkbeat. (Representatives for the chancellor declined to comment further on Wednesday.) Referencing multiple meetings with unionized math teachers, the schools chief said she was responding to the issues raised: 'I heard all their concerns and complaints about NYC Solves, and I sat with them, and I said, 'Yeah, you're right.' We needed a better runway and we need to take a look at this.' Aviles-Ramos has made a number of tweaks to both the literacy and math initiatives since taking over the school system late last fall — loosening some pacing and paperwork requirements, and giving teachers more flexibility in the classroom. 'I said, 'This isn't meant to take away autonomy,'' she said. ''This is meant for teachers who maybe don't have your level of expertise yet and they need a blueprint. You're helping them as they navigate the line between fidelity to a curriculum and flexibility and autonomy of your lesson plans.'' On Wednesday, Mulgrew said 'thank God' the school system got a new chancellor during the transition, praising Aviles-Ramos for recognizing what he believes was broken. But not all the changes are sticking, he said, noting, 'At the same time, we're still getting mixed messages from superintendents throughout the city.' He added that conversations were still in progress between a union vice president and central education staffers when the expansion was announced. 'We're just getting frustrated,' he said, 'because the union's on board, we're trying to make these things work, but you got to do it the right way.' New York City has been engaged in a painstaking overhaul of reading and math curriculums, citing years of unacceptable test scores. Less than half of the city's public school students are proficient readers. Some teachers have pushed back against the changes to reading instruction, which place a greater emphasis on phonics and discourage the use of context clues to guess at words. But their union has reserved most of its criticism for a math push that seeks to encourage critical thinking over rote memorization. Mulgrew, for example, pointed to a required curriculum item for Algebra I, called 'Illustrative Math,' where the first set of lessons were in statistics — despite there being no prerequisites for statistics taught in earlier grades. The result, he said, is a breakdown in trust between teachers and their students in the first few weeks of the school year. 'Why would you start with a curriculum that takes two or three weeks of lessons on something that you know is just going to annoy and aggravate your students?' he said. 'As a teacher, you're going to ruin my relationship with my students.' 'I have to take those three weeks to get them involved, get them engaged, show them I trust them, and they can trust me. You can't do that by saying you have to learn this — and you have none of the prerequisites to learn it.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Eric Adams Expands Reading, Math Curriculum Mandates to All NYC Middle Schools
This article was originally published in Chalkbeat. All New York City middle schools will be required to use city-approved curriculums for reading and math by fall 2027, Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos announced Monday. As the mandates are phased in, 102 middle schools across eight districts will be required this September to use a city-approved reading program selected by their superintendent, building on a literacy overhaul that was launched two years ago in elementary schools. And in math, officials are continuing a planned expansion of a middle school mandate, adding 84 schools in six local districts this fall. Just over 100 middle schools are already part of the math curriculum requirement. (There are 529 middle schools across the city's 32 local districts.) Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Adams' education agenda has been defined by curriculum mandates to improve reading and math proficiency. Monday's announcement indicates Adams is following through on plans to deepen those efforts. Proponents of the curriculum overhaul contend that it can take years for the changes to bear fruit, likely leaving it up to Adams' successor to see the effort through as the mayor faces an uncertain path to re-election. Adams and his first chancellor, David Banks, argued that schools have had too much leeway to pick their own curriculums, leading to uneven academic results. Under half of students in grades 3-8 are proficient in reading while about 53% are proficient in math, according to state tests. 'We can't continue to do the same things that we have been always doing and expecting to get better results,' Adams said during a press conference at Brooklyn's Dock Street School for STEAM Studies. The reading and math curriculum mandates, known respectively as NYC Reads and NYC Solves, are meant to guarantee that schools are using high-quality programs. Principals have traditionally been allowed to cobble together their own approaches. Many used programs that do not line up with research about how children learn to read. Additionally, using one curriculum in each district makes it easier to scale up teacher training and may be less disruptive for students who switch schools. The mandates have won mixed reactions from parents and educators. Some have raised concerns about the specific curriculums city officials chose and others said the city's training efforts have been uneven. All of the city's elementary schools are now required to use one of three reading programs, and nearly all high schools have adopted a common Algebra 1 curriculum. Teachers union chief Michael Mulgrew, a key supporter of the literacy mandate and vocal critic of the high school math mandate, did not appear at Monday's press conference. Alison Gendar, a union spokesperson, criticized the decision to expand the math mandate to middle schools. 'The DOE rollout of the new math curriculum in the high schools was dreadful,' she wrote. 'It makes no sense for the DOE to expand the math curriculum to middle schools when its work in high schools is unfinished.' The principals union has been more concerned about curriculum mandates, and a spokesperson did not say whether the union supports the addition of middle schools. Both unions have secured some changes to the existing mandates. The city has not yet seen clear-cut gains from the new curriculums. State reading scores dropped last school year, with larger declines in districts using the mandated reading programs, though officials pointed to other assessment data that they said is more encouraging. Aviles-Ramos said some test score drops are expected as teachers learn how to use the new programs. 'We are truly listening to what's happening on the ground so we can address any issues,' she said. She also predicted gains in student proficiency. 'I'm super confident as we embark on state exam season that we are going to see improvements,' Aviles-Ramos said. City officials have instructed schools to ramp up test prep for students at the cusp of passing the reading tests. Educators at schools covered by the expanded reading and math curriculum mandates will begin to receive training this spring in addition to 12 days of 'job-embedded coaching' this fall. All but one of the districts in the first wave of the middle school reading curriculum mandate will use a program called EL Education, including Manhattan Districts 1 and 3; Districts 7, 9, 11, and 12 in the Bronx; and District 13 in Brooklyn. District 19 in Brooklyn will use a curriculum called Wit & Wisdom. In three of those districts — 3, 9, and 12 — the superintendents chose to mandate different reading programs in their middle and elementary schools. Education Department officials said superintendents made choices about which program to mandate based in part on how many schools were already using them. They did not immediately say how many middle schools are already using the curriculums mandated by their superintendent. Notably, none of the superintendents in the initial wave chose the middle school version of Into Reading, the most commonly mandated curriculum at the elementary school level. That program has faced criticism from some educators and advocates who contend that it is not culturally responsive, is too reliant on text excerpts rather than full books, and is not focused enough on building students' content knowledge. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the company behind the program, has previously disputed those claims. A different set of districts are mandating middle school math programs for the first time. Four districts — District 8 in the Bronx, District 17 in Brooklyn, District 25 in Queens, and Staten Island's District 31 — will all use a curriculum called Amplify Desmos. District 5 in Manhattan will use i-Ready Mathematics, and District 6 selected Illustrative Mathematics. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NYC expands reading and math programs to support 500,000 students by 2025-26
NEW YORK (PIX11) — New York City is making a big move to help more students succeed in school. The city is expanding its reading and math programs, NYC Reads and NYC Solves, so that by the 2025-2026 school year, nearly 500,000 kids will get extra support in building strong reading and math skills. More Local News Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos announced that 186 more schools across 14 districts will use these research-backed lessons and teaching methods. For the first time, NYC Reads will be available in middle schools, giving sixth to eighth graders the same strong start in reading that younger students already get. 'These programs are huge for what we're doing, for countless children experiencing learning disabilities and dyslexia,' said Mayor Adams. He also explained that the city is now doing more dyslexia screenings to help students early. NYC Reads began in 2023 and was first used in elementary and early childhood classrooms to close big gaps in reading, especially for Black and Latino students and those who have faced learning disruptions. The program helps students learn to read by teaching them how to sound out words and understand what they read, while NYC Solves teaches math through real-world problems and gives teachers clear, consistent lessons. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Chancellor Aviles-Ramos said, 'Today marks a recommitment and an expansion of this work. Bringing New York City Reads to more middle schools and more districts, including launching New York City Reads in grades six to eight for the first time.' She added, 'New York City Reads is extremely important because it's giving our children a foundation with the tools of support that teachers need to make this happen every single day.' The expansion will happen over the next few years, with all middle schools using these programs by the 2027-2028 school year. Early results show that students and teachers are already seeing improvements, and the city hopes this move will help every student get the skills they need for a bright future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC expanding reading, math curriculum overhaul to more schools
Mayor Adams and Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos on Monday announced the expansion of their signature literacy initiative to middle schools for the first time. By next school year, 102 middle schools in eight school districts will be part of NYC Reads, a curriculum requirement focused on getting back to the basics of reading and phonics. The mandate is already in place at nearly all public elementary schools and preschools. During a press conference at Dock Street School for STEAM Studies in DUMBO, Brooklyn, Adams raised the alarm that students are reading at an 'inexcusable level.' Fewer than half of the city's public school students demonstrated proficiency on reading exams last year. 'Something goes wrong [from] the time they leave their mother's womb, and by the time they graduate from high school,' Adams said. 'We miss something in between, and we have to address that. And our administration sees this crisis with urgency and focus.' All but one of the districts overhauling its middle school reading curriculum — Manhattan's Districts 1 and 3; the Bronx's Districts 7, 9, 11 and 12; and Brooklyn's District 13 — are using a program called EL Education. District 19 in Brooklyn will use the curriculum Wit & Wisdom. (There are 32 geographic school districts across New York City.) NYC Solves, the math curriculum requirement, will also be expanded as planned to 84 more middle schools in six additional districts: Districts 5 and 6 in Manhattan, 8 in the Bronx, 17 in Brooklyn, 25 in Queens, and 31 on Staten Island. It is currently in 101 middle schools across eight districts and all public high schools. Schools have a choice between three options: Illustrative Mathematics, Amplify Desmos, and IReady Mathematics. The former schools chancellor, David Banks, had been publicly teasing an expansion of curriculum mandates since at least last school year. Both the reading and math initiatives are expected to be fully implemented in middle schools citywide by fall 2027. At the press conference, the Adams administration touted some early signs of literacy progress since the transition, including a 1.8-point boost on quick 'screener' assessments in kindergarten through second grade. But the major overhaul in reading instruction — a shift away from a popular but flawed approach that encouraged kids to lean on context clues — continues to face headwinds. Last year, schools in pockets of the city that began implementing the reforms fared worse on state exams than districts that were slower to make the change. After teacher and principal unions pushed back on some of the stricter components of the mandates, the school system started to loosen some requirements. Still, the slip in test score data is not deterring decision-makers: 'Other districts across the country have embarked on this type of ambitious curriculum initiative,' Aviles-Ramos said. 'And they also experienced some drops.' 'So, that is something that we expected. Because an implementation of this size, in a city this size, it takes a lot,' the chancellor continued. 'I'm super confident as we embark on state exam season that we are going to see improvements.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC public schools update math curriculum after pushback from teachers union
New York City public schools are updating a controversial math curriculum after the teachers union raised concerns about a lack of prerequisites — the second time since Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos took over the system that she has loosened such a requirement. In a memo Wednesday obtained by the Daily News, Aviles-Ramos announced up to two weeks of flexibility for schools to move through the curriculum initiative, known as 'NYC Solves,' at the pace of their students. Teachers were told to prioritize completing each unit over 'every activity in every lesson,' and plan class sessions according to sections. Last month, a small group of United Federation of Teachers members helped create guides on each of the sections for teachers to follow. As of Wednesday afternoon, those guides had yet to be shared, teachers said. The changes appeared to axe a requirement that students take an ungraded, short quiz at the end of each class, which was intended to help teachers plan for their next sessions: 'The completion of cool-downs may vary based on instructional timing,' the memo read. 'Implementing a new curriculum is a significant undertaking, and we deeply appreciate the extraordinary efforts of our educators,' read the letter, co-signed by the heads of the teachers and principals unions. 'We are committed to continuous engagement with educators in the field and our labor partners.' According to the latest data, only 53% of the city's public school students were proficient in math on state exams. In an effort to boost lagging test scores and standardize instruction across grades and schools, high schools across the city are in the process of adopting a single, uniform program known as 'Illustrative Math.' By the end of this school year, the majority of Algebra 1 students are expected to use the curriculum from the company Imagine Learning. For middle schools, local districts will choose from pre-approved curricular options that also includes Illustrative Math, which encourages students to use reasoning over memorization. This school year, eight out of 32 geographic school districts are participating in the initiative. But the UFT has railed against the rollout, saying the current system has not equipped students with the skills they need to be ready for the packaged curriculum. Wednesday's update followed key changes made in December to a literacy curriculum mandate by Aviles-Ramos's predecessor, former Chancellor David Banks. The overhaul of how city schools teach young children how to read was widely considered the signature work of his tenure. The Education Department did not immediately return a request for comment. But Aviles-Ramos has insisted the adjustments made since she suddenly took the reins from Banks, who was pushed out early by Adams in response to federal investigations swirling City Hall, are not a break with his vision, but build on the initiatives he started. 'Part of what makes curriculum implementation challenging is balancing the need for teachers to modify the curriculum for their students without sacrificing rigor and coherence,' read the memo. As part of the updated guidance, the school system is encouraging teachers to use supplemental materials and 'unit adaptation' packs that recognize what city teens know how to do. Professional development sessions will also be available to teachers on how to effectively modify the curriculum. 'These updates are a step in the right direction,' UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in an email to members Wednesday, 'as we continue to push the DOE to respect your time and expertise while providing you with the support you deserve.'
